Molyneux says Live "more impactful" than Wii remote

Live is the most long-term impacting, and it was done first. In the long run, the internet is NOW, and we're seeing Live being implemented into different products - Live Messenger, Windows Live, having the ability to chat with friends from your xbox, while they are in class - video chat, etc.

Also theres the marketplace aspect. Renting movies and tv shows isn't new, doing so over the internet isn't new, doing both onto a CONSOLE is monumental. Xbox live reaches into the same market group which feeds the mega-movie conglomerate machine.

I don't see motion sensing controllers doing the same thing. This is old technology, and sure I give Nintendo props for actually making it work and making it popular, very popular. But this isn't ground breaking. I doubt SERIOUS gamers will ever want to drop their controllers. So if they technology continues it will be as an option, not the main platform. Xbox is marketing a NEXT-gen console, not old technology with new perks.

With the heavy focus Molyneux is stressing about feelings and emotions I have no doubt he would think this. The Wii is great at gatherings with people you already know but XBLive connects you to people across the globe.

So you can kill them, teabag them, then call them 'teh ghey'.

Try doing that while playing WiiSports with your grandma and see what happens.

As an owner of both a 360 and Wii, I gotta say that IMO they're both hitting on the future of gaming. Nintendo hasn't really shown a thing as far as their online offering is concerned, while MS has set the standard to beat with Live. At the same time, I've spent over 20 years of my life (dang that makes me feel old) gaming, and I've never had as much fun gaming as I've had waving my arms like a madman on the Wii. Metroid Prime 3's controls really do breathe an insane amount of fresh air into the FPS genre.

I love the graphics on my 360. And games like Bioshock and Forza 2 are amazing in 1080, but I didn't have as much "fun" playing Bioshock as I did Metroid. The Wii's controller (when implemented correctly by devs) makes games fun again for me.

Graphics are great, but they're not everything. Xbox Live is great, but it's not everything. Waggle controls are great, but... well you get the idea. The next, next gen consoles hopefully will have a combination of all of the great ideas from this current gen.

I for one, welcome our future ThWiiSixty Overlords...

I tawt I taw Rich wyting like Tweety.

Anyways I agree with you Jon, the Marketplace is only going to get bigger. M$ did their hw, look how much revenue they've been generating. I don't see Nintendo making partnership with Disney, Fox, Comedy Central, etc. I think motion sensing will be used by some developers eventually, but not the norm.

I'm far too lazy to play the Wii :p It makes my arms ache anyway. Ever tried to play Red Steel? Talk about using the controller for the sake of it...

I think Molyneux is right (even though he's on the MS payroll). The Wii was a ballsy move on Nintendo's part, and it's obviously paid off. But I'm not convinced of the system's long-term viability, nor am I convinced that motion control is the wave of the future. Sure, motion control is fun, there's no denying that. But is it the best way to play a game like Bioshock? Or Command & Conquer? Halo Wars? Mass Effect? I don't think so. Rather, I suspect motion control to have its best days in titles like WiiSports, but to seem a bit forced when applied to titles that require more precision than the nunchuk has to offer.

It's not that Xbox Live is all that revolutionary--after all, PC gamers have enjoyed networked gameplay for years. But MS pulled it off with remarkable aplomb. They've built a surprisingly vibrant, organic, and responsive community--and all from the ground up. I just hope MS doesn't exploit it by overcharging--something I fear may already be happening.

I will not put down my controller. I've been offered to play the Wii before and I didn't even want to pick up the Wiimote from how amateur the gaming on it looked. I've played all of the friends that were there and loved the Wii in Halo 2, which they professed they were amazing at, and which I think I'm quite shit at...and I still wooped their asses. There's just something to haveing a real controller that I can let go of. Imagine playing Forza 2 with a Wiimote...yea fuckin right. I'll stick to my design-award-winning Xbox 360 controller. (Everytime I pick it up, it just FEELS as if it WANTS to be in your hands.)

