@Tonx: i've often thought that a little path finding for the player controls and such would be really nice in a game. let the player focus on where they need to go and what the need to do, leave the finer points of navigating the environment to the computer.

pasquinelli

Hmmm 47 buttons? 15 million gamers?

Dear mister Nolan, alone the PS2 was soled more then 120 million times. Plus the Wii is not evenly spread, it`s what for the age of 40-100? The Wii is nice and fun, for a few hours and not more. I like visit sometimes people and play with them Wii Sports, but I will never buy a Wii due to there targeted group and 99% of the games are just plain crap and the only 1% comes from Capcom or Nintendo. Like the 360 or the PS3 the Wii is also not balanced and evenly spread across the different groups of gamers even not when standing on a balance board that doesn`t make the Wii more balanced in that terms.

Also Pong is now a pure casual game, but I`m quite sure when it came out it wasn`t, at that time games where for geeks and kids only. Plus back at that time there was not much possible to make games complex in terms for how some games are now. A lot of new gamers and social acceptence was already brought in by Sony with the PSone and there was no special or very simple controller or game mechanics and I`m not sure how many people who got a Wii are using it quite often. What`s worse pressing 100 times the X button or waggling the Wii remote 100 times?

New gamers are coming for games and not for controllers, at least the kind of gamers who stay gamers. It`s different with all the "I want to be hip and cool so I buy a Wii it`s totaly in at the moment" "gamers". And well for Casual games? They are fun to play as web based games free of charge for a short time once evry two weeks, besides of that I don`t like the trend to make more "casual" games many of them have no complexity and are just to plain. For me winning a challenging online race in Forza or GT5 Prologue is more fun and entertaining then playing Pong.

Cidor

@RadicalAns: Beat me to it. By my count, there's more buttons there than on a modern controller, plus you don't have the floppy, non-centering analog stick. (And you don't have to take a pencil eraser to the button contacts every six weeks to keep the damn thing usable. Great design, Atari.)

Captain Wrong

@SilverStar95: Isn't that every guy's goal in life though? I know it was mine. And it worked!

Eville1

@RadicalAns: GASP! I had that for my Atari 7800!

There was one game where you put 2 of them into a plastic thing and used it as dual analog sticks. By FAR my favorite game on that system...you could fly one way and shoot the other! Truly ahead of its time.

Spoony Bard

I remember, years ago, my very first FPS experience that involved aiming with the mouse. Up till then I had never "aimed" as we do nowadays with our fancy ways; it'd all been just me turning my guy's head one way or another and shooting. And I remember that it wasn't that hard, but (here's the important part), sitting down to start the game up I WAS RATHER RELUCTANT. I had put it off because the controls seemed too much to handle. I want to play a game, dammit, not learn some designer's interface paradigm!

Needless to say I caught on to it pretty quick, but I recall perfectly well that strange controls intimidate those who are not used to them.

Personally, I can easily see why people would be intimidated by controllers, basically since the PS1/N64 years. No, once you've used it a few times it becomes pretty easy, and eventually second nature. But at first, you're talking about having access to (let's use the PS2 controller) 2 L buttons, 2 R buttons, Square, Circle, Triangle, X, Start, Select, Digital Direction Pad, and 2 Analog sticks (throw in the fact that those two sticks can actually act as another set of L/R buttons and you'll break any non-gamer's head). Furthermore, games are usually somewhat time-dependent tasks that don't allow very slow reviewing of "where are my hands on this controller." Add in the fun-killing frustration of losing because you couldn't control the game properly and you've given any new gamer a significant buzz kill.

I don't know if the Wii is exactly moving on the "problem" correctly or not, but I like the fact that it's trying, and I welcome more attempts by game/console makers in the coming years to avoid locking out new people via their overly brilliant control schemes.

zebber

@Green-clad Gamer Dude: I disagree, while RE4 on Wii is indeed better in controls (especially for aiming stability). It still isn't ready to replace traditional controllers. At most, it'd probably be refined in a later revision by either another company, or Nintendo.
There are flaws with the Wii Mote controllers, and you only have to deal with a few problems when playing RE4 or Bully.

