Is Nintendo done with motion controls?
Posted on November 28, 2010 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Features, Wii
Recently, I was listening to an episode of IGN’s Game Scoop podcast. On there, ex-Nintendo editor in chief Craig Harris made an interesting comment that got me thinking. During a discussion about the PlayStation Move’s “modest” debut, Harris brought up how, while everyone is playing catch-up with motion gaming, Nintendo isn’t focusing on that element anymore. The examples he used included nearly all of Nintendo’s major releases for the holiday season, which are mostly traditional games with no special use of the motion controller. Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and GoldenEye are those titles.
Now, of course I realize that there are games that do have special uses of the Wiimote. Games like Epic Mickey and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword feature great use of motion and in a unique way. But looking through a list of Wii releases for the next few months, those are the only two big Wii titles that I personally believe take advantage of the Wii controller. Other high profile titles for the Wii such as Conduit 2 are releases that utilize the Wiimote in a standard way.
If you look at Nintendo’s position at the moment, you can probably see that they are definitely focusing more on their newest handheld device, the 3DS and on 3D in general. Nintendo has working hard to push the 3DS into people’s view than they have with Wii/Wii MotionPlus. I even wonder, is Nintendo done with the Wii?
The system has been out for four years now, and within a year or so, it may be time to start thinking about Nintendo’s next console. The company pushed motion as the next best thing and it worked. Now it has run its course as Sony and Microsoft attempt to play catch up and they move on to bigger and better things (though to be fair, Sony is also working on 3D, just not in the same manner). 3D is what’s next for Nintendo and if they treat it anything like the Wii, it’ll be in the hands of every man, woman, and child about a year after its release. 3D technology has been around for some time, but Nintendo is simply updating it. My question is, what will they do next?