And I do think that XBL is LIGHT years ahead of the Wiimote in terms of the impact it has caused.

Oh yea, and PSN hasn't even been mentioned. I wonder why...

Xbox Live is the only reason I still play video games.

DjDATZ, while I do agree the Xbox 360 controller is the best traditional controller I've ever used, it's obvious you've never used the Wiimote. It's extremely comfortable, very precise, and of very high quality. Try playing some RE4 or Metroid with it and you'll never want to use a traditional controller on a console FPS again. It's not intended for simulation racing games (like forza), but it's perfect for arcade racers (like excitetruck or mario kart).

As for playing Forza, if you're going to talk the ultimate controller for a racing sim, you may as well disregard anything but a force feedback wheel, shift knob, and pedals. The 360 controller is a joke compared to that setup.

Noone said the wiimote was perfect, but for what it's meant for, it's a beautiful piece of technology, just like the 360 controller.

As for Live, I personally don't have time to play online with my two kids taking up all my time these days, but I don't think it's fair to directly compare the Wiimote and Live. Live is largely based on software and therefore can be quickly and easily upgraded and improved. The next true iteration of motion controller will come in the form of the controller for the Wii2 I'm sure, so we'll just have to wait until then to see another revolution from Nintendo, which I'm sure Sony will again copy.

All that being said, I love my Wii60 setup and anyone who bashes either console is obviously ignorant of each of their strengths and intended purpose.

While I love my 360, I disagree that Live has caused much of an impact outside of those that have 360s. PC gamers have been gaming online for years with free messaging, voicechat, etc. Live did do a great job of bringing all that to the console world and making it seemless and intuitive. However, those outside of gaming have never heard of Live, but my grandma knows what a Wiimote is. What does that tell you?

Apples to oranges.

To bad live is invisable to the average or uninformed shopper.

Xbox Live is a way bigger deal than the Wiimote. That's not to dis the Wiimote. It's just that you can't compare an input-device with an entire network. A Wii-mote is made of plastic. Xbox Live is people. It's made out of PEOPLE! People > plastic.

ftw!

"XBox-ThWii Sixty?" BOOOOOOOO!!!!! Not even mildly punny.

implanting both these systems together is hard and will likely fail

see: PS3

...implementing **

...implementing***

A new life awaits you in the Off-World colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure. Use your new friend as a personal body servant or a tireless field hand - the custom tailored genetically engineered humanoid replicant designed especially for your needs. So come on America, lets put our team up there...

having played both Wii for 5 months and the 360 since, I think my opinion has good standing. The Wii was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. There were some damn good games for it (Zelda, Strikers, RE4). When I got my 360 and started looking at 360fanboy more than wiifanboy, I realized that live gave me everything that the wii fanboys had been bitching about; playable demos, downloadable content, a great online system. First person shooters actually have good controls (although I haven't played Metroid). Amazing graphics (often sacrificed for the Wii Remote).

While both are good systems in their own, I find that I would rather play 360 with its huge library of games, great online play and mezmorizing graphics. The Live system is very advanced and adds a lot to the gameplay. I guess Microsoft CAN do something right.

"Sure, motion control is fun, there's no denying that. But is it the best way to play a game like Bioshock? Or Command & Conquer? Halo Wars? Mass Effect?"

In order:
Bioshock -- yes, a pointer like the Wiimote would be better than a joystick. I would have bought the PC version if my computer could handle it. Mouse+keyboard >>> gamepad.
C&C: You even have to ask? RTS games have *always* worked better with a pointer (mouse) than a gamepad; it astounded the gaming world that EA managed to even make a playable RTS on a console at all.
Halo Wars: See above
Mass Effect: Also see above -- ME is going to be an RPG/FPS hybrid. The RPG controls can be accomplished without motion sensing, but yet again the FPS controls would be better with a pointer than with joysticks.


With that out of the way, let me get in the rant I originally wanted to post.

