Well, E3 is in full swing and already we have what is bound to be an overly analysed (by me, anyway) talking point for months to come. I'm referring to Microsoft's Project Natal, revealed in this horrific presentation (please note the disclaimer in bottom left).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oACt9R9z37U
As you can see, MS has decided to pay homage to the Nintendo advertising tradition. Bullshittingly perfect Nuclear family - check. Pukeingly vibrant primary colours - check. Sanity devouring background music - check. Idealised representation of what constitutes personal and family enjoyment - check. Not only did they follow these ancient precepts, they added their own disgusting twist to it. Not only do we have the Ninty Family to cope with, a distinct taste of Facebook has been shat all over it - resulting in the putrid illustration of human interaction between the daughter and her friend.
I've always found this advertising method a strange one. I mean, do families like this even exist anymore? They should stay in the fucking 50's advertising world where they belong. Using me as an example, let's analyse the shortcomings of this advert. Divorced parents (this must be more common than regular families by now, surely?), lives with one parent and her partner, no siblings . That has already erased two characters from this advertising drama. What remains? A floppy haired skateboarding prick and a fuck brained Facebookite. I fall into neither category. Maybe the advert was trying to appeal to me through the games on display, let's take a look. Hmm... a generic racer coupled with Eyetoy quality mini games. Intriguing. The only reason I fell for this shit with the Wii was because it was the first time I had seen anything like it. Now I can see it for the bland "Mii Too!" attempt by Microsoft it really is.
I have long reflected on the bitter disappointment the Wii represents to me: what was once a glimmering hope for a new, refreshing way to interact with the usually brilliant games of my favourite developer has quickly rotted into a medium used exclusively for the playing of waggle-fest minigame collections - lorded over by a once great videogame developer who have now reduced themselves to a crowd pleasing by-the-numbers factory, churning out reissues and watered down sequels, deaf to the screams for a classic Ninty game of yore. Who can blame them? Everyone ignored them during the Gamecube days when they trickled out works of gaming perfection like Pikmin, F Zero GX and The Wind Waker. Now that they've started to shit out Wii Fit and Breathing Training, they're rolling around in piles of money larger than Ocarina of Time or Super Mario Galaxy could ever give them. I'll be pleasantly surprised if this scheme amounts to anything different under Microsoft's adoption.
Now because of their success, it's become apparent that the only way to make real money in the videogame industry is to follow suit, create an advertising campaign created in the hope of misleading a head of the household to pick one up, piss around with tennis for five minutes and let it gather dust under the television. One can't help but wonder how many actual videogames could have been funded with the cash used on this horseshit.
The other worry is the control scheme itself. The novelty worn off, I quickly realised the sense of detachment caused by the use of the Wiimote - which seemed entirely counter-productive to it's purpose of relating real world actions with onscreen movement. Even with things like Metroid Prime 3, I longed for a thumbstick to twiddle around instead of a lump of plastic to swing around. This can only be worse with the removal of a solid pad entirely.
No matter what videogame you're playing, chances are your avatar is holding an object of some kind whether it be a steering wheel, a sword or a gun... or some bastardised approximation. A control pad offers a physical object with which to imprint with those characteristics, along with a means to control it. Maybe it's just because of the fact that I've grown up with a control pad, but I find the prospect of a first person shooter sans controller a terrifying one. I need something more tangible than air. A wiseman (well... Richard Smith) once reflected that through the use of a control pad, videogame interaction is identical - irresp ective of what you're playing, you're just pushing buttons. The only difference is which buttons do what. I don't find this a shortcoming, I find it an anchor to be used in allowing a user to interact with a game world. Once the basic tool is learned, it can be used to allow you to do whatever you please. Paradoxically, the freedom of movement is restrictive on the available control schemes.
That's my pound coin thrown in the fountain. I would say something on how this seems another step in morphing the videogame console into some grotesque and diluted replacement for every media device in the household. I could even ***** about Facebook compatibility leaking into where it doesn't belong and how videogame consoles should exist exclusively for the use of videogames. There is already a device used to combine all forms of digital media into a physical hub - it's called a PC. You can play videogames on that too.
