Nintendo Not Worried About Project Natal And PS3 Motion Controller
At E3 both Microsoft and Sony revealed their own plans for motion-based gaming to compete with Nintendo's Wii remote. Both Project Natal and the PS3 motion controller showed some very intriguing technology that could have some great gameplay possibilities. So is Nintendo feeling the heat of the competition? Nintendo President Satoru Iwata explains in an interview with Times Online.
"To tell the truth," Iwata says, "I expected them to come up with stuff like this last year. So in my mind they're later than expected."He pauses, then opens his arms outstretched, with a huge grin on his face.
"I'd like to say to them, 'Welcome to the motion-control world!'"
It almost sounds like he's excited that Microsoft and Sony have come up with motion tracking mechanisms that rival, or even surpass, the Wii's capabilities. Iwata then put on his business boots and gave a more competitive perspective.
"We are happy that it is now becoming an industry standard. However, we still have no idea about when their products will be available, or how much they will cost, or what sort of software they will be used with. So, I am not in a position to judge whether they are a threat or not."
Iwata brings up a good point, neither Microsoft nor Sony gave any indication of when, what price, or with what software their motion solutions will be available. Without any of that information it's really impossible to guage if either Project Natal or the PS3 motion controller will catch on with developers and gamers.
I do hope that they catch on though. I love my Wii and the motion-controlled gaming that it brings, but it still hasn't lived up to its potential. As an example, the simple RTS demo that Sony showed off in their motion controller demo at E3 is something that the Wii remote could have done since day 1, and yet there is nothing like it on the Wii. Hopefully now that NIntendo will have some actual competition in the motion controller market there will be a little more motivation to take full advantage of the technologies capabilities.
How Nintendo's Boss Rewrote the Rules of the Game [Times Online]
NaviFairy
Posted to E3, Hot Stuff, Video Games on 10 June 2009
· Comments (4)
Other stuff like this: Nintendo, Project Natal, PS3 motion controller, Satoru Iwata, Wii
"...Sony showed off in their motion controller demo at E3 is something that the Wii remote could have done since day 1..."
Except that their controller wont be available until mid next year - that's 3 years since the Wii was released? Everyone assumed it's so easy ;)
BTW, Check out Red Steel 2.
Iwata comments was very diplomatic, but everyone knew this was going to happen ever since the Wii sold beyond expectations, except maybe for those that resisted against motion controllers.
Iwata's such a mocking bastard in those quotes, I love him.
um, I just have to say motion plus on tiger and grand slam works amazing. i truly don't think they have anything to worry about. natal is different and won't be around for 2 years, sony's, I'm sorry, is a joke. It has some cool gimmicks, but nothing spectacular.
The fact that sony's utilized the PS3 eye for more possibilities than just motion direction on a game, but the fact that it'll also track every single movement could make great fun on an RPG battle system if they pull it off correctly. Sony's system is not dependent on that motion control either which is also going to be an interesting part.
The software they demoed showing the capabilities of dimensions in game looks neat, I haven't seen that on the Wii as of yet, although I'm sure it's more than capable of happening on the Wii .