Motion is Out of Control
by Adam Rodricks March 11, 2012 in Opinion/Reviews, PlayStation, Simulator, Wii, Xbox
There was coffee everywhere. I guess I should rewind a bit. I was listening to a podcast recently which was discussing Valve’s Steam Box and what we want to see in the next generation of consoles. It was when they said “more motion-control support and games!” that I proceeded to damage a lot of very expensive electronics by spitting my coffee…well…yeah we covered that part.
With nothing to do with all my pent up rage towards motion control, I thought “what would an angry house-wife in the 1950s do?” and I wrote some strongly-worded letters to the forefathers of motion-control gaming.
Dear Wii Sports,
Attention: Wii Tennis
I spent hours in you (TWSS) perfecting my swing. I duplicated my forehand in real life, even adding a second hand for maximum precision. It was a full-body work out. I felt the burn, I sweat the sweat. All just to be beaten by a disinterested friend, who could barely be bothered to flick his wrist. Just one more occasion where a man’s right hand beats the real thing.
___
Dear Killzone 3,
I died? Are you serious? I was shooting before he could even see me. My elbows are tired. I want to sit down. You’re lucky you’re free to play.
___
Dear Kinect Adventures,
When we started on this so-called adventure, I enthusiastically jumped, ducked and maneuvered. I embarked on a journey, as I believe you put it. But, by the end of the course, I had adjusted to moving as little as humanly possible to activate my on-screen counter-part. Not because I was tired, but how many times can you expect jumping over the same log to be fun? Forever you say? Oh…
___
Dear Skyrim,
Have a great summer. Don’t change, bro. Don’t change.
Have you experienced similar frustrations with the current-generation’s motion-controlled games? Do you want to see them invest more in it? Let us know in the comments below.
Tigga said on March 11, 2012
Motion games suck currently, they’re so unnatural, the technology isn’t accurate enough yet imo.
Richie said on March 12, 2012
Which console has the best motion control? Wasn’t Wii the first with it? Or was it Kinect?
Adam Rodricks said on March 13, 2012
The Wii was the first of current-gen consoles to incorporate motion-control. As for who’s the best, that’s for you to decide.
Hank said on March 13, 2012
Love the Wii Tennis bit… @adamrodricks have you even ever played tennis in RL?
Adam Rodricks said on March 13, 2012
Only competitively for 8 years.
Devon Black said on March 19, 2012
@hanny = pwned!!
Devon Black said on March 19, 2012
damn typo… @hanky … why can’t you edit your comments?
Iain Cornwell said on March 13, 2012
I used to play on the wii and like tigga says, the technology wasn’t accurate enough. a few weeks ago i bought a playstation move set and i must say it is way more sensitive and accurate. I can’t stop playing pingpong, it feels like im actually playing pingpong instead of swinging a remote control!!
Alex McMillan said on March 13, 2012
Dear Skyrim,
Have a great summer. Don’t change, bro. Don’t change.
lol
Devon Black said on March 16, 2012
hmmmmm i can think of a lot of things they should add/change…
Turala said on March 21, 2012
I would truly love some follow up on this. I’ve been disappointed ever since I got motion control vs keyboard and mouse and I’m wondering what’s on the horizon?
Adam Rodricks said on April 9, 2012
Hey Turala, I’d be happy to follow up on this post if there is interest. Can you be a bit more specific as to what you’d like to see? You can leave me a message on here or tweet me @adamrodricks.