I thought MS said that these motion controls were just a gimmick?

Interesting..the codename is the same as my name.
This is for Banjo right?

I can sense things are going to get a lot worse from here on out

This device is as inevitable as the dual analog. It will be released.

@"So what if it flops?"
Well what about the gamers who are going to buy these new peripherals? If the thing flops a few months after release, people would have basically just wasted their money.

Sure there might not be anything to lose from Microsoft's point of view, but if it didn't work on the PS3 then it's unlikely to work on the 360 too.

Just to confirm, MICROSOFT has decided to codename a project NEWTON. As in the guy with the APPLE. Just want to be clear on that point.

If it's anything like its namesake, it will wildly misinterpret any gesture you make with it!

Expect Sonys "Waggle" at the same time.

A Wiimote ripoff won't help Microsoft compete with Nintendo, and games-wise, it won't do any good against Sony either. The Wii is too much of a casual device to even be approached by these hardcore systems and the war between 360 and PS3, according to most people, was a fight of the better games so far. Gimmicky, probably unresponsive wiggling will do as much for Microsoft as tilt did for Sony.

I'm not getting it. I already have a Wii, why would I want a wii-mote knock-off for the 360? I get enough waggle as it is.

Well, not that i'm in linew for the thing, but if it's reasonably supported and priced, it wouldn't be bad. People already buy wheels and guitars and cameras and flightsticks and dancepads.

I really don't think support for this device would come pouring in. I see it going the way of the vision cam.

So…
are they going to release one game and announce they have covered that market, only to never support it ever again…

"Newton"? Really?

You piss off the few of us who actually loved the Newton and associate this new product with one so universally ridiculed for everyone else who even remembers it?

Its just amazing to me how successful MS is, given how borderline-retarded so much of their marketing and strategy appears at first glance.

Not that they're the only company you could make that statement about ;)

I hope this isn't true, because if 360 games start using stupid gimmicky bullshit controls like the Wii, I will stop buying 360 games.

Lame, and yet ...

I would love to play more FPS with Wii-mote style pointer controls.

Infinitely better than analog aiming in FPS.

what? no nunchuck attachment too? how will i get my analog stick experience?

So stupid. Count me out.

There's a reason that Nintendo is re-releasing the gamecube controller for the Wii.

the gyroscope will help the position detection no end - after using the Wiimote for quite a while you realise just how insensitive it is at times when it really should be better.

I don't see anything wrong with them doing it if they provide a better experience to use it than the wiimote which I think is eminently possible

Waggle this, waggle that. The Wiimote-Nunchuck combo works infinitely better for FPS's than POS dual analog. If I could have that control scheme with the 360's graphics I'd be happy.

That said, im still waiting for SCE to fully support the Playstation Eye with the motion contol pattern recognition, 3D tracking it is capable of.

The PSEye could emulate several Wii remotes as pointers and as motion controllers, if only someone tried.

So... is that admitting it is a good idea?

@enewtabie: "Interesting..the codename is the same as my name."

TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW. NOW!!!!

Gears of War 2 with waggle cover system coming soon.

Something like No More Heroes though... on a stronger system that could render a much larger world...mmmm... I think that's the best Wii game I've played so far. Lopping heads off with a beam katana was way too fun. A motion based controller doesn't HAVE to cater only to a casual market. Metroid had awesome controls, I just didn't personally care for the level design.

Only thing I don't understand is what purpose would it serve? The 360 has already created their "base" controller so at this point all it could be is a gimmick. And even if it is a gimmick with the Wii as well, at least it's their MAIN gimmick and essentially what the system is based around. I don't see what MS gains from this, it's not like this controller automatically means they're competing more with Nintendo. And besides Nintendo has branded themselves as the "casual" console, which obviously is well-suited to a controller like this, where as the 360 is more "hardcore," and I don't see where this controller fits into that.

They can release a controller like this, have their own virtual console, and whatever else, but the bottom line is that Sony and MS can never TRULY compete with Nintendo in the ways they're thinking because they will never have Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Donkey Kong, and every other Nintendo franchise you want to throw out there.

As the man himself said,
"If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants"

Xbox360: The Minigame Collection vols. 1 & 2 CONFIRMED!

Seriously though, a waggle-mote is not the panacea, cure-all that Microsoft needs right now. I just don't see this as being very popular, unless Star Wars: TFU supports it.

@brent_w:

Exaclty my thoughts. I first couldn't get over how dumb I thought this was, then I started to think about FPS aiming. However, this can also create another problem. If it is instituted as a control option for a FPS, someone using it now has an advantage over someone using a regular controller. If you think people whine about whis weapon is noob and that perk is noob etc. etc. Wait til people start using this thing......it's gonna get ugly.

Makes sense to me - why not expand your market into other currently popular areas. Anybody who knows anything about MS knows they are no strangers to just boldfaced assimilation of ideas - hasn't killed them yet.

