Why Microsoft Newton is a stupid idea

OpinionDebug looks at why the Microsoft motion sensing controller, just wouldn't work.

OpinionDebug writes:

A few days ago a rumour started that Microsoft were making a motion sensing controller, codenamed Newton, that looked very similar to the Wii remote. Now fortunately I managed to resist making some stupid Isaac Newton joke in the title like: 'New 360 remote isn't down to earth' or '360 Motion control, a bad apple waiting to fall'. Ok enough with the the Newton jokes, they barely even make sense. Lets get this over and done with.

[wiizy]

its a great idea. it will prove that wii deserve to be the leader.

[marionz]

it is a great idea, i love the standard 360 controll but the market is there for extras like motion controlls, cameras, buzz or scene it controllers or even guitars microphones and dance mats, its just another way to play the game, its hardly anything new to try different controllers, powerglove anyone?
why are people so defensive over ms doing this? i love my gears bioshock and halo, but i also love the gimmicky games and controllers when im just having some casual fun with friends, nothing in the console world is origonal now, everything is copied by the compitition and thats great for the actual console owners and gamers that want things like this.
i only hope ms support it fully, with maybe a range of games that utilise the controlls just like sony has doen with the buzz games

[NOLA]

true, no one ever uses sixaxis anymore on my beloved ps3 so why would 360 devs feel compelled to use 'Newton'

[Mr_Bun]

It is true, why do you think they just released the analog stick patch for Lair, which was only controlled with the sixaxis.

[kewlkat007]

the dumbest and most stupidest Idea when MS tries something..whatever it may be.

At least have some good reasoning..at the same time I like others to play devils advocate.

There is always the other side of things, some just choose to look at the negatives, unless their console of choice was doing it.(whatever it may be)

All this stuff is good for competition, in the end.

[LaxMan986]

I agree competition between the companies in the video game market is a great thing... it's what makes better games for us consumers. My problem with Microsoft is they never come out with something on their own. First Was Eyetoy then came Xbox Vision. Now with motion controlls similar to the Wiimote? I just wish they would do something original that would make me prefer their console... but that doesn't happen

[poopface1]

microsoft is being copied by sony with the psn hardcore. Microsoft had a motion controler for the pc years and years ago, but I dont know of any games that used it(mabe driveing games?). Are you gonna say that microsoft copies nintendo and the ps3 cause they made a video game console too?

[green]

- Achievments
-First console to have a harddrive (xbox
-custom soundtracks
-First console to have broadband and a truly integreted online experience.(you could call dreamcast here,but if was dial up and really poorly implemented)

-First console to have movie rental service.

If you look you will see that they all copy from each other.Sony made the dual shock as a response to the N64 controller,their online service on the PS3 is here because of the porpularity of xbox live.

All i know is that from the very first day i played a Wii i knew that motion controlls where the future and Micro and Sony where going to have to respond later.

[kewlkat007]

you'd be surprise how everyone has managed to take one Idea and build on it.

Sh^t that's how Man have evolved, it's really no different here.

SNES was the first controller with "shoulder buttons" and "4-button layout/config", look at all the controllers we have today?

Look at XBL, SEGA did it first, well they were the first to have a functional online console infrastructure, XBL just built on that. Sony's is playing catchup.

Look at Sony "HOME", what you think that is ORIGINAL?..haha

Proving a point buddy..take a look at history. Actually not just gaming.

[LaxMan986]

I agree but those are all the evolution of gaming... hard drives are necessary... saying someone is copying online interfaces? That has to be the funniest thing Ive heard in a while how else are you suposed to make online play? Im saying if they make a new controller dont make it a complete spin off of the Wiimote... Do something else invent... Do you know why sony cant do custom soundtracks?... cuz microsoft did it first... be origional

[green]

They can spin it anyway they want but it,s a good idea

[Ureval]

This guy is just flaming, and his opinion is deeply flawed. Obviously, yes, some past games wont be able to integrate the controller, but who the hell plays Shadowrun anymore anyway? Just stupid. As long as Halo Gears or COD use it what else matters?