I think innovation sometimes skips a generation in gaming. Atari introduced "mass market" home gaming. 8-bit (NES/SMS) refined that with better graphics and more elaborate/refined gameplay, but didn't really add anything *new*. 16-bit (SNES/GEN) innovated with the 6-button controller. The next generation (PSX/DC/N64) added 3D. The next step up (PS2/XB/GC) made the 3D prettier, but (except maybe XBL's refined online play support) didn't really innovate at all.

Our "new" generation (Wii/PS3/360) added two important innovations: motion sensing/pointer controllers, and the "real" XBL that includes matchmaking and marketplace features. [Sony ripped both of these things off for the PS3, poorly.]

I predict that the following generation, though it may innovate in other areas, will be defined by its execution of these major innovations, just like last generation (PS2 etc) was defined by its refinement of the major feature of the previous generation, 3D graphics. I think everybody who wants to make an 8th-gen console will live or die by their comprehensive online service, and their distinguishing controller features. Once people have played using an online matchmaking service that offers digital distribution of content and social networking with their gamer friends, they'll never want to go back to Nintendo's ham-fisted Friend Code bullshit. And once people have played Metroid and Resident Evil with a pointer controller and seen that yes, you can have a mouse-like device that works well from your couch, they'll never want to go back to the relative (vs. absolute) controls they've been stuck with since the PS1 first included analog sticks.


That's my prediction. I guess only time will tell.

Gaming

I think people are still expecting games to have some huge expansion onto the general market. Obviously Nintendo was, and their marketing worked to some extent. But I think most people, those new to gaming and old alike, will be getting tired of the Wii fairly quickly because the thought of this "innovative" control system only stays exciting until... you own one. Then it sits on your shelf until maybe a few friends come over who have never played it and the cycle repeats. The control scheme is really not accurate enough for there to be a whole lot of skill developed, and therefor there will be no dedicated players.

Maybe a few drinking games could start a trend in our gadget $ beer loving college crowd, but other than that our population is aging and by 2020 they say the population is going to be somewhere over 20% 60+ years old and like an earlier poster mentioned, grandma ain't play'n the Wii without dislocating a wrist.

Wii fit on the other hand, has the potential to change the populace's belief that video games are for (fat)kids that can't run fast. This will def. encourage parental wallets to open, and that is where the money is ultimately at when marketing toward our spoiled American youth.

Content distribution

In addition, for a networked media distribution system like xbox live video marketplace to really take off, its going to have to be separated from the video game culture all together.

There is still a negative stigma about gamers in the general populace, and gamers are only further driven into their own niche-dom by the media attention they get when they're camping out for their xbox for three days.

Honestly this kind of attention for the gaming crowd is going to turn off the general populace who buys into a much "slicker" prototype for their projected persona.

In addition, media center PCs are already in place but I think a sub 100$ dollars system is the sweet spot, for network distribution. If a big name like netflix released something like that you would have a money maker. I would be surprised if thats not on the market soon enough.

As far as the regular portion of xbox live is concerned, it is a fantastic system for dedicated competitive gamers but really will not appeal to those who aren't interested in meeting anyone online whatsoever and are probably pretty freaked out by most of the ignorant racists on xlive.

PS2 did so well because it broke the dorky video game mold, it got adopted by pop and hip-POP(sorry its not hip-hop anymore) community w/ its "slickness" and that spurred all the madden players etc that drive a lot of sports sales.

Heres your #1 seller in the future:

"Wii: Gramda edition"

Innovative new control scheme allows the geriatric and mentally disabled a like to sky dive, have sex, and go to church from the seat of their diaper padded motorized scooter!

Anyways what do I know, a double major in marketing and public relations wouldn't have anything to do with helping me understand the well known fact that the direction of our national demographic is heading toward OLD?

Disclaimer: Sorry if I offend anyone w/ mentally disabled family members or loved ones. It was just a joke and I can't begin to empathize with the hard-ache you and your family have endured.