Until we see more games do something interesting, it'll be stuck to old ports or simplistic games and never strive for the complex controls being turned into something simplistic.

@fuchikoma:
The 7 button layout is somewhat accessible, but look at the comparison of being 2 buttons less when you compare the Dreamcast controller to the PSOne. It hampered some things, but there were still great games, but most were exclusive to the console itself.
I'd like to see some better usage of the motion controls, similar to Bully or RE4, but it seems most games just stick to a full waggle scheme with A as yes and B as cancel.

And this guy hasn't been in the industry since I was a kid, does this mean that picture is inaccurate? Looks too young, and does indeed look like Leonardo DiCaprio.

超外人

@AceKicker: Like the pc versions. I loved I and II. When MS bought them they started going way down hill.

It was all about being Khan of Jade Falcon damnit.

Eville1

He looks a hell of a lot like Leonardo DiCaprio.

EmeraldDragon

Dammit I thought the Coleco was complicated.

[www.vintagecomputing.com]

Spoony Bard

@Eville1: better yet, you won't even have to hold your OWN thing! :P

SilverStar95

Excellent picture choice

pikachumariachi

I for one would like the MechWarrior series to stop becoming so arcadey and go back towards the Steel Battalion end of the scale. I want to feel like I'm piloting an 80 ton machine of war, not feel like I'm playing yet another ho hum 3rd person shooter!

AceKicker

"It's basically an 18 to 28 year-old male dominated business of about 15 million."

Is he serious? The PS2 sold over 120 million. the 360 is pushing 20 mill, Wii pushing 30 mill. Current gen is still a few years from ending. This guy is waaaaaaay out of the loop

TheHun

More buttons equals more gameplay options.
More gameplay options do not equal better gameplay.

Forcing designers to incorporate fewer buttons hurts some designs. MGS4 is a great recent example, because of the depth of options you are given with each and every item. Fewer buttons on the PS3 controller would have meant less options.

But then, having fewer buttons helps a great deal of designs as well. Does Metroid need a crouch button? Does any game? We've come to a point in programming now where AI will automatically take cover behind available objects in a gun fight. But why does the AI do it automatically and I have to press a button - or two? Can't the programmers extend that courtesy, saving me a few buttons?

The point is, many games have buttons that are unnecessary. Not all. But many. We are coming to a point where control can afford to be simplified. There will always be a market for more buttons - that's not going away. If anything, it's growing. But for the market to explode, the way Nintendo has encouraged it to, simple is better.

Tonx

Wait a minute, is the Steel Battalion controller becoming standard?

mind in rewind

imagine being an older gamer and picking up a dual shock 3:

8 face buttons
start, select

r1, r2, l1, l2

L-analog, R-analog buttons

L-analog stick , r-analog stick
+ps button
+sixaxis control

== 17 buttons, 2 analog sticks and motion control. => 20 button controller

minus_273

First thing I thought about was the Atari Jaguar which was one of the few systems I didn't really have interest in buying when it came out. The controller looked more like a telephone than a gamepad.

Anyone ever tried to play Smash Brothers with a simple controller that apparently is the future of gaming? There's a place for each device...so thankfully we have so many great options out there these days.

carvelo

RadicalAns

@supercrap: Actually I use a trackball on my PC FPS'.

Go ahead and laugh. Everyone else does until they actually play against me :)

Eville1

@Green-clad Gamer Dude: They added mouselook, and a bit of waggle. Besides making it a bit easier to aim, it didn't charnge much.

Meanwhile, other wii games get saddled with motion controls that are even more iffy and complicated than normal controlls.

