I'd like to defend the fewer button stance, and Nintendo's strategy in general.
I remember when I started playing the Super NES and later the N64, each time I was overwhelmed by the array of new buttons Nintendo threw at me. In the end there was always a reason for adding new buttons, but I remember specifically wondering how Nintendo could simplify N64 games, because there was so much to learn there.
I believe that Nintendo is absolutely right in simplifying controllers again. Nobody is intimidated by the old NES controllers. I've said it before and I'll say it again, some non-gamers I know prefer playing my old NES to anything else because there are only two buttons. The motion-sensing aspect of the controller makes up for some of the lost functionality in an intuitive way.
Now the argument against this direction is usually, "I don't care about non-gamers, I don't want my games dumbed down for them!" That's too bad because I think anything that opens gaming up to a wider audience is cool. Hardcore gamers are becoming gatekeepers of our hobby...we don't want to let anyone else in unless they play by our rules! The exact same thing happened with computers way back in the day. Who needs an operating system? If you can't program a computer punchcard by punchcard, go do something else! Personally, I'd like to be able to play videogames with people who don't play them usually without them moaning about how it's too hard. I'd like to see my parents play videogames again.
None of this comes at the cost of hardcore games, either. The nunchuck configuration and the traditional controller configuration allow for all those types of games. I think there's a fear that Nintendo will stop making "real" games. Please look at the DS. Look at Advanced Wars, Mario Kart, Mario & Luigi, Kirby, and Metroid Prime Hunters. Nintendo is not going to stop making hardcore games, it's just devoting some time to new types of games (which you might enjoy if you gave them a chance).
Personally, I'm really looking forward to this because it has gotten to the point where sometimes a new game is even too complicated for me! Splinter Cell has collected dust on my shelf for two years because I don't like it enough to learn the complex controls. Every time I pick it up, I'm back at square one. All these games where everything on the controller does something and sometimes you even have to use them two at a time to add even more functions are too much. Unless the game is really interesting, I lose interest and forget how to play.
Anyway, I'm sure I didn't change anyone's (Ian's) point of view, but I think there's good reasoning behind Nintendo's strategy. There's good reasoning behind not wanting games to be dumbed down, too, but Nintendo appears to be offering enough control options for that to be a non-issue. That's the beauty of the configurable control, and although I'm still skeptical that non-gamers will find a configurable control easy to use, Nintendo's system of building all other controls around the remote seems like a good start.
Topic: Rumblings of Revolution controller redesign (Read 23134 times)
