Next-Gen Controllers
Unless you’ve lived in a hole for the past few months, you’re well aware that every major console maker known to man, except Sega because….Dreamcast (need I say more), is coming out with their newest, shiniest machines. Designed to awe us with their high powered processors and billion imaginative functions, this new generation of consoles begins hitting the market just in time for the holiday season. With everyone a-buzz about new features and system designs, special attention is being paid to the controllers that at the Tokyo Game Show have been riding the wave of heightened interest.
In an attempt to make the clunky style of controllers from the last round of consoles look a little less unwieldy, Sony has revamped the design into something that looks like a curious cross between an invading alien spacecraft, and a Pilsbury crescent roll. When I first saw this sleek little number I was concerned about the distance my poor fingers would have to reach to hit the buttons, and jabbing my eye out on one of the unnecessarily long prongs during a fit of gaming frenzy. I have since seen pictures that show how tiny the controller actually is, which raises new questions, like how are both of my massive hands going to be able to manoeuvre comfortably? This nearly palm-sized boomerang is not much of a departure from the DualShock controllers from previous Playstation versions. It is smaller, it is sleeker, and it appears to be quite the attractive dark metallic grey colour. Aesthetically pleasing to be sure; it looks like a spiffy final year industrial design project. To me though, it just doesn’t look very ergonomically sound.
There are those who seem to think that blasting you with news of all of the nifty details of memory size and storage space opportunities (why don’t they just call it what it is…Microsoft’s latest personal computer) somehow makes up for the fact that almost nothing has been done to improve the out-dated controller. What I do like about it is the Xbox Guide button, which has been place front and centre. This green lit gem will bring the system out of sleep mode, and/or allow easy access to digital music movies and games. But with its competition throwing some new and exciting ideas into the market, the XBox crew have settled for adding a couple of buttons, and if this is even possible, making the poor thing even more like a gigantic hunk of plastic than ever before. Their logic fails me. Is the fact that it’s wireless supposed to blind me to its rather ugly exterior? It is not pretty. I like pretty things. And if it came down to controllers, the XBox 360 would be the last thing on the market that I would buy. Better, in my opinion, to release some innovative prototype, even if it turns out not to be terribly viable in the end, than to lose out on a key promotional area.
Oh, and the arcade style controller? If I wanted something that repulsively old-school, I’d go dig up my granny’s Coleco. Get your heads out of your chips lads, and aim for the whole package.
What is there to say about this one but wow? I know that I grumbled about the lack of ingenuity on the part of Microsoft and to some extent Sony, but where in the heck did this thing come from? Ever since Nintendo President Satoru Iwata unveiled it at the Tokyo Game Show, speculations, comments, critiques, and just plain curiosity have run rampant. The controller for the Revolution console looks very much like a television remote, and allows the gamer to manipulate game objects through movements in 3-D space. It rumbles, it’s tilt sensitive, and it can even be turned horizontally for a classic Nintendo feel.
I was very, very sceptical about the design, and how quickly gamers would be able to, or willing to, adapt to its complete separation from previous controllers. To some extent this makes it the make-or-break feature of the new Revolution and may catapult Nintendo back into the upper echelons of gaming respectability. I have some doubts as to my personal ability to effectively use the Revolution controller without a frustrating amount of practice, but if this video, courtesy of IGN, is at all indicative of the fun that could be had, I think I’m more than willing to embarrass myself trying.
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POSTED IN: Musings
2 opinions for Next-Gen Controllers
the play girlz gaming blog » Revolution Lacks Muscle
Oct 4, 2005 at 10:02 pm
[…] In a television interview, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that the next-gen Revolution will not have the oomph of either the PS3 or the XBox 360. The justification for this lack of technical wizardry seems to be Nintendo’s ad nauseum stated goal in getting the Revolution into the hands of non-gamers. They are banking on the fact that the innovative controller design and concerted pitch to non-gamers, will be enough to interest the “I wouldn’t play a video game if it was the last form of entertainment on Earth” demographic. He also surprisingly conceded that they were considering the Revolution as a second system purchase for more serious gamers, who would want the high-power graphics of the 360 or the PS3, but who would be intrigued enough by the Revolution to add it to their console collection as well. […]
the play girlz gaming blog » PS3 Boomerang Actually Comfy?
Dec 19, 2005 at 9:17 pm
[…] I’ve had this in my backpocket forever, so forgive me if it’s a little rumpled and sad looking, but I meant to post about it ages ago! Remember that my only complaint about the possible boomerang PS3 controller was that it just doesn’t look very ergonomically sound? Well Joystiq had posted a link to a .gif that demonstrates how a controller of similar shape is easily manipulated and not so terribly uncomfortable at all. […]
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