Having said that, if it is to work they want it to, they have to put more interest in their casual games, and not just put out junk. All they need is one stellar party game, akin to WiiSports or Mario Party, and along with XBLA, it will work. So far Nintendo has yet to release a killer Mario Party that implements the controller very well. Maybe Xbox will take Banjo Kazooie and make it their casual gamer mascot, or maybe Viva Pinata.

[power of Green]

Wii has proven this is what gamers wan't its the future!, saying its a bad idea has agenda written all over it. I would worry too with MSFT's software know-how. etc.

The Kingslayer... Friggin great! post...

Nintendo would be in serious trouble if a well rounded powerful console like the 360 was cheap and offered this so called motion revolution casual consumers fell in love with and MSFT's other competition would worry about MSFT getting it out first and doing it better.

[ForTheFallen]

I see the words cash in...

Nothing else. There is no strategy to this. It is pure greed.

[power of Green]

Great Idea for casuals although I wouldn't use this tech XBL and Motion would hurt the Wii.

Its either full motion or non at all. (Sixaxis)

[Superiorrior]

So you pray on the idea of Sony and Nintendo (mostly Sony) taking the opportunity to endorse the open patent and put it to good use, 2.5 years after Microsoft has an established base, most of which say "Motion sensing is bullshit, "we don't need that crap it's useless", and then people just as worthless and pathetic like yourself POGMART what ever the hell you call yourself swing back 360 (no pun intended) and retort to say "OH MOTION SENSING IS A GREAT IDEA" oh yeah IT'S SOOOO great when your company of flavor gets it right? Absolutely pathetic.

This is an obvious cash in to take advantage of the casual crowd that Microsoft collectively never thought they'd so much reach for because your so proclaimed "gaming machine" (which by the 21st century are suppose to be entertainment hubs, worthless DVD9 discs) which was exclusive to the "hardcore" pop is in decline, this is a ploy for people to BUY MORE, I can see the tag line already "Like a Wii but better graphics, and cheaper!"

At least Sony and Nintendo BOTH bring innovation to the table.

[Xlll]

Dom 1 - POG 0. POG fails again.

[Sir Ken Kutaragi 4]

;-D

[LevDog]

Wii is not the way of the future my friend.. Those gimmick waggle controls are actually kind of silly.. You dont even need to do the whole motion.. You can just flip your wrist up and down and get the same results as swinging or doing whatever the game asks..

ALso the BEST game for Wii, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Is best played with a classic controller.. Proving that Controllers are still the best.. Wii is just a tickle me elmo.. Its cheap and the trend.. If you dont have friends over Wii never gets turned on.. Nintendo systems will always be the best "Party Systems", but when it comes to everything else.. Games gameplay and Online it doesnt hold a candle to the other consoles

[jiinn]

REPORT this as spam guys -- this shouldnt even be on this site.

Who the *f* is opiniondebug.com? Opinion debug? What?

ANYTHING that flames MS gets approved here eh?

[Superiorrior]

How is this spam, this is a website that is news for gamers and this is an article about just that what's going on in the gaming world, friggin' dumbass.

Microsoft is following commercial trend, they're using the opportunity of the motion-sensitive generation, they didn't snatch up the patent like Nintendo and Sony did when there was opportunity, they're entering the game late, why because money is involved lots of it for the casual market, I find it deeply flawed that most of the Xbox gamers said "Oh we don't need that motion sensing bullshit, blah blah blah" and here it is, most of you are on your knees about it thinking like Microsoft thought of the idea.

[IntelligentAj]

I really don't want to see MS go down this road. As fun as the Wii is, I don't like the motion controls too much. I guess if they used it as a gimmick or as a second or third option behind the controller then I wouldn't mind.

[eagle21]

This will be popular only to those owning an xbox. Nothing more.

