Kotaku
Nintendo honcho Satoru Iwata, in an interview meant for an investment audience, says that if a rumored Xbox 360 Wiimote clone in fact becomes a reality, by itself it's not much of a threat to the company's top position in console sales.
Innovating on that console is the key, Iwata explains. And if Nintendo can keep beating others to the punch on new ways to play new games, it will do just fine.
"What matters to us is whether or not we can continue to constantly create and offer new surprises one after another. If we can, then (other company's attempt to launch Wii Remote-like controller) should not be a big threat.The efforts in this field to try to appeal to a wide variety of customers are something in which we saw potential early on and that we have been working on the longest, so there appears to be no reason whatsoever why we need to be concerned."
Iwata says that the video game space can be a risky place for new entrants — sure, no argument. But Microsoft is hardly some art-house developer looking for a break, and it's shown enormous tolerance for losing money here, too.
Still The $64,000 question here is more for Microsoft than Nintendo. Microsoft probably wants to use an "Xmote" to unify casual and hardcore gamers into buying a 360. Perhaps Sony thought the same thing too, and the SIXAXIS has gotten absolutely nowhere as an innovation on the PS3, where it is optional, not integral, to gaming.
Of course you can use a Wiimote for a driving game more serious than Mario Kart, but gamers have gotten by just fine without one. And there's such an orthdoxy to FPS controls now, I'm not sure it makes much difference. So, yes, a controller by itself means little. The titles that are written specifically for it, that is where the threat lies, and its something no one can estimate just yet.
Iwata Not Threatened by Rumored Xbox 360 Wiimote Clone [QJ.Net, thanks to El Cernex]
Comments
Gotta give it to Microsoft, they're trying.
Maybe Microsoft should start widening up their catalogue so it appeals to more than testosteroned men, than making phallic controllers.
I speak as an owner of both a Wii and a 360.
I'm not really worried about Nintendo sales at all. It's great that their innovation is (supposedly) catching on.
I can't wait until X-Fit is released.
Wow, if this remote sells well, I'm going to every xbot I knew who screamed the wii was stupid for waggle, and wiimote smacking them
@BlackDove: If trying mean's dissing somthing and then ripping it off because it does well, then sure there trying
@Malvolio the Magician: That'll happen as soon as Nintendo starts widening their catalog so it appeals to more than girls and old people.
Har har. C WHAT I DID???
Of course it's not a threat. Same way the Zune wasn't a threat to the iPod.
Let's give Iwata a giant "No shit, Sherlock."
@KaneRobot:
But what about the PS3?
I can't think of a generic generalisation for their fanboys.
@KaneRobot: Yeah the only diffrence is the wii has more then that, the 360 doesn't have much more, go look at the library and see if its wrong and yeah i have a 360 and a wii to
I've never really understood the point of MS's newton controller. It's purpose is obviously to draw in the same consumers who bought the Wii for its motion-sensitive controls.
But the Wii has motion-sensitive controls standardized for its games. The 360 does not. The 360 costs more than the Wii. The 360 has a worse public image than the Wii. The 360 doesn't have the "family friendly" games like Mario, Zelda, Mario Kart, etc.
So really I can't see the point of such a device for their console.
@Malvolio the Magician: teenage emo girls who love rpg's?
Innovating on that console is the key, Iwata explains. And if Nintendo can keep beating others to the punch on new ways to play new games, it will do just fine.
Yeah, it only took them two generations to come up with a gimmick that finally allowed them to resurface. Who are we to bet against Nintendo again, especially with their obviously fantastic online "service" and cutting-edge hardware?
But, "IT'S THE GAMES THAT MATTER!"
Right?
[kotaku.com]
Exactly.
First lets see if the x-mote has a good battery life, even with rechargable batteries, the speaker off and the vibration off, the wiimote eats them away...
@D Mitsuki: Yeah the only diffrence is the wii has more then that, the 360 doesn't have much more
This tired, inaccurate argument was old months ago. Why are people still holding on to it? What is wrong with people?
Finally... my big button controller will have someone to hang with. We seriously don't have enough gimmick controllers that no one developers games for (except for the ones they launch with)... I'm not being sarcastic... seriously... I love one off gimmick controllers. For reals.
"And there's such an orthdoxy to FPS controls now, I'm not sure it makes much difference."
I think the console orthodoxy needs challenging - if you were having this discussion with PC-only FPS users, they would laugh at having to muck around with 2 analog sticks instead of a mouse.