It's not a revolution at all, its just replacing complication with more complication and somehow calling it easier.

mrantimatter

@Tonx: Bad word choice on my part perhaps. Gitaroo said he didn't think anyone would remember the traditional controller in ten years time due Nintendo revolutionizing input devices, and I just don't see that happening because it would require the Wiimote making other controllers obsolete.

So while I concede that the Wii is a revolution in the industry I don't think it is the kind of revolution in which people tear down old monuments, and rewrite the history books.

Basically I don't think the industry as a whole is going towards motion devices.

Gouki4u

@Green-clad Gamer Dude: Sorry, double post. My example of a holodeck style virtual reality (moveable floor perhaps? Like a multi directional treadmill?) is that YOU are interacting with the environment you could program yourself. Not just your mind.

Eville1

The number of buttons on an average controller hasn't changed in over 10 years. Why are people complaining about it now? Next thing we'll have people complaining that PC games are too complicated because a QWERTY keyboard has too many letters. As an aside, I would really like to see a trackball implemented in something other than Incredible Technologies' boring garbage.

supercrap

@Green-clad Gamer Dude: I never said I didn't see his, or your point. My point is still that there will always be people who prefer things a different way. Frankly I don't want to get to the point of controlling a game with my mind. I prefer the disconnect of "it's just a game." If I were controlling something with my mind in a video game that would mean that no only are things leaving my mind but it's a two way street. Things are entering my mind. I for one do not want anyone to have access to my brain but me.

Eville1

@Eville1: You're totally wrong. Only two 2 years ago people were playing Re4 with the 'cube and PS2 controller's. Then the Wii came along and they managed to create a much better version of the game solely because of a new control scheme. The progression away from these traditional controllers has already started. 10 years from now we'll probably be playing games with our minds. And nobody is even going to look back and care about traditional controls. As gaming technology advances, better and simpler control schemes will follow. The only reason anyone is even gonna touch the controls we use now, is going to be for the nostalgia of playing older games. And even then, we'll probably have those ported and compatible with a mental control scheme as well.

Green-clad Gamer Dude

@Gitaroo_Dude: Minority? HAhaha oh man, you are so, so wrong.

When we finally have that immersion think Holodeck. You won't need to be holding a single thing.

Eville1

@Gouki4u: Huh?

3-D hasn't made 2-D obsolete. CGI hasn't made hand-drawn animation obsolete. Polygons haven't made pixels obsolete. Analog sticks haven't made D-Pads obsolete. And the Wiimote isn't about to make a keyboard or a dualshock obsolete.

You don't have to conquer an industry to force a revolution. Just challenge it.

Tonx

And again, Wiimote + Nunchuk = joystick, d-pad, and 7 game buttons, plus two special function buttons, plus waggle, point, twist, jolt, and other gestures.

In comparison, DS3 has 10-12 game buttons and one special function button. In most games, subtract start and select.

What makes Wii games approachable is that they're simple, not the controllers. You could do just as simple a game on anything else with a single button and 1 or 2 thumbsticks. I think some do, they're just usually ignored by many for being shallow and repetetive.

fuchikoma

@NYLatenite:
You beat me to it.

for reference, the steel battalion controller.

[en.wikipedia.org]

brokenscope

@Ashurahori: You've said everything there was to say. Bushnell has been out of the business for, what, two decades? Why are we still listening to his "expert" advice again? But of course, it's cooler to make fun of Pachter.

Antiterra - No Country For Old Snake

@Talleh: I don't get why people go crazy over lightly shaking the remote in Super Mario Galaxy to spin attack, its childish to complain about it, and heck I loved swinging the remote around in Twilight Princess, in the boss fights I'd be really getting into killing those bastards

excel_excel

I completely agree - the 47-button controllers are great, but completely intimidating to non-gamers. (Try getting your parents or girlfriend to play, right?) Pong they understand - Wii Sports they understand (if you go through the menus for them). Wii Fit they understand. WoW? No chance.

The games market should be bigger - millions bigger, hundreds of millions bigger. Nintendo had to emulate a television remote, and now a bathroom scale, for the momentum to build. But now it's rolling, and we're back on our way to having games on the full spectrum for all ages and all experiences again.