[bootsielon]

If both Sony and Microsoft do this and 1up Nintendo, there will be no more reasons to buy a Wii. If they offer motion sensing products that are way superior to Wii sports, and as cheap as the Wii, then what will be the reason to get a Wii?

I don't expect Microsoft to deliver quality on the first try though... the third one, maybe.

[Milky]

eeerr a good reason to buy wii is the games. You cant just have a motion controller, you need the games with it. If wii didnt have wii sports, rayman raving rabbids, wario smooth grooves, mario party 8 etc. it wouldnt be half as big as it is now. So, if this Newton is true and microsoft try hard to break into the casual market get ready to play xbox with your grandma POG.

[proArchy]

it will allow developers to make the same games for Wii and 360. Whats bad about this? Nothing!
Sony should reinvision their BDremote control too! With analog nubs like the psp, and motion control. The casual games market is huge, and this would allow companies to capitalize on all 3 consoles. More moneys for the industry is a good thing

[brothersimon]

PS3 girls are just.. well.. jealous.

[Superiorrior]

We already have motion sensing, dumbass.

Redesigning Sixaxis in a more preferable peripheral is decisive and accessible, thus even Microsoft getting a piece of the action from the open patent, you Xbox fanboy's are just so f*ckin' stupid.

@ Below

How did it fail, it's still incorporated in every single Dual Shock 3.

Now I presumed your were pretty fcking stupid, but this just confirms it.

[brothersimon]

OH YEAH
The shyt that failed.

Dear god, calling 360 fanboys stupid?

When PS3 girls are the ones posing as Sony people and attempting shyt insults?

k.

@ above

FAIL :D stop defendin ur shytstation and stop cryin :D

[GiantEnemyCrab]

why are you getting so mad? Calm down dude you don't even own a 360 so why do you even freaking care?

Sounds like you are going to start crying now or something.

MS did motion sensing back in the late 80's early 90's, this is not something new to them so stop talking about how MS isn't innovative because that is just a stupid thing to say.

[Superiorrior]

I'm mad because left wing opposition so eagerly welcomes what it has denied for so long calling it "A bullshit gimmick, and a worthless kids toy", but now your preferred company is doing just that, and your all so willing to drop trou, and take it as if yesterday never happened, this blind loyalty I've mentioned is disgusting, and it's more readily available more than ever, because your company "can do no wrong".

If you take a dip in the lake, it doesn't mean the lake is yours, you've only tested the waters, so don't act along side with your dimwitted friend here acting like they invented it, far from it.

Under what roof can you dub Microsoft innovative? Talent is easily bought this is common business practice shown by two eerie similar companies, EA and Microsoft while the enemy of the gaming culture is more easily identifiable they share the common principle of money, buys you into what you want to get, not talent, Sony and Nintendo brought innovation, for fck sakes Microsoft STOLE the first god damn proper operating system, in common with these companies all of them have stolen intellectual and physical property but Microsoft made a god damn career out of it.

If you can't see this is consumer trend bullshit I don't know what I can do to convince you, this is just following the money, this isn't there target demographic, they're doing it because they're in decline.

[poopface1]

but as long as most people wont have motion(which they wont) then im not worried about most developers switching controls. But they could easily offer alternate motion controls in their games. As long as Im not forced to use the motioin I think it could be cool. I think this would be really good with the arcade games and sports games. I dont see how this is a bad idea even if I wont use it.

[DoubleD305]

Posting of material like this cheapens N4G- N4G should not be used for the pupose of giving some fool with incredibly biased views there 15 minutes of shame.

If the 360 WiiMote bombs it wont sell. M$ wont bundle it unless its huge. It wont be integrated into new games and selling it by itself is no more stupid then selling Guitar Hero with a game. Its a great idea and if it bombs its not going to hurt M$ one bit and the fact this is so obvious is why this post is garbage to begin with cause it makes no sense. Its just biased silly opinion.

[green]

agree.Worst post i have read in a while on N4G.Not one single valid point.