Off-topic: except for the choppers, I think the Sixaxis for GTA4 is one of the best ever. Plus it doesn't shut down the joysticks so you can still use it to "aftertouch" your movements. But on the motorcycle and the boat, it's pretty solid. And I love the reloading thing.
@fourzerotwo:
You mean like Metroid Prime 3, Medal of Honour 3 and Pro-Evolution Soccer 08?
I would imagine like all peripherals that aren't bundled with the console any MS Remote will only be owned by a fraction of the main install base. And that means developers probably won't see any point in creating software specifically for a controller that the majority of the install base do not own. Why make a game just for the remote when they could create a game for joypads that every 360 owner can play?
Of course that doesn't negate some sort of dual control scheme that works with either control device, but generally the best Wii games are the ones that just wouldn't work very well with a normal joypad control scheme. Games like Wii Sports just wouldn't be fun if it wasn't for the motion controls and anything complicated just doesn't appeal to the casual gamer.
I think if a 360 Remote is to sell well, Microsoft will need to support it with a lot of original games that can appeal to the mass market, and I'm not sure Rare are up to the task of doing that, considering their best work was 11 years ago and it mainly consisted of ripping off the design formula of Mario 64....
That said, if Capcom were to add their RE4 Wii Edition controls to RE5 I would be very, very grateful. :)
@KaneRobot: when i walk into a store to get a 360 games, i see a wall of games about every one is rated m and has tons of blood in it and killing and shit, then there are a few things like lost oddesy and enternal sanatra kameo but i generaly see big buff space marine shooting tons of aliens or big buff army guy shooting tons of other big buff army guys
So, if the rumor is true, MSoft is appealing to casual gamers more by making this, and Nintendo is appealing to Casual gamers even more by making more peripherals?
@Malvolio the Magician: They're trying but the gems are missing. Carbonated Games - their first-party developer - did an awesome job with UNO back in the launch days but seems like they're disbanded now and all that is left is random, semi-decent-to-lousy family games :(
Shaking loose of the testosterone-filled FPS/action/sports image takes a whole lot more than just trying but at least they still have their "home" genres in check.
As the competition doesn't seem interested in challenging MS where they're strong at, I kinda hope MS, too, would focus on where they excel at. Venturing to new fronts without real ammo is a bit awkward.
If they seriously release that, I can see them losing a lot of respect in many people's eyes. That might about as blatant of a ripoff as can be.
@Malvolio the Magician: Well if you own both, wouldn't you say it's hard to see the need for such a solution? :\
What Nintendo does, Microsoft steals. Etc.
xbox has to go cheaper specially the arcade version for that rumored wiimote clone to succeed. They already have the graphical advantage and they have better software overall so I expect this to be true. And hopefully a price drop too.
@okenny :):
I own both, but aside from the occasional Viva Pinata, I play one console more predominately that the other. But both pale in comparison to my handhelds.
If they can make an Xmote that actually recognizes 1-to-1 movement, they would be able to make games that the Wii couldn't. An improved Wii-mote would likely be just the edge that Microsoft needs, and they certainly have the R&D resources to get it done.
IF Microsoft actually tries something like this - and I don't really think they would - but if they do, I would be very disappointed. They built the company off of borrowed innovations, but so far, the Xbox side of things has been a little better about that. I wouldn't really call the Xbox or the 360 innovative (I'd think about it for Xbox Live, but I dunno) but so far they've done a decent job of defining themselves as their own entity with their own direction. If they fall prey to that Old Microsoft tendency to look at something successful, make a crappier version of it, and slap a MS logo on the box, I would lose a lot of respect. If they are looking to get into the casual hardware market, I think i9t would be way smarter for them to make a lowish-priced handheld to compete with the DS. Then I wouldn't hate them.
Once again we find the Microsoft corp. stealing ideas again. First it was the theft of Apple and now the theft of Nintendo. Original much?
Comment on Iwata: Wiimote Clone Not a Threat I remember when the Wii-mote was 8 bit, wired, and a glove with a lot of "Power"
@KaneRobot: \
I forgot, it's cutting edge hardware that makes a game system great. That's why the PS2's game library destroys all the current gen consoles' combined. Thanks for the reminder.
Oh and I also forgot that without online play a game isn't worth shit. That's why no one gamed outside of the PC until this generation right?
Oh and for the record I'd take 10 fun games over 50 mediocre games. But hey, you're free to mascaraed your trollish opinion all you want.
Fact is that people usually always go to the original, which a good example of is the Zune being the Ipod copy and not selling nearly as well. But i would assume Microsoft knew this and is rather just trying to take fizz away from Nintendo.