@Dag: I couldn't agree more. To call the Wiimote "stupid gimmicky bullshit" is spot on. It's a lucrative fad and nothing more. I can't wait till it peters out.

You know how people complain about devs coming up with games that are very very pretty but don't advance gameplay in any way? Well, let me be among those who complain about devs who are coming up with games that use gimmick bullshit waggling controls and don't advance gameplay at all.

And if you think waggling a piece of plastic around is advancement or innovation, you're either 8 years old or you wear your pants on your head.

It baffles me to no end why Microsoft would want to emulate the Wii, especially coming this late to the party. Maybe they're having motion-control envy because of Sony and Nintendo. They should know their core market better.

I wish the whole waggle-controller fad would fuck right off. Long live the 360, but without this nonsense.

Waggle in HD!

I WILL NOT buy games which force me to use gimmicky controls that could easily be done with a dual-analog control scheme. See: Lair.

ok, i REALLY hope that picture is a mockup of the actual Micromote. if not, this is going to get shit on worse than Collecovision's controller(it even looks the same, analog stick above the buttons).

i mean, how the hell do you control both the analog and buttons at the same time? you'd have to have been born with an extra finger or two in order to work it correctly, if that picture is IT.

and concerning what this means for the wii... meh, it won't do much. that white monolith is on a track of it's own(in comparison) and can tell this thing isn't going to affect it any.

I don't know why Microsoft didn't set out from the get-go and spend an extra dollar or two to stick a 6-axis accelerometer in their already overpriced controller. They should have foreseen this debacle and avoided it. They'd still have made a very hefty profit on the controllers, and saved themselves all this trouble in the long-run.

BTW that was sarcasim for "Do Not Want".

I hope this makes it to market. I see homebrew wii emulators on 360(probably on ps3 too) in the future.

@brent_w: well yeah, it's common knowledge that FPSs belong on the PC. ;)

If MS can get the the 360 Dashboard to work with a remote the way the Wiimote works with the Wiiboard it'll be pretty interesting.

NEWTON...more like OLDTON

Anyone remember the Apple Newton?

@Darkedge: The wii-mote is not insensitive, the crappy programing found in most Wii-titles is the source of the insensitivity.

@Dag: would you mind qualifying that beyond knee-jerk fanboy reactionism (apologies if this seems like name-calling, it seems an appropriate handle here)

I for one consider that anyone adopting this control scheme is furthering our options as gamers and thus doing us a great service...

Small minded nay-saying, had it ruled the day, would of resulted in us still playing with joysticks coupled with a single button.

newsflash Microsoft... the public don't want this!

@MisterSleep:
It's wireless and you control things with it!

@DaPress: You are shortsighted and just too much of a chicken to try anything new. Dual analog will eventually die, you best get used to it.

The real question:
Will the PS4 and Xbox 720 have wiimotes instead of standard controllersas their main input system? Have graphics already reached a point of diminisjing returns and won't improve that much more?

I'm surprised it took them this long...

I like the idea, and I own all three current-gen consoles.

If anything, it'll ensure that the 360 can get some ports from the Wii - not that there's much MS would want (and could get) right now. But later on, things will doubtlessly change, and this would give the 360 another edge over the PS3 in its library.

IMHO, what Microsoft wants, really, is for the 360 to be the lead development platform for all games. They don't really care as much if games are multi-platform if they work best on the 360. The 36mote is a step towards that.

And, as others have pointed out, if Microsoft can really make this work better than the Wiimote (and I believe it's possible!), they'll have a real coup on their hands when it comes to reviews. They'll just need a killer casual game or two.

I wonder what exactly they're planning to do. Will it be usable with the games currently out there? Or will it be for a specific line of games yet to be released. I mean it might be interesting to try to play something like Halo or CoD4 with this.

but i don't wanna flail my arms playing games.

i just wanna sit on my couch and chill with a good game.

motion controllers & 6 axis ftl

I hope this is true because I really like games like Zack & Wicky. So if the 360 gets a wii like controller more people get to play these new awesome games.

If you don't like it, don't buy it. Games won't force this gimmick on you. As for me, I'm happy I'll be able to play Rayman Raving Rabbids 4 properly on the 360.

@DaPress:

I think waggling a piece of plastic around is advancement and innovation, and I'm not 8 years old nor do I wear my pants on my head. Sometimes simplification is the most difficult thing to do successfully, especially in the world of computers. Making some games accessible to people who would never think of playing any games a) innovates, by creating a market b) advances, by enlarging the existing market. I wish I could say that I was shocked at the virulent negative reactions that making more people happy has engendered. Unfortunately, I'm painfully familiar with the sort of elitist clique-oriented reptilian territorialism that attaches itself to anything cool or fun and festers like an untreated leprous pustule, flinging bile at whoever seeks to treat it, shunning the light to where it can dwell alone with its p