[IntelligentAj]

Yeah there is an exceptional amount of hate in this article

[kingme71]

Unfortunately, this is coming too late to the party. I think it would have been a great idea had it come out at launch or shortly thereafter. The problem now is even if they bundle it with new 360's, there are nearly 20 million users that don't have it. Why would a developer support it if most of the 360 owners don't have it (can you count on them buying one)? Sure they could give the option of classic controller or motion controller, but that's more work for the developer and at what gain?

There are some games that are just easier to play with a motion controller and definitely the Wii has alot of games where the motion control is just tacked on. Some of them work well like Zelda, Zack and Wiki, Metroid, but the majority don't.

I think Wii Sports has as much to do with the Wii's success as the Wii itself. it instantly gave the motion control credibility and gave consumers a tangible idea of how it could be used. MS would definitely need their killer app like Wii Sports to make the motion control a success.

[tplarkin7]

I suppose it won't cost much to make one, so it's no loss. However, it's a waste. Despite the massive sales of the Wii, I still believe the Wiimote is a novelty. Just look at the way Nintendo is behaving and you will see that the Wiimote is failing.

They are making a standard controller for Japan (which will no doubt come to the US and Europe). They are allowing the use of the GC controller in many of their games.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

It's better to be the first one to copy the Wii, than be the last one.

[Superiorrior]

Open patent regulated motion sensing, for both Sony and Nintendo, I dunno if you know dumbshit but Sony has it do.

Microsoft is the last next-gen console to have motion sensing next to the homebrew "Tilt" crap they had, don't try to spin this, Microsoft is following commercial trend because of profit, a blind idiot could see the casual market isn't there target demographic, this is desperate.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Sony dropped sixaxis, so...... that would put them in the back of the line.

Have a nice day, dude. :)

[Microshaft]

someone cant handle the truth ahaha

[pshizle]

its a good move

[Vulcan Raven]

I like the subtle integration of sixaxis in some games (HS, R&C) the others are not done so well. The Wii games are good but i wish the sensor bar was better. It only has like a 12 foot range. It would be nice if they had some IR sensors built in the corners of tv's. This newton idea seems bogus, personally it feels like an act of desperation.

[KBDuB]

"‘New 360 remote isn’t down to earth’ or ‘360 Motion control, a bad apple waiting to fall’" Those are great.. hehe=]

Anyway.. I don't think it's good idea for this but I do agree with POG to a point.. Well, not necessarily, but I think Motion Sensing technology is the future of gaming, if it works out right.. Sorta like this one arcade shooter I was playin years ago.. you get a lil gun thingy an then you dodge the bullets by just leaning to the left and right and crouching. It was pretty damn fun, too.

[Vulcan Raven]

This newton idea seems bogus, personally it feels like an act of desperation.

[strembones]

Honestly I believe MS just doesn't have anything left in the tank for the 360. They hampered themselves by selling the arcade version. I believe they know the writing is on the wall with the battle against ps3 so they need to do something. This idea honestly is just stupid. Have they seen the wii numbers??? WE ALL HAVE ONE ALREADY!!!!

[JasonX43]

I don't like the Wii, and I think copying the Wii is an even dumber idea!

[Citizen Cook]

No one will buy this sh!t

If people want motion sensing they'll buy a Wii. If they want great gaming and Red lights they'll buy a 360. If they want Blu-ray they'll buy a PS3rd...

M$ should release the:

XBOX 360 ULTIMATE

Blu-Ray disc drive for movies
More USB ports
Wi-fi

HA HA HA HA!

[LevDog]

HAHAHA your 360 ultimate is a PS3

You can get that all for the same price as a 360 Elite..