I hope Microsoft does not go for a similar design to the one in the original picture. Could anyone imagine an analogue stick that high?
@NeoAkira: It's the + thing that lets you follow poeple right because that comment pwned on 3 diffrent levels lol
@Tingle: Wtf is a ipod copy, the ipod is just a mp3 player with a fancy name....and for some reason i cannot conjure in my head people buy it, i just use my DS as a mp3 player...
The thing is, that this would definitely not be a threat to the Wii. If they do it right, then it might become a popular add-on device, but I don't think it will ever become dominant to the same degree. They might try, but they just won't be able to do it right in my opinion. Just another thing to buy to play a handful of games. Maybe they should focus on making required equipment, like HDDs first.
@D Mitsuki:
I don't think your DS can hold 80GB of music.... Granted I don't listen to it ALL but the point is that I have it there with me if I need it. I could use my PSP too, but the MS is just too small and I would rather play games on it.
@KaneRobot: lol coming from the guy who just trolled the Wii with a tired argument.
@D Mitsuki: "teenage emo girls who love rpg's?"
No that would be Ps2
Ps3 = dudes with too much money ;)
The reason why casuals don't buy 360s is because of all those intimidating shootan games...
@Last_Raven: hahaha it cant, nor do i have that much, but mine has the added bonus to play games has a browser can be used as a phone somtimes use msn and aim and stuff and tons of other things, so in capacity it lose's, but in my book it wins overall because i can play doom lans with ds and psp ownsers
@Chadders:
I am a PC FPS player, and I find dual-analog controls, well, for the lack of a better word, completely stupid. That said, I've player Metroid Prime 3 and Medal of Honor Heroes 2, and while the controls there aren't as good as an actual mouse setup, they are pretty damn good. Heck, even Scarface plays fine with wiimote control.
Which brings me to the point of me never having been able to understand why the hell devs haven't been including mouse control as an option for console FPSs since they started getting popular. And don't tell me "consoles have never used mouses" because Mario paint in the SNES had a mouse controller.
Which brings me to the point that if other companies ever do include mouse in consoles, they'll still be copying an old nintendo control scheme, same as they did with the gamepad (NES), the shoulder buttons (SNES), the analog thumbstick (N64, count the rumblepack there, too), pressure-sensitive triggers (GC), and now the wiimote... hahah.
@Jnkzm4: Though i dont have any of the current gen consoles, Sony too is a main culprit in "borrowing ideas" especially in the gaming industry with Nintendo. Nintendo always innovates in every generation one way or another. with the D-pad, the rumblepak, the wavebird and then finally the wii remote control. Sure motion controls have been done before, but the wii remote is really the first ever to be integrated with a console, where the sixaxis was a "me too" tacked on feature. Remember when the wii remote was first unveiled? and how the sony honchos started snickering? But one year later...
Like Picarso once said; "Good artists copy. Great artists steal."
@Dauragon C. Mikado: Or how about ps3 = People like Chad Warden
lol i kid i kid, i dont want to insult anybody here THAT much
@Malvolio the Magician: Well I'm not sure you see my point. I guess what I'm trying to say is that people say they don't see the need for a 360 to have such a solution because they Microsoft doesn't have the Nintendo portfolio and because the 360 isn't a Wii. This logic is flawed in two clear ways: Nintendo's main IPs have been primarily aimed at it's traditional markets, it's the new IPs that have really begin to hit home with the casual scenes and these new IPs are tightly bound to the interface of the system. The same way Sony and Nintendo have followed Microsoft's lead on online and built-in storage from last generation and the same way that Microsoft and Nintendo have followed Sony's lead in 3D consoles, innovation isn't something that should be left alone to the discoverer. Innovation is something that should be duplicated, iterated. Many argue that MS will not do it as good as Nintendo (and I'm almost inclined to agree) but let's see what they do first; this is a company whose had a problem with execution at critical moment so history could be against them if the right leadership isn't in place.
I'm thinking Microsoft wants into the new market really bad because Nintendo is doing what MS has dumped 10's of billions into over the past 10 years which is to simply make a connection with the consumer outside of the traditional computer space; MS sees that entertainment space that is mainstream, I mean TV, radio, cell phones and what not as a very important space to solidify brand recognition.
@D Mitsuki:
True, that. As far as I can remember the first big-name mp3-player was Creative's "Rio", and where is that now... If the ipod brought something new to the table, it was the integration with the itunes service (which doesn't even need an actual ipod machine to be used). So the innovation there - which was unsuccessfully copied by MS, anyway - was the music purchase system, no the hardware.