Okay, so maybe we're being a little harsh. But, with the news coming out of E3 that Microsoft is getting into the motion gaming sector with their new XBox motion camera add-on (called Project Natal: is that a birthing reference?) , we can't but help be a little underwhelmed with the promised glory of motion gaming. Mainly, because we've heard the same thing all before and it never delievered.
The holy grail of gaming?
The ability to control games with one's arms and legs has often been seen as one of the great gaming 'must-haves' of the last two decades. It's not for a lack of trying by the industry; it's just that most of the attempts to virtually control the gaming experience have been complete flops.
For years now,
 |
| The Wii still uses physical motion controllers, despite VR evangelism. |
gamers have been sold the same old drivel about the miracles of motion gameplay.
And apart from the Wii (which still uses controllers incidentally), we're still no closer to a fluid gaming experience, where our bodies control the action. Perhaps it looks a little like 3DV's ZCam. Or perhaps
Project Natal is the hottest motion sensor since the clapper. Okay, not so hot after all.
Spielberg jumps into the motion gaming space
Hollywood has long been fascinated with motion controlling the visual space. Hollywood loves the gaming space so much these days that film king Steven Spielberg introduced the Xbox motion controller for Microsoft at the E3 convention in L.A.
For the Spielberg crowd, there's always the obvious and oft-cited example of motion products shown in Minority Report. But that film didn't really show actual gaming. However, another Spielberg produced film did.
Fans love to bring up that iconic scene in Back to the Future Part 2, where Marty finds an aging arcade machine in the Cafe 80's; the type where players still need to use physical gaming controllers to play the game.
 |
| 2015: Using your hands to play games is just like a baby's toy - apparantly. Img source: BTTF. |
 |
| The Power Glove failed to live up to expectations. Img Source: Wiki commons. |
Two future kids tell Marty that using one's hands to play a video game is like playing with "...a baby's toy". Though it may seem like child's play to some futurists, physical controllers are still popular for a reason: they are tactical and reliable and the trade-off towards clunky (and unresponsive) gameplay is not often considered a good bet on behalf of most game makers.
Early VR makers get it totally wrong
Remember the Nintendo Power Glove? That wonder of 1989 was supposed to be so revolutionary, that Nintendo needed a kids film (the Wizard) starring Fred Savage from the Wonder Years to promote this incredible jump into motion gaming reality.
But the Power Glove was a huge flop. Even the kids didn't trust the wacky movie marketing tie-in. It didn't work like it did in the movies (though it looked very cool) and as a result, few people actually bought the thing. Ironically, there are still die-hard Power Glove fanboys today who get their kicks from all kinds of tinkering with their prized Glove. Power Glove-Wii conversions are very popular online.
Then, a few years later into the early 90s, game manufacturers were being told that Virtual Reality would be the next big opportunity to play games in the future.
A company called 'Virtuality' tried it first in 1991, licensing Amiga to make a few games for them. A few insignificant titles such as Legend Quest and Grid Busters sprang forth and the company died shortly after.
 |
| Looks uncomfortable: Nintendo's Virtual Boy wasn't made for straight backs. Img source: Wiki commons |
Nintendo followed up shortly with the badly-produced Virtual Boy, and Aura Interactive sold a VR harness that worked rather badly with a few Sega Genesis titles. Both products didn't last long. People just didn't buy into the obtrusive level of motion gameplay. Are you starting to see a pattern emerge here?
VR gimmicky
 |
| The Lawmover Man made VR look sexy (or is that 'un-sexy) for a while, but gamers weren't buying it. Img source: Wiki commons. |
But if you were to believe the movies, you'd think VR was picture-perfect. Films like The Lawnmower man offered immersive worlds with incredible graphics that players could access by getting dressed up in figure-hugging virtual reality suits.
But if you ever played a VR game in the 1990's, you'll also remember that most of these set-ups were extra gimmicky and unplayable after a short time. You'd get headaches from the weird face visors you'd need to wear and the spinning movements of the game could often make you feel too tired to play beyond 15 minutes.
VR graphics were usually so chunky and mediocre, that the movements required to spin around the room were just too 'physical' for some game players, many of which were not know for their physical prowess.
Xbox and the future
Perhaps for a minute, we consider that Microsoft have really developed the perfect motion controlled gaminge experience. What then? Will Sony follow with a similar addition for their PS3? Will that mean the end of the control pad as we know it? In the short term, Xbox players might not be ready to run around the room flapping their arms and legs in the air for a game that is just as easily played with two opposable thumbs.
However, if the success of the Wii is a gauge of this 'gaming movement' market, then Microsoft might have something big on their hands.
Until the technology proves itself though, we're likey not to forget the last twenty years of shonky development and broken promises in this field. And that's why we ultimately believe that physical controllers have a long future in the gaming industry. Will gaming history learn from its past mistakes?