He's absolutely right. Anyone who disagrees, go pick up Katamari Damacy and try to get people who don't play games to try it. If you succeed, ask them why they were so apprehensive about playing video games. Same answer every time - it looks too complicated.

Tonx

@Gitaroo_Dude: I remember when people said the same think about virtual reality, but it never panned out. I don't think the Wii is going to revolutionize the industry. To do so it would have to make all other forms of input obsolete, and clearly it hasn't done that.

Gouki4u

Leonardo DeCaprio as Nolan Bushnell? FAIL

Kamesen

Congratulations, Mr. Ashukurafuto. Nicely played.

wild homes 5: no disassemble!

Steel Battalion...windshield wipers... 'nuff said.

NYLatenite

ok,2 things, I'm listening to the departed soundtrack right now, and yesterday a buddy of mine found an Atari 7800 in his barn and we spent last night playing Pac-Man and Sorcerer.

ggodo

I think there's 3 levels of control systems, simple controllers like the Wii, average controllers like 360 and PS3 pads and then keyboard controls which are the 47 buttoners. I don't think many people should complain at anything up to the average level since you can easily fit both hands around a pad and have access to all buttons. A bit of memory and anyone can use a controller since it's designed intuitively towards gaming. I could see how people knew to PC's would find them hard but who doesn't use a PC nowadays anyway?

Llost

"Nolan Bushnell (pictured)"

Haha, you're funny Bash.

dead_red_eyes

I really liked you in the Departed Nolan. Keep up the good work.

Locke562

@chuffhoncho:
that makes sense.

McFazo

@Humpski: You beat me to posting it, lol

Ecks

Simmer down gran'pa!

Seriously though, am I the only gamer who feels no attachment to this guy whatsoever.

Like, I had an Atari, I loved it. But, this guy, I don't know. He seems like a opportunist to me.

Woodwater

Instead of harping on the guy for obvious sarcasm/exaggeration to make a point about the current state of gaming; wouldn't it be worth while to discuss the issue of controller overcomplexity? (If there is one)

I agree that developers sometimes try to cram too many moves/interactions on a single game pad. But I don't see an issue with having more complex designs if they enable more immersion and accessibility. The Wii controller is simplistic in it's hand-held design, but I would argue it's application can be made more complex. Which I guess can trigger a conversation not about 47 buttons, but 47 waggling interactions to command something on screen.

raptorsrevenge

@Eville1:

That's fine and dandy, but people like that are in the minority and getting progressively steamrolled by the success of the Wii.

Gitaroo_Dude

Nolan Bushnell: there are only about 15 million gamers worldwide.

CCCombobreaker

Now that is funny. Well done.

mva5580

Insert motivational poster of PS4.
Also, there is a difference between a controller being too complicated, and over simplified. Since the Wii has what, like 8 buttons, they have to pigeon-hole in bad motion controls, when they could have just assigned it to R1 or A or a normal button, instead of spin, stab, twist, A and Z at once. The PS3 has the same number of buttons as the PS2, and sold what, like 127 million units? I'm sure the Wii will meet that number eventually, but that kinda shows that it isn't the buttons, maybe people are just getting used to everything being ergonomic and slick and minimalist, that they forget things need to be useful and functional sometime.

Talleh

@MasterDex: phh you show off, god damn kids today with there 7000 thousaud buttons and twin analogue sticks! In my day you only needed a joystick and one button and even then you only used the button once every fortnight *cough, splutter*

excel_excel

"Nolan Bushnell (pictured)..."

Hey! Didn't he die in the end of Titanic? Must have been another Nolan, then... ^_^

Shiryu

You really want to see a 47-button controller?

[www.alphagrips.com]

I actually own one of these crazy things.

greymatterpimp

Glad I'm not the only who was thinking he's no longer relevant today either. I do partially agree with him though, if only because he's stating the obvious.