If 360 made an ultimate it would be 200 bucks more than a PS3

I like your thinkin tho.. 360 biting the pillow and going Blu

[TheJBag]

I am not a fan of the wii. i am however one of nintendo, and microsoft, and sony.

i am not a fanboy of any console (i think its retarted being one, its jst a company.)

anyway, i dont like gimmicks, and i think the newton will be one.
how can you go from shunning the wii mote one day to copying it the other (360 and ps3)

I dont think this is needed just some cash in by microsoft to make a buck based on how the new infux of casual gamers thanks to the wii.

i hope this falls through.

if i want partygames that ill play for a week ill buy a Wii.

however if i want Real games, games with depth not gimmicks which i do, i turn to the ps3 and 360.

[Trekster_Gamer]

Wii has 2 options that have made it sell well.
Wii Remote
Cheap Cheap Cheap (ie underpowered dated looking games at release)
I would like to have the remote option with my 360. I am not sure how much I would really use it outside of some sports and family gaming. I don't get why this is such a big deal to people, it just expands the options for the best gaming/media console out there the mighty 360.

[Mike134nl]

I hoped they would do something like the splitable controller from in2games.

http://www.engadget.com/200...

That way they could have had both the normal xbox 360 controller + one motion detection controlelr, possible even superiour to that of the ps3and Wii.

[Citizen Cook]

In the quest to gather the casual market, M$ will LOSE the hardcore. Then where will they be?

HA HA HA HA!

[Eoco]

Hey guys. I wrote this article and I don't understand why ppople are calling me biased.

I cannot be biased against Nintendo. In the articvle I praised the quality of Wii games.

I cannot be biased against Microsoft. The 360 is my main console and I play it every day. I love it as a platform and think the games are great (but not in need of motion sensing).

I can't be biased against Sony as they were not even mentioned in the article.

Eoco

[Eoco]

Sory for the typos, in the previous comment. I'm in a bit of a rush.

[juuken]

And how is this supposed to help M$? They still haven't fixed the RROD completely and they're considering ripping off of Nintendo now?

Real smooth.

[DragonKnight]

Lots of stone cold whiners here.

First, I like to say that IN MY OPINION (meaning it's not fact), motion sensing is an epic fail. It always has been, it always will be.

I own a Wii, and I haven't played it in months because the thing is boring. Everything about it is boring. The games, the motion sensing, even the consoles design is just boring. I live with people who could be called casual gamers (meaning they don't game as often as I do, but they do enjoy a good play session every now and then) and even they don't play the Wii that much anymore.

Motion sensing is an old technology that has never been completely successful in any facet of gaming. PowerGlove, U-Force, multiple PC controllers, those big arcade machines. I really think that people are giving the Wiimote far more credit than it deserves for the Wii's success. It's the price of the console, not the controller, that's responsible for the Wii's success. Don't believe me? Look at third party games. They suck. There is really no indication that the Wiimote is the reason for the Wii's success.

Having motion sensing controllers is just a lame idea. The Wiimote, the SIXAXIS, and now the Newton should never have come into existence.

BTW, to those people saying it's a good idea because of Indie development, Sony is proving you don't need motion sensing to have good independant games. I mean, look at LBP. I know it's not an indie game, but it's not dependent on motion sensing.

[wallace1000]

The most important thing about this remote if it exists, is that it must be designed to fly through the air as well as the Wii remote. That way there will be more funny videos on youtube of people putting holes in tvs and walls :-)

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

I don't know guys...

It's actually more precise to use the motion controls on Warhawk...

Also, these games make full use of it...and it's more fun:

- Ratchet and Clank
- Uncharted
- Unreal Tournament III
- Heavenly Sword
- Pain
- High Velocity Bowling
- flOw
- Folklore

MGS4 is supposed to have the best uses so far...

I can't wait!

I think it's a bit late for Microsoft though.

[lifeinhisway]

It would be a great idea to repackage the original Xbox with a motion control. Just make the last generation games a bit more exciting. Oh wait....that is copying Nintendo...

Last Gen Hardware Sales:

PS2 - 120 Million +
Xbox - 24 Million
Gamecube Repackaged (Wii) - 23.89 Million
Original Gamecube - 21.72 Million

Just because the Wii launched this generation, doesn't mean it is next -gen.