Why Motion Control Can’t Truly Work in Hardcore Games

natalMotion control. Everybody’s doing it, I’m told. For months, some of us have bemoaned the coming tidal wave of motion control and what it could mean for the gaming industry and games as a whole. On the positive, it could bring more casual folk into gaming and on the negative, it could just dumb down games as we know it.

GamesRadar has written a particularly convincing argument against motion control after their time with the PS3 and 360’s new motion hardware at E3. They pretty much assert that the demos at E3 have proven that motion control can’t work for hardcore gaming, and this is why the Wii is so full of minigame collections. When you think about it, even the hardcore games on the Wii just use the motion controls as kind of a bonus, while relying on traditional movement with the nunchuck and buttons. Typically, the only way to really eliminate the pain of movement with motion control is to stick the game on rails (a la Wii Sports). Here’s a tidbit from the article about our traditional analog sticks and face buttons:

As much as Molyneux and Iwata might bemoan the evils of the button fascia and dual analogue set-up, both elements evolved into the cultural landscape of gaming for a reason. They seriously bloody work for controlling modern games.

So what do you guys think? Can motion control work for hardcore games? Or will they inhibit the movement we’ve come to enjoy from our normal controllers?

Source- GamesRadar

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I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

20 thoughts on “Why Motion Control Can’t Truly Work in Hardcore Games”

  1. Their arguement makes perfect sense, and the ps3 controllers are just glorified wiimotes.Project natal look better sense it was just so much cooler. I think that, while good games other than casual games can be made they will be stuck into the rts/tbs category, and that alone cannot justify buying the motion controls.

  2. I disagree entirely. Metroid Prime used motion controls and they were not dumbed down and that was a hardcore game.

    Natal is the PS3 eye, but slightly better, just as Sony’s wand is a MUCH advanced version of the Wii-mote. The depth in that thing was amazing.

    Companies can make motion control hardcore games, but will they sell? Is it worth it? That is the true question, I think.

  3. i think it can work. with a joystick on each wand, the movement can be like a sit down controller, but then you use the wands to slash and hack, aim and shoot, pick up and throw…ect. The motion Sony games could be great.

  4. What motion do I do if I want to do if I want to use one of 50 spells or attacks in WoW? Or set my gun to burst in CS? Or leaping around in Prototype?

  5. I’m on the fence. Motion controls could completely replace the controller as we know it – it’s just down to how well the developers and designers can implement the paradigms to make the controls feasible and immersive. On the other hand, I’m just not sure the current controller approach is broken enough that it warrants so much effort to supplant it. Anthony’s point is the bottom line – whether developers be willing to assume the costs of developing it well, and will the games sell enough to justify the effort?

  6. [quote comment=”7191″]
    Natal is the PS3 eye, but slightly better, just as Sony’s wand is a MUCH advanced version of the Wii-mote. The depth in that thing was amazing.
    [/quote]

    I suppose what you say is true if you consider the move from 2D to 3D as only slightly better. I don’t.

    Also, besides an FPS like Metroid Prime, I can’t see motion controls being better for any other genre. The article raises a good question, too. Isn’t a mouse the best motion control that we have?

  7. For some reason or another, I rarely disagree with people who analyze the game industry. They have a tendency to make sense, I guess. A mouse and keyboard are definitely the best controllers around, for first-person titles, at least. Still, neither Natal nor the PS3’s wand are like the wiimote. Natal seems like it could be great for 3rd-person games, and the PS3 wand for just about anything. Unfortunately, neither of these are being launched alongside new consoles, (officially) and considering that the PS3 and 360 are at least halfway to the junkyard (time-wise), there just won’t be enough quality games developed using the technology. …So I guess I agree with these guys, too.

  8. The PS3 wand uses the eyetoy and you saw the depth of 3 D it had. Far superior I thought. I was blown away by Natal, you remember, but the more I learned about it, the less awesome it seemed.

    I didn’t notice what Natal did with regards to 3-d, so maybe I am speaking from a position of ignorance there.

    I think Natal is really cool, but at the same time, I don’t care about any of the motion controllers. It’s a gimmick.

    As for the other than FPS games, no I can’t see it being a good idea.

    Just hope all the PS3 and 360 fanboys don’t suddenly act like they want motion control, cause I still don’t.

  9. Yeah, buttons and analog sticks are irreplaceable until you invent the total virtual reality simulator, where people “live in tubes and play video games all day” (-Jeremy from Pure Pwnage). Eye toys and Wiimotes cannot replace the easy of control that a stick and buttons offer. Not only have we been conditioned to use sticks and buttons as gamers, but it’s simply unfeasible to make the human a controller unless you have the appropriate amount of sensitivity, movement room, and methods of simply moving forward. I mean think about – none of the Project Natal demos explain how one would move forward. Would you place one foot forward? That would get tiresome and probably wouldn’t work well. How do you do more advanced movements like jumping and doing uppercuts and high kicks for fighter games and platformers? Also, how would one play an FPS? Would they require a rifle controller? That defeats the purpose then.
    You see, until people develop a way to make the human MIND the controller, we cannot feasibly make the human BODY a controller. To be effective, for now we must use separate controllers, which I’m absolutely fine with.
    I seriously hope that game companies don’t abandon the stick and button controller concept in exchange for $60 arcade games and mini-games that use a wireless controller with a gyroscope or an eye toy.