Destrudo

47 "love buttons" FTW

gentlejones

@Gitaroo_Dude: I have to disagree. There are some people who are going to want the "disconnect" that a controller provides. You want immersion then do away with controllers completely. Some people will want to be reminded or at least feel like they're playing a game and not living or acting in one.

Eville1

Here's an article that has pictures of a 42 button controller. That's close enough.

[www.cracked.com]

Humpski

i think it's insulting if any game system has more then 1/2 of a button otherwise it's too complicated for brian~!

Bleentastic sees bandwagon and jumps

@Jamez: I have 25 here that claims from the toilet.

slomo788

@MasterDex: I also forgot about my 7 button add-on peripheral

MasterDex

@Mr. Fap☆Fap!: Yar, wtf are you doing up. Or are you...

20 bucks says he's posting news from bed.

Jamez

Not sure what he's worried about.

Nintendo already figured this out, and it's given them unprecedented success.

10 years from now, Nintendo's ideas will have changed the industry in so many ways I scarcely think anyone will remember the traditional controller setup at all.

Gitaroo_Dude

I think the Jaguar had about 47 buttons

mast3r_blast3r

was he around for the whole jaguar thing?

pasquinelli

47 button controller? Pshhh, mine has 104 XD

MasterDex

"Nolan Bushnell (pictured)..."

Oh Bash will you have my kids?

slomo788

Nolan Bushnell hasn't been in the actual game industry for years. Just because he invented the wheel, it doesn't mean he knows how a Volvo works.

Ashurahori

Isn't it like 4am for you, Ashcraft?

Mr. Fap☆Fap!

Yeah, those crazy Personal Computers and their many buttons on the keyboard. So glad we have the Wii to not have to deal with those monstrosities.

sevendash

@GusherKid: May play him in a biopic.

Anyway, I like this guy's futurist ideas but really, come on..Where's Atari at now? You'd think he'd be the last guy anyone would take business advice from.

Eville1

...is rumored to be playing Nolan in an upcoming biopic.

chuffhoncho

Leonardo DiCaprio?

GusherKid

@Eville1:

"If I were controlling something with my mind in a video game that would mean that no only are things leaving my mind but it's a two way street. Things are entering my mind. I for one do not want anyone to have access to my brain but me."

I hate to burst your bubble there, but things ARE entering your mind now. It's called visual, audial and tactile stimuli. If you think controlling a game with your brain means the game is sending signals directly into your brain, well, I'm actually flabbergasted by such a comment...

NeoAkira

I've already got a 99 button controller, called the keyboard, but if you wanna go hardcore go for something make by logitech with even more buttons!

JamieA

@MasterDex: I was thinking exactly the same thing.

mizeriq

@wild homes 5: no disassemble!: I'm young at heart. :(

Spoony Bard

ATARI JAGUAR! lol!!!

seriously, do at least a cursory check to see if your about to post something redundant.

pasquinelli

I don't get the picture. Someone explain it to me please.

goldwings

In other news, the inventor the steam engine has posthumously criticized the western world for its dependence on oil. Everyone feels kinda like they maybe should care about what he thinks, but they really don't. Legacy doesn't buy understanding.

Moonshadow101

@Eville1: i totally agree with you. Basically to me the wii is like a gateway drug. Thats how i got my girlfriend to play the ps3, i got her to play the wii first

blackpanther25

An old person likes the Wii. Shocking.

ビッグ ボス

The Atari Jaguar's controller had 30 buttons!

See: [www.atariage.com]

funkonaut

@pandafresh: Jesus, just imagine trying to PICK UP the Steel Battalion controller. You'd need, like, three arms.

wild homes 5: no disassemble!

@Spoony Bard: How old are we, and how young are some of these Kotaku turks, that we need to link them to an image of a Colecovision?

Man, I feel old.

wild homes 5: no disassemble!

imagine the steel battalion controller...with WAGGLE!
limitless possibilities!

pandafresh

Nolan Bushnell, as in the founder of Atari, that created the Jaguar?

