Kotaku Joins The Bonus Round To Chat About The Future Of Game Controls

@shimage: the analogy seems extremely weak. But maybe I'm twisted: I've been working with touchscreens for the past 10 years (developing software that uses them), and have had access to similar touch-less controls. And the strange looks of people watching me use those stuff.

@ShadowOdin isn't american: In what way? The differences seem immaterial to me.

@somarix: That's not what Pachter was talking about, and either you know it and are being disingenuous, or you are retarded. Besides, I don't have a 360 and don't intend on ever owning one. I even think Sony's controller will be much more successful longer term (simply because it's easier for coders to use). I just don't understand the hate people seem to have for it.

@Piata:
I like Invisible Walls more than BR

Malform

@Vecha: Wishing Prototype would go down in price!: Agreed, he is an important voice for the financial business behind gaming, but he shouldn't pretend like he understands it all.

Additionally, he's usually annoying, offensive, or just jerk-ish in some way. More Kotaku peoples, less Pachter.

Shinra1003

Pachter is such an asshole.

Shinra1003

Very little imagination. There is no reason why you must replace a up/down volume with tapping your hand up/down. If anything the radial menu metaphor is much more suited for such things.

Lyme

"XMB is so hard to understand" - meanwhile 80+ million people praise how easy it is to use it.

"Can't figure-out how to put/view the photos from a USB drive" - you plug-in the USB and press "X" (as "images/USB" gets automatically highlighted) . The only text onscreen hints you with Triangle you can do more.

"whole 14 buttons on the gamepad, it's overwhelming" - you use the cross and 2 buttons: X and O. Every TV/DVD/VCR remote has those buttons and functions like that. Every remote from the last 2 decades has at least 20-30 buttons, and a lot more complicated usage scenario.

Notice how those "retarded wives" did not buy any hardware/software for/by themselves. If you spend hundreds of dollars on something, you damn well for sure will learn how to use the 4-way navigation and ok/cancel buttons. If you're a granny and receive a peculiar gift (console+game) , you'll have those 2 buttons explained to you.

XMB not easy to use...? You serious? The XMB is the most simple easy to use interface out there.

skyboost

@somarix: But...they speak about Apple and how the Natal is like it. Microsoft doesn't like that.

@shimage: I'll be pinching the touchscreen while you jump around, waving hands and tongue like a rabid monkey. Place judges nearby, measure reactions.

@somarix: wtf lol how did JavaScript retain my previous unfinished and not-submitted text ...

Those "retarded wives" didn't go ou@deanbmmv: it's GameTrailers. That site has contracts with MS, and has been using their brainwashing muscle for 3 years already. Always take their videos with a handful of salt.

@Firemane:

I agree. He didn't seem to know what the hell he was talking about.

"you have to select Play on the 360"

"The ps3 automatically loads the game"

While the host constantly corrected him...>.>

Did I see that right? Are folks getting Sky on their Xbox? Is it live (so to speak)? How much does it cost? Why have I not heard about this before? And why am I so interested when I live in America?

jayislost

@ShadowOdin isn't american: That's funny you say that. I think the exact opposite. I've been more impressed with Sony's commitment to the core gamers, than I have with MS trying to throw everything at us but the kitchen sink. Facebook, Natal--all shit I could care less about. They seem to be all over the place, unsure of who to cater to.

They certainly aren't catering to me anymore, that's for sure.

@nrXic: Yet you still have to physically touch the screen. Sometimes, people just want to be able to feel something with their hands.

@shimage: Yet misplaced. There's a difference in touchscreen and interacting with something on the other end of the room.

@ThisCharmingMan: You have no idea.

There is potential of course, but this constant discussion about the "future of gaming" and the disappearance of controller's as we know it is absurd.

Honestly I see it for what it truly is, at least to me; MS and Sony seeing Nintendo making boatloads of cash and wanting in on it.

I just have no interest in this hype-train, and from a large majority of our core gamers here on Kotaku, neither do they.

@nrXic: There's also people who like getting whipped.

I'll only buy into this motion-controller nonsense if they are packaged with a beard like Mike McWhertor's.

Until then, I'm not buying.

@Dead Giveaway: Honestly, I get the feeling Natal should be an interface tool rather than for gameplay.

It would be like an invisible touchscreen.

In terms of a touchscreen, it's easy to navigate and much quicker to select than by scrolling with analog sticks. However, when it comes to playing a game, touchscreens don't always translate well to specific actions and can become a huge barrier.

The only problem with my idea is that Natal would have to be cheap, which I doubt it will.

Atomsk88

@GuyThreepwood: It's simply a new interface. It could be applied to anything, doesn't have to be games.

@Master Saji: The iphone doesn't have tactile feedback in its buttons, yet people like it.

@kilgary: Well time will tell. Currently they might not that they will. as pointed out it better be quick, beta for Reach is in with ODST, and Natal ain't out yet to play the beta with.

@ThisCharmingMan: Tired of listening, which may be MS big problem, the hype for it is now, and yet it could be a year away. People will just be wary of listening about what it could do and yet for nearly a year we may not be shown anything.