  10. Imagine playing Modern warefare 2. You are hidden in some bushes, you have to quickly snipe the enemy soldiers, but be fast so they dont catch on! Quick use your Wii mote to line up precise headshots!!

    Unless the motions fit, a la wii tennis or the blast shooting of metroid, things like shooting guns accurately are only really plausible when you use joysticks. I cant imagine trying to shoot accurately with some form of motion control on fast pace shooters like COD. Those are our “hardcore” games arnt they? Or try playing prototype with it, quick hit A hold B and jiggle your controller like this to do the super combo! Oooooh you didnt do it right now you are dead! How aggravating. Bottom combos are more solid than waving around a controller.

    For hardcore games….no

  11. Dont think its a question of being either ONLY A or ONLY B.

    Mixing it is perfectly awesome.
    I got majorly pumped seeing the PS3 sword demo. I love the Elder Scrolls series and think it would be awesome if a similiar game was made for the PS3 that used that technology. There would still be analog sticks to move your character, but once you approached an enemy, you would swing your sword around, and still move your head/body with the analog sticks. Dont see the problem in doing that, and i cant understand that some gamers see it as a personal crusade to stop motion controllers.

  12. Well lets just hope that eventualy systems will be intelligent enough to recognize our movements, so that developers can release games without having extra coding for motion control. i.e. Games come out under normal time circumstances with Controller settings, but if you choose to use Natal/motion sensor controls, the machine could “learn” the game and understand your bodies movements in co-ordination.

    Might sound like a dream to the gaming community, but its absolutely possible.

    And I’ve always said, The mouse has been our greatest motion-controlled device! =D.

  13. forgive double post:, but I have to point out.

    [quote comment=”7200″] Or try playing prototype with it, quick hit A hold B and jiggle your controller like this to do the super combo! Oooooh you didnt do it right now you are dead! How aggravating.

    For hardcore games….no[/quote]

    If I told my parents or grandparents to push A and B right now at the same time they’d be confused and aggrivated… We can’t fear new technology just because we don’t understand it right off the bat.

    It’s all learning curve and patience.

  14. [quote comment=”7201″]Dont see the problem in doing that, and i cant understand that some gamers see it as a personal crusade to stop motion controllers.[/quote]

    I think it’s because we like our games the way they are. I mean, if I loved all these motion things, I would have been dropping my money into an arcade long ago. But I LIKE playing games the way I play them right now. I don’t see anything wrong with HOW I play, if that makes sense. I think developers still have plenty of options left to explore in the current setup.

  15. [quote comment=”7204″][quote comment=”7201″]Dont see the problem in doing that, and i cant understand that some gamers see it as a personal crusade to stop motion controllers.[/quote]

    I think it’s because we like our games the way they are. I mean, if I loved all these motion things, I would have been dropping my money into an arcade long ago. But I LIKE playing games the way I play them right now. I don’t see anything wrong with HOW I play, if that makes sense. I think developers still have plenty of options left to explore in the current setup.[/quote]

    Indeed. I dont think that EVERY game will turn to motion control if it is succesfull. So i dont see the problem

  16. If I wanted to move my body, I’d go to a gym or play sports. (Which I do)

    If I want to sit down relax, and at the most twiddle my thumbs, I’ll play video games. My life involves enough running around, and I’d like to relax at some point.

    It’s all well and good that Microsoft and Sony want to mine the motion control well, but as part of the “core” demographic, I’m worried about being left behind. Maybe at some point a niche market will necessitate the need for a “hardcore” only console, bereft of all manner of minigames and dongle waggling. (You know, like things used to be. I feel old saying that.)

  17. [quote comment=”7203″]
    If I told my parents or grandparents to push A and B right now at the same time they’d be confused and aggravated… We can’t fear new technology just because we don’t understand it right off the bat.

    It’s all learning curve and patience.[/quote]

    I dont think putting it that way is appropriate. If you are a ‘hardcore’ gamer, using technology or controls is NOT a new concept. Holding buttons and waving a controller is not a difficult concept, but the technology, IMHO, doesnt seem to be in the spot it needs to be for flawless motion control. To me buttons are pretty simple and allow for some fact control. You can argue that motion control allows for that in certain games, as mentioned sword games for instance, but for games like and fps or perhaps something like mirrors edge, it just doesn’t work as well.

    We should embrace new technologies, its how we make them better. I just dont think we are quite ready for action packed games to fully take on motion control. I still enjoy ASWD and my controller.

  18. Actually, some times motion controls would work.

    Like what Anthony said, Metroid prime was hard core because it was a fps. It’s hell a lot better trying to move 2 a small joystick at the same time!
    And for Race games, motion control is great.

    But, on the other hand, for games like Prototype, and other hack n slashes, motion control dosen’t make the game hardcore.

    So what I’m saying is it’s not completely that bad, it’s just new for us.

  19. [quote comment=”7191″]I disagree entirely. Metroid Prime used motion controls and they were not dumbed down and that was a hardcore game.

    .[/quote]

    The controls weren’t dumbed down but, sadly, the game was.

  20. [quote comment=”7210″][quote comment=”7191″]I disagree entirely. Metroid Prime used motion controls and they were not dumbed down and that was a hardcore game.

    .[/quote]

    The controls weren’t dumbed down but, sadly, the game was.[/quote]

    Well, it was more action that exploration, if thats what you mean.

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