[en.wikipedia.org]

Genocyde

since Nolan left Atari 30 years ago I think it's safe to assume he had no influence over the company adding phone keypads to the 5200 and Jaguar...

rf switch

This coming from the man who Ok'd the Jaguar controller...

chemical_eng_mx

"Nolan Bushnell (pictured)"

I see what you did there.

Combichristoffersen

@Cidor: dear mr/ms cidor, TLDR

pasquinelli

It's called a Keyboard..

Shawk

47-button controllers, ha!

We've been dealing with 104+ button controllers for decades now. Console gamers are so far behind the times...

Xagest

@Spoony Bard: LOL, yeah. According to that picture, it takes three people to use that Colecovision controller.

Or one GTAIV hooker...

Eltigro

WOW, Nolan sure has aged well...
I wish I was like him.

udiie

I personally enjoy controllers with more buttons/options. I think the 8 (or 11, I guess, if you count the center/back/start buttons) on the 360 controller is great for consoles, and the keyboard is great for PC.

Although just because the controllers have that many buttons doesn't necessarily mean they have to all have a function mapped to them.

Strangelove

So we fundamentally go back in time and become Neanderthal and can only push 1-2 buttons!

@JamieA:

G15 with the blue back light and 18 buttons and three modes each FTW!

EnigmaNemesis

These old outta touch fogeys make me laugh

Orionsaint

These Jaguar comments are priceless! I'm pretty sure Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Brothers long before Jaguar was ever thought of,but don't let that stop you from copying someone else's unfunny joke.
Cidor's post should be post of the week. Pong was for kids and geeks? It was only located in barrooms originally. Plus he gets extra points for laughably bad grammar throughout.

kidnicky

@NeoAkira:

To clarify, the immersion that I put quotes around at the end is the "total immersion" (which I assume would be like the PS2/PS9 commercials) which you claim to have talked about yet only stated immersion as a general noun.

Hint: I can be immersed in a game like Bioshock, is it sending unfiltered stimuli straight to my brain? Shows how little you know about the Thalamus and our brain's processing of stimuli.

NeoAkira

@Eville1:

Actually you never mentioned total immersion in your previous comments that were replied to. here's what you did say:

"Frankly I don't want to get to the point of controlling a game with my mind. I prefer the disconnect of "it's just a game." If I were controlling something with my mind in a video game that would mean that no only are things leaving my mind but it's a two way street. Things are entering my mind. I for one do not want anyone to have access to my brain but me."

and earlier:

"You want immersion then do away with controllers completely. Some people will want to be reminded or at least feel like they're playing a game and not living or acting in one."

Still nothing about this fictional "immersion" that you claim to have talked about. You only talked about controlling the game with your mind, which you seem to think requires inserting a probe in your brain. Now I'm flabbergasted all over again, except this time it's over your lack of reading comprehension skills.

NeoAkira

@NeoAkira: Yes but those are processed by a proprietary system..My brain. Not dependent on outside sources for controlled images like hit boxes or complex schemes for super moves in a fighting game. The minute you pipe in outside stimuli directly into the brain without a way to control it yourself you lose control. Think of how easy it would be to slip malicious code into a brain game and take control of someone. And we seem to be talking at different levels and ideas of what a "brain controlling game" would be. If you'd bothered to read my earlier statement you'd see I was speaking of total immersion. Not just sitting in front of a screen silently while blinking and making shit happen. I meant a game that takes place completely within the brain. So please, be flabbergasted somewhere else.

Eville1

It's all in peoples heads. The Wiimote is just as complicated for complicated games as a PS3 or 360. A minigame collection doesn't require 10 buttons to play so its easier. Makes sense that simple games on Wii sell more. One of these days when the people who bought the Wii are used to the simple stuff they may move on to the more complicated, and they will find the skills they have to aquire with the wii-mote and nunchuck are going to carry over into the PS3 and 360.

