Today’s gimmick is tomorrow's standard

Mike Clark from G4@Syfygames examines today's tech trends like motion controls, touchscreens, and virtual reality. Are these just gimmicks, or here to stay?

[FallenAngel1984]

No matter how many gimmicks come buy, the average gamer will still prefer to just use the standard controller with a standard 2D screen without any device on their head,

[lemoncake]

Good thing we got someone typing from the future to put us straight, cya later future man.

[MikeClarKent]

You made me laugh. I like you.

[FallenAngel1984]

Just look at the majority of the games coming out on consoles. Most of them do not feature 3D, implement motion control in meaningful ways, or use the touchscreen. VR gaming is going to be as mainstream for various reasons. Some do find creative uses for these additions, but most don't.

Even with all these alternatives, gamers will tend to stick with the traditional play style.

[marloc_x]

Windwaker makes the touchscreen quite natural to map buttons on the fly, really well done.

Asymmetrical Extinction is quite good too..
..as is instantly selecting a
weapon type in 007 Legends..

[herbs]

The reality is nearly every Nintendo controller innovation has eventually become a gaming standard. D-Pad, shoulder buttons, thumbstick, rumble, touch, motion are all utilized by the Dualshock 4 and where all pioneered by Nintendo in terms of gaming. How could gamers be all for a touch pad but not a touch screen? Maybe its too distracting requires the ability to multitask too advanced, possibly the same reason motion controls are looked down upon too much involvement or coordination, energy is required.

[FallenAngel1984]

That's addition are still part of the standard controller. Touch screens are mostly used in portable gaming, not console gaming. Sure some games may effectively use the touchpad and touch screen on DualShock 4 and Gamepad respectively, buy not every game. Even motion sensing has died down in recent years despite being huge earlier. Which is a sign that although gamers would like to try new things, they'll always fall back into what they're used to.

[Trolltroll]

I believe with the advent of smartphone gaming the no controller gamers now out number us console gamers. Also there are those pc gamers to who have been loving there mouse and keys for decades. Im just saying I dont think we can assume we are the "average gamer" anymore.

[N4g_null]

@epicgrinds you are so right. Just the amount playing mine craft alone out numbers Avg gamers. If the console game taste as a whole can change to story based games exclusively then console are in danger of changing to phone base interfaces.

The wiiu is a huge popularity failure right now but this is nintendo response to the problem that our kids will be playing with phones before mario. The nx and the dena deal are suppose to counter this.

Without nintendo getting young gamers into consoles suddenly sony has no one to take gamers from. 3rd party has already went mobile. Just do some searches on your phone.

It really depends on the popular games. No one played guitar hero with a pad for example. No one played fps with a ps2 pad for the longest time. Halo on the Xbox made it ok to use dual sticks. Yet it also played like golden eye on the n64.

Lots of games could use these controls and actually make the games more fun. This is another reason why cell phones are kicking so much ars. One control does not work for everything and everyone which is part of the reason the wii was a success.

It also points to how closed minded gamers have become. Gaming is more of a story based experience now on consoles. Why would you need control based innovation? Why provide more when the populace is asking for less.

Different control types are also based on popular games like I said before. Suddenly your system becomes just a box to play that game.

Also there is the skill factors. People don't like to learn new skills if they feel they are slow learners and or if they hold a current skill advantage in the current skills needed.

[pcz]

i wonder what nintendo will do with the NX?

will it have a wiiu style controller?

how will they use incorporate backwards compatibility for wiiu games if the NX doesnt have a tablet style controller?

maybe the NX will be compatible with Wiiu controllers, but you will have to use your existing wiiu controllers or buy them separately ?

[BrandanT]

I don't know how to say this right... but it's not completely true nor is it completely false. Sure a lot of things started off as gimmicks and lived on, but a lot of them also died off because they were just fad.

[mshope10]

If the ps4 had a gamepad I would never use the controller to play it.and it would be the best system ever created that's how nice having a Gamepad is it just much more convenient. And no the vita is not the same

[5yb5n6u]

thanks sir, now im convinced to buy one,

but it seems that they only sell the console with one gamepad,
do you know where i can buy another one as a backup? because my 9 y.o daughter loves playing call of duty while shouting racial slur at her opponents and tend to thrown anything within reach in some intense matchup.

if only theres a console out there that doesnt support voice chat so that my kid doesnt embarrass me

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

In the words of a man-turned-Raptor-chow...
"Clever girl..."

Shame we all saw what you did, there.

[iplay1up2]

Uh , there is voice chat for Wii U, COD.Ghost, BOPS2....so your comment was not as clever as you intended.

[moomoo319]

Augmented reality wasnt anything new when nintendo implemented it.

[Trolltroll]

There where others first Doublefines Happy Action Theater (now Kinect Party) was the first to do it well.(imo) if you have kids under 6 and a kinect this game is a must have. It will get up to six kids to play till they crash (4+ hours strait) and pas oit in the car ride home.

[SilentNegotiator]

*Looks at PS controller from 2013 (best selling home console of its time)*
*Looks at PS controller from 1999 (best selling home console of its time)*

....if you say so.
It seems to me that the standard, sensible features stay and the gimmicks go away. At least as far as home consoles are concerned.

[Concertoine]

Touch screens and motion controls were once gimmicks, now standards.

The only gimmick that has proven itself lackluster enough to have left was the Kinect. I would also say 3D is on the way out, but 3D has always seems to come back and die over and over.

[herbs]

The main reason the Kinect is so bad as a gaming controller is simple you get no feedback from your inputs other than visually or audio on the display. When you press a button you know the result will be instantaneous and with a least with a Wiimote you potentially have rumble and additional audio in your hand which makes a huge difference as insignificant as it sounds. Kinect is a decent interface controller though great for menus os.

[marloc_x]

A lot of effort goes into trying to type more efficiently with a "standard" controller..

..imagine getting money out of an atm with a DS4.😏

[gamingpro]

*Looks at comment, see's SilentNegotiator a biased Sony Fanboy, therefore should never be taken seriously. smh

[N4g_null]

If we are going off sales then phone and tablets win. Your kids if you are lucky enough to have any will be playing those. The ps controller will be like an atari joystick. They also make more cash. Sony banks on loyalty and the past. Your point illustrated this flawlessly. YOU WIN!

[Meryl]

Rumble = adopted by all latest decent controllers
Motion controls = fad as it only lasted one generation, even though I enjoyed the change for a while especially what ps move had to offer
Touch screen = adopted by handheld consoles and phones for gaming, and is here to stay
VR = yet to be seen but may be just a one generation only thing due to the costs of having the devices