@ShadowOdin isn't american: Personally I kinda got the impression I must of blinked on the "This show is brought to you buy Steve Ballmer" ad at the begging. Normal its pretty fair but it's like they had just sent the last week in 2006. Mcwhertor was cool though. (and he didn't laugh at the Vitality Sensor, but that just shows a lack of humour XD)

@Piata: Yahtzee is better....

@Firemane: I think he brings some cool stuff the table, he's kinda the voice of the shareholder, the people that pay for our games. And while we and the studios may want one thing, the shareholders want more units sold and more sequels and milking, so he tells it like it is. Though he was on bad form this week.

@Talryyn: And it's not VMC n 7MC, all Vista n Win 7 come with Media Centre, but only XP MCE had it, hence the specific naming.

@Firemane: I quite like having him around. He always brings something different to the table, seeing as how he's into the financial side of it all and not the games themselves. He brings good perspective.

Natal won't (and can't) be just about games. If it is, it fails in an epic and extremely expensive fashion.

GuyThreepwood

[kotaku.com]

I like how on Sunday McWhertor says we'll never see Bungie making a game that utilizes Natal and on Monday Crecente posts a story saying Bungie is making a game that utilizes project Natal. Oh internet video predictions - I love you so.

kilgary

The analogy to the iPhone was brilliant.

@Talryyn: You don't need PC drivers, because the 360 is fetching info from your PC, you 360 is the controller and MC is just a server.

@BubbleF**kingBuddy: That's a leak, not a prediction. And it was Engadget, not Kotaku - Mike just reported on it.

I don't get the whole hype with Natal, like the guy said, if it's just going to replace the d-pad, it's really just a downgrade in controllers. Also, I would think that core and casual gamers alike would like having feedback instead of nothingness in their hands.

Is anyone else tired of talking about Natal?

@MasterOmega:

quit pretending like you know anything about the future of games until you start predicting shit like project Natal long before it comes out.

Funny you should say that.

[kotaku.com]

Michael McWhertor, the guy in the beard, posted an actual picture of Natal a full month before it was even announced.

wow, these guys are so "ahead" of the times, are they pretending to forecast what could is going to be? Here's an idea, quit pretending like you know anything about the future of games until you start predicting shit like project Natal long before it comes out. These guys don't even do real journalism, now they are bigging themselves up as analysts, i mean, gimme a fucking break and just report on the games and culture instead of riding trends and pretending to be intellectual about the industry. Seriously

MasterOmega

From listening to this I get the feeling that Microsoft is currently doing everything right and Sony is sitting twirling their thumbs.

Why are you making me so sad lately, PS3?

I think the discussion lacked in the fact on how having a controller and not having one at all, as is the case with natal, can change the way casual players approach the games. Lets say for example you teach your mom or dad who have never played videogames how to play tennis on the wii, then is easy for them to think of the controler as the racket, now lets say you want to teach them how to play a racing game, is not as obvious how to hold the wii remote to use it while with natal if you tell them they are going to drive their first instict would be to put their hands in front of them as if they were holding a wheel, there again the wii has the wii wheel but there is more to only tennis and racing game. So the big question overall would be: Which controller is the most suitable to new gamers? Which is, i think their main objective, rather than enhancing the game, after all many of us are pretty comfortable with a controller

Yoship

"Over-engineer"? Really?...That term does not exist, in the same way you can't sub-engineer something.

I agree that Microsoft pioneered the online experience but to say that everyone else is copying them on the dashboard (Sony) and to disregard the Wii's dashboard...

isn't cool?

Dresan

@Dead Giveaway: I think Natal inside Media Center on the 360 will be very smooth. But I am hearing now that it might not happen, if Natal is 360 only and Media Center is really on your PC, they would have to give the PC drivers for it to work in VMC/7MC.

Talryyn

Sweet Beard Broseph Joseph.

@Firemane: Pachter's the greatest! He brings the cold reality of marketing to the table... er... stool-chairs

Love the bonus round. Easily the best "show" on the internet.

Piata

i think i love watching / listening to this stuff because none of my friends are big gaming nerds like me. I really enjoyed it, even if it's just casual conversation about this stuff.

Bonus Round is getting annoying with Pachter being on it all the time. I just started watching Invisible Walls, and it's alot better then Bonus Round.

Firemane

@Dead Giveaway: same here man, i spend more time on the dashboard either listening to music, watching videos, or just talking on a party than actually playing a game.

I thought it was a good episode. Seemed everyone was pretty comfortable slagging stuff off, especially Pachter. lol.

Next time you mention the Vitality Sensor at a webshow, show them this [www.barkerscrest.com]

Guaranteed crack up.

Although there isn't much to the Wii Dashboard, it is very nice using the Wiimote with it. I always thought that the 360 Dashboard would be sweet if we could use a remote like that to browse it.

But it is funny how, just years ago, we never really cared about what our consoles did when a game wasn't in it.

I always got a kick out of the Dreamcast & PS2 dashboard for managing memory, but that was about it. Then with the Original Xbox, I used it to manage the hundreds of songs I ripped to it for gaming.

With the 360, I always use the dashboard, sometimes more than I actually play a game.

Why so hard on yourself, Mike? Patrice Desilets only wishes he had your hair to go with that luscious beard of his.

it was an okay episode ... nothing new i guess

HeaveyMental