But I won't say any of that. I wouldn't want to come across as a moany bastard. Well, I guess all the physical activity which seems to be required of us to play a basic videogame nowadays is a pain in the ass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oACt9R9z37U
As you can see, MS has decided to pay homage to the Nintendo advertising tradition. Bullshittingly perfect Nuclear family - check. Pukeingly vibrant primary colours - check. Sanity devouring background music - check. Idealised representation of what constitutes personal and family enjoyment - check. Not only did they follow these ancient precepts, they added their own disgusting twist to it. Not only do we have the Ninty Family to cope with, a distinct taste of Facebook has been shat all over it - resulting in the putrid illustration of human interaction between the daughter and her friend.
I've always found this advertising method a strange one. I mean, do families like this even exist anymore? They should stay in the fucking 50's advertising world where they belong. Using me as an example, let's analyse the shortcomings of this advert. Divorced parents (this must be more common than regular families by now, surely?), lives with one parent and her partner, no siblings . That has already erased two characters from this advertising drama. What remains? A floppy haired skateboarding prick and a fuck brained Facebookite. I fall into neither category. Maybe the advert was trying to appeal to me through the games on display, let's take a look. Hmm... a generic racer coupled with Eyetoy quality mini games. Intriguing. The only reason I fell for this shit with the Wii was because it was the first time I had seen anything like it. Now I can see it for the bland "Mii Too!" attempt by Microsoft it really is.
I have long reflected on the bitter disappointment the Wii represents to me: what was once a glimmering hope for a new, refreshing way to interact with the usually brilliant games of my favourite developer has quickly rotted into a medium used exclusively for the playing of waggle-fest minigame collections - lorded over by a once great videogame developer who have now reduced themselves to a crowd pleasing by-the-numbers factory, churning out reissues and watered down sequels, deaf to the screams for a classic Ninty game of yore. Who can blame them? Everyone ignored them during the Gamecube days when they trickled out works of gaming perfection like Pikmin, F Zero GX and The Wind Waker. Now that they've started to shit out Wii Fit and Breathing Training, they're rolling around in piles of money larger than Ocarina of Time or Super Mario Galaxy could ever give them. I'll be pleasantly surprised if this scheme amounts to anything different under Microsoft's adoption.
Now because of their success, it's become apparent that the only way to make real money in the videogame industry is to follow suit, create an advertising campaign created in the hope of misleading a head of the household to pick one up, piss around with tennis for five minutes and let it gather dust under the television. One can't help but wonder how many actual videogames could have been funded with the cash used on this horseshit.
The other worry is the control scheme itself. The novelty worn off, I quickly realised the sense of detachment caused by the use of the Wiimote - which seemed entirely counter-productive to it's purpose of relating real world actions with onscreen movement. Even with things like Metroid Prime 3, I longed for a thumbstick to twiddle around instead of a lump of plastic to swing around. This can only be worse with the removal of a solid pad entirely.
No matter what videogame you're playing, chances are your avatar is holding an object of some kind whether it be a steering wheel, a sword or a gun... or some bastardised approximation. A control pad offers a physical object with which to imprint with those characteristics, along with a means to control it. Maybe it's just because of the fact that I've grown up with a control pad, but I find the prospect of a first person shooter sans controller a terrifying one. I need something more tangible than air. A wiseman (well... Richard Smith) once reflected that through the use of a control pad, videogame interaction is identical - irresp ective of what you're playing, you're just pushing buttons. The only difference is which buttons do what. I don't find this a shortcoming, I find it an anchor to be used in allowing a user to interact with a game world. Once the basic tool is learned, it can be used to allow you to do whatever you please. Paradoxically, the freedom of movement is restrictive on the available control schemes.
That's my pound coin thrown in the fountain. I would say something on how this seems another step in morphing the videogame console into some grotesque and diluted replacement for every media device in the household. I could even ***** about Facebook compatibility leaking into where it doesn't belong and how videogame consoles should exist exclusively for the use of videogames. There is already a device used to combine all forms of digital media into a physical hub - it's called a PC. You can play videogames on that too.
But I won't say any of that. I wouldn't want to come across as a moany bastard. Well, I guess all the physical activity which seems to be required of us to play a basic videogame nowadays is a pain in the ass.
