Our discussion about Nike running shoes and the iPod got me thinking about the interaction between technology and fitness in other areas. What came to mind immediately was the Wii, specifically the Wii Fit product suite. Nintendo has had tremendous success since the launch of the Wii, expanding gaming to age groups that had never really used it before. The Wii doesn’t offer just interactive gaming; it can be used for other purposes, for example as a rehabilitation tool for stroke survivors.
With all the success and market expansion brought by the Wii, it seems pretty remarkable that it has taken so long for competitors to develop similar interactive gaming devices. I saw a commercial this weekend for a new product from Sony, the Playstation Move, which is launching internationally this week. While it offers much of the same functionality as the Wii, it does offer some advancements such as depth perception, better battery life, and a smarter controller. See the comparison detailed on the gaming blog, Kotaku.
Microsoft is also launching its own motion sensory gaming system for the Xbox 360, Kinect, scheduled to hit shelves in November of this year.
I think it will be interesting to see how Nintendo responds to these challenges. I believe that these moves signal a strong directional shift toward a more interactive gaming future. The next couple years should be very interesting as the gaming industry tries to find the next big thing.
I apologize for the terrible title pun.
Never apologize for puns, Dan.
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ReplyDelete(NOTE: I'm unable to find how we can hyperlink on comments to blogs - if this is possible, maybe I can clean up my response)
ReplyDeleteI can’t help but think “so what”?
Sure, Sony and Microsoft are entering their platforms into the motion video gaming arena, but what new features are they bringing to the sector? If the past is any indicator, this could lead to a crash in the motion video gaming market (http://www.gamesradar.com/f/could-motion-control-cause-a-game-market-crash/a-2010050518191662024).
With the release of SonyMotion and Kinect not slated to release in the US until the fall, Nintendo and the Wii will have had a nearly 4 year head start in the motion video gaming sector. With that, I don’t see how you will convert current Wii gamers to a different platform. Granted, Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s XBox 360 are both currently selling better than the Wii (http://www.1up.com/news/npds-ps3-360-sales-grow), but it has been argued that could be because of the lack of improvement to Wii offerings since its initial launch.
Pricing for the SonyMotion and Kinect will be cheaper than buying a new Wii, but will only work as extensions to the PS3 and XBox 360, respectively. As Sony and Microsoft start to slug it out (http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/12/sony-launches-anti-kinect-attack-website-yaybuttons-com/), it will be key for either one to come up with something new in the realm of motion video gaming for them to make a significant dent into Nintendo’s market.
It will certainly be interesting to wait and watch what Nintendo's next move will be when MS and Sony introduce motion sensing in their platforms. Wii's achilles heel is their rather low graphical quality in their games (except supermario) and limited title selection. With xbox and PS offering higher quality of games and a wide variety of them, once the playing field in terms of controller is leveled across the 3 platforms, Nintendo will need to up the antic either by forming newer alliances with more time tested companies or refreshing their in-house gaming dept.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Wii's simple graphical interface is actually part of why it has been so successful. They were able to bring the video game console to people who would never have purchased one, by creating simple to use (and simple looking) games. Parents and older adults (not the staple of the gaming industry) flocked to make this purchase because it wasn't so cutting edge - simple and just right for them. It also forced the game developers to keep that market in mind, and not develop super-high res fast paced action games, keeping the Wii as a "family" console.
ReplyDeleteAlso - the Wii's graphics are strong enough to support streaming from Netflix. It's not HD, but I was surprised to see the clarity of the picture.
As mentioned in the article, Nintendo has (yet again) expanded gaming to new demographics (a wider age range and casual gamers). Their innovative spirit (in this case with bringing motion-gaming to market) has been seen before with products like the original gameboy (portable gaming wasn't anywhere near as robust before it) and the Virtual Boy (which flopped), but with the Wii in particular the breadth of their functionality has expanded significantly. What's really interesting is that using motion-sensitive controls has redefined the user interface significantly, and this may be the first step toward moving past the now traditional mouse-and-keyboard interface. Three dimensional movement promises to bring much more versatility and closer interaction than experienced before.
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