Why I Don’t Want A Motion Sensing Controller For The Xbox 360
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
I’ve never really been able to fully comprehend the momentous success the Nintendo Wii has enjoyed. While I understand the motion sensing capability of the Wii Remote is an attractive feature, which has unexpectedly managed to lure in both casual and the more hardcore gamers, it’s no secret that the motion sensing controls actually tend to hinder the gameplay of most Wii releases, namely third party titles, due to developers struggling to make good use of it.
There are an array of multi-format games on the market released across all three of the current-gen consoles. Call of Duty 3, as an example, scored an average of 82% on the Xbox 360, and 80% on the PlayStation 3. The same game released on the Wii, however, scored an average of 69%, with “unwieldy” controls being cited as the main culprit behind the poorer review scores. There are plenty more examples of multi-platform releases scoring a lot lower on the Wii than its counterparts.
Having said that, I know Nintendo’s first party titles always put the motion sensing controller to great use, and with a selection of games such as Mario Kart Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Fit etc, I’m not entirely oblivious to the finer points of the Wii (what on earth would happen if you owned a Wii and didn’t like Mario!?). Bottom line is though, I’m not a big fan of the motion sensing controller at all, and I’m really content gaming with my 360’s pad idly in hand. Hence why I’m a little concerned about the rumours circulating, suggesting Microsoft could be releasing a motion sensing controller for the Xbox 360.
While the Xbox 360 isn’t the most reliable console on the market in terms of hardware (understatement, anno), the reason gamers stick with it is because of the triple-A line up with games. OK, I guess I can only speak for myself in that regard, but when my 360 inevitably packed it in I was bang in the middle of exploring Rapture, and there was no chance I was going to wait 2 weeks before I could delve beneath the Atlantic ocean with Bioshock again. So while there was the opportunity to buy the more reliable PlayStation 3, or even the Wii, I didn’t hesitate buying my second Xbox 360, the Elite.
The Xbox brand has always played host to more shooters and racers than any other genre, meaning it’s never been a console largely appealing to casual gamers, who tend to favour platformers and party games. So Microsoft have really got to ask, what good would a motion controller do for the 360’s core group of users?
From a business standpoint, which is of course how Microsoft are going to be looking at it, there’s been a whole market untapped thanks to Nintendo. You can’t deny the Wii’s popularity, especially amongst people who wouldn’t normally consider themselves gamers. And of course, what with Microsoft being a business, they’re going to want a slice of the casual gamer pie. That’s all well and good, but what I’m really concerned with is if Microsoft do go down this route, what the quality of games will be like in the future. I think the Wii has proved that motion sensing controls are hit or miss (unfortunately, at least where third party developers and mutli-platform releases are concerned, more so miss), and if you stick motion sensing capabilities where they really don’t need to be, you run the risk of ruining what could otherwise be a decent game.
It’s been pretty apparent from the majority of reviews for games on the Wii that the controls have been problematic, and I really don’t want to see this happen with the 360. Besides that though, I feel Microsoft have missed the boat with motion sensing controllers. In fact, I feel even Sony missed the boat with their PlayStation 3’s motion sensing controller, the SIXAXIS; it was clearly included as an aside once it was apparent the Wii had tapped into something special which was appealing to a broader audience. And while I’ve unfortunately never had any hands on time with a PlayStation 3, therefore don’t know how well utilised the SIXAXIS was, it didn’t ever appear to be a big selling point for Sony.
Microsoft should stick to what they are good at and avoid introducing an entirely new control scheme with a console that has been out for several years already. The 360 has carved its own path, as has the Nintendo Wii, and while I understand it’s difficult for Microsoft to sit back and watch another console lead the sales in the on-going console war, it’s only going to have a detrimental effect in the long run.