Cartman86

@NeoAkira: Pardon me if my nerd got in the way but what would you classify a holodeck as?

Eville1

Jesus Christ, the guy's not saying that all the multi-buttoned controllers should be done away with, guys, and if you'd all stop ignoring the issue at hand and commenting on "DiCaprio, lol," you'd see he's saying that the industry needs to spread out the market evenly so every age group, every demograph, casuals and hardcore alike, get an even piece of the pie. I know there are big casual games like Wii Fit and the like, but those are a handful while the big, "hardcore" gamers have a new game to rave about every other week.

Instead of treating it like a threat, think of it as a 'peace treaty.'

Ninja-Z

@minus_273:

Analog nature of buttons doesn't add to the total number. So it's really merely 11, plus two sticks and the d-pad.

On topic, let's take the simplicity a step further and have one button, and a stick instead of a pad. That way your arm can get some exercise.

SG79

47 buttons, Atari Jaguar?

andystep12

@Eville1:

yes which does not mean that the stimuli are entering your brain unfiltered, which was what your original comment said, which is what I commented on in the first place.

We made a full circle you see.

NeoAkira

@NeoAkira: "That's all still external stimuli. It is no different then going to a basketball game and eating a hot dog."

Which is the point of immersion. Whatever.

Eville1

@TheGreySpectre: [en.wikipedia.org]

Everyone who beta tested it got the giant ass controller for free.

Eville1

@Eville1:

you mean this?

"The holodeck is depicted as an enclosed room in which objects and people are simulated by a combination of replicated matter, tractor beams, and shaped force fields onto which holographic images are projected. Sounds and smells are simulated by speakers and fragranced fluid atomizers, respectively. The feel of a large environment is simulated by suspending the participants on force fields which move with their feet, keeping them from reaching the walls of the room (a virtual treadmill). Perspective is retained through use of sound damping fields and graviton lenses, which make objects, people, and sounds appear to be more distant. The effect is an ultra-realistic simulation of an environment, with which the user can interact."

That's all still external stimuli. It is no different then going to a basketball game and eating a hot dog.

NeoAkira

Steel Batalion?

TheGreySpectre

@Ultrasinc:

You could just go to "options" then to the key assignment...

Though frankly, I often have to do that 10 times in-game before I really get it.

SuperMaxZero

Yeah, trying to figure out how to play a PC game without the instruction manual... i painful...

Ultrasinc

@NeoAkira: In my post following that one my brain made the leap to internal immersion. Eh, shit happens. I'm still not letting anyone install anything into my head. I may be paranoid but, well, yeah I am.

Eville1

I think we're at a point where controllers are at just about the maximum of their ability to hold more buttons. Adding any more to the PS3 or 360 controllers wouldn't make any sense.

Blah8

I would pay to see all the crazy Nolan Bushnell quotes coming out of Leo's mouth.

Maybe a scene with Leo punching himself in the face after the Apple explodes onto the market, or him walking around Chuck-E-Cheese's screaming at kids to spend more money, or crying as he's forced to sell off his homes, jet and other assets. I'm laughing just thinking about it!

imskacore

@Eville1: Yeah, I beat Portal twice using mine. Great fun. (I hate mice)

supercrap

A 47 button controller? That almost sounds like the Atari Jaguar controller.

Sasquatch

The 47 button controller? Isn't that the keyboard?

dunnace

just say jaguar or keyboard one more time mother fucker.

pasquinelli

The level of ignorance from some posters regarding Bushnell and the Atari Jaguar is astounding. Do you people not know he sold his interest in Atari YEARS before Jaguar was released? The Tramiels owned Atari when Jaguar was around.

A Jaguar controller has 17 buttons plus the d-pad and the Pro Controller has an additional two with the introduction of shoulder buttons.

DreamcastRIP

Well, it seems like the Jaguar DID have a positive impact, after all! :-p

TheLastSouthernGentleman