Task 22. New Gaming Controllers

Controls in games began with the joystick and eventually moved to the control pad. The control pad has taken many forms but has generally stuck to the form that it will have a directional pad along with various amounts of buttons. Though with the Wii already out and the PS3 on the horizon the new movement controller is now becoming a new form of standard.

I believe that the Wii’s controller is far more dramatic in terms of changing from the typical control pad design. From what I have experienced so far it’s been successful in allowing a new form of input for gaming yet also not making it feel too alien taking me about an hour to adjust to the wiimote. It also makes the player feel more immersed into the game as they are moving and the character is reacting accordingly making you feel much more in control. Although the wiimote can be turned sideways and looks just like a normal NES pad. I think this was done as a safety method so if the movement based controls were completely rejected by the public then they can revert back to the typical control pad.

The PS3 has taken a much more reserved change to movement controls, which almost seems as a last minute inclusion in response to the wii. The design is that of the very popular PS2 pad but with the addition of 6 way tilt control. I’m not entirely sure how Sony will use the movement pad without just making it a replacement for the d pad and then making the d pad into additional buttons, but it shall be interesting to find out and depending on the frequency of its use I think you can also find out if Sony added it last minute or actually thought this could improve their games.

I think these movement controls are going to allow a lot more new games to be introduced and add a different level of immersion to gaming. But there are bound to be failures due to it being the first time its been introduced to consoles, but depending on how companies react to this then it will decide the fate of movement gaming.