Dave Perry: Gamers ignore Wii's 'sloppy' controls

Can we talk about the 800-lb. gorilla in the room?

Namely, the lack of follow-through with the promise of analog controls more than a decade after they first came to prominence.

I was promised a wonderful world of subtle, precise controls, where I could go from a slow crawl to a blazing sprint in 360 separate degrees of freedom. Instead, I'm still stuck in far too many games on an eight-direction axis where I'm either walking or running with no shades of difference in between. And this is a problem too many fans are entirely willing to overlook.

This has nothing whatsoever to do with poor design or adjustment phases in design, and everything to do with the fact that analog controls are crap.

Is it rude to ask if any of you have actually read the interview? Or are you all basing your opinions on Joystiq's snippet?

you wii owners sound like your in a gay pride parade. Most of you are playing near launch titles...not cause they're that good but because you have no other choice. Now you blame poor controls on devs which may be true but it doesnt matter. if only 10-20% of the games for your console have decent controls...its the console's problem now not just devs. most of the games are sloppy and thats really bad coupled with the fact that you dont have many games to begin with. Sucks that you'll never have a bioshock, or a NBA2k or a forza/GT Im not a halo fan but you'll never get to know these games and its a shame. yes yes mario, sonic , and metriod. Im a 80's baby trust me ive already been there....and early mario was the best marios. mario sunshine is a joke compared to mario3 and mario world or 64. so is galaxy from what ive seen. nintendo is all about being innovative but its very own IPs needs the most. I cant believe after 2 decades mario is still saving a princess.

Did Dave Perry just say over 10 million gamers are blind fanatics? I thought we were all the casuals and the end of gaming and won't even buy games? Now we're blind fanatics gobbling up games and not minding the total ass controls? Pick one and shut up. Oh, and make a good game, and then shut up. Or shut up now, and then make a good game.

The Wii remote's controls were proven on day 1 with Wii Sports tennis. I've seen people do sick spin moves (that could make your head spin). It's all in the timing, the angle, and this weird curving motion I haven't mastered yet.

And motion controls are NOT the only option for developers, when games like Smash Bros., Super Paper Mario, Metal Slug, and Fire Emblem don't even use them. It's called having MORE options, which is always a good thing.

I'm going to skip the 100+ comments and probably in doing so comment exactly like others have. The Wii does some things great, others not so much. The controls work great if developers try to make them work; the graphics look good (not great) if developers try to make them look nice.

The Wii does have problems, and sometimes the hardware is wonky. I play the Wii everyday and I can admit that. But the good far outweighs the bad. It's not that I'm turning a blind eye to the problems; it's that I'm only purchasing the good stuff, and therefore have nothing to really complain about.

Wii is a new use of technology, and sometimes we have to sit through trial and error. The same could be said about the other consoles, and one may ask why those gamers are willing to "turn a blind eye" to those flaws. The fact of the matter is, a gamer gets what he or she wants to get out of a console. If you think it's a crappy console, you are going to focus on the flaws. If you generally enjoy it, then you can handle a few flaws here and there.

Wii is new. Innovators and early adopters are willing to deal with a little product flaw, just like they are willing to deal with high prices. Of course, to reach the mass market the company must fix both problems. That's something both Wii game developers and Sony's managers are trying to do now. These are basic business principles.

I think Dave Perry needs to get some education and experience.

That's an interesting perspective... Wii users are willing to ignore waggle...

No mention of other console users willing to ignore "press X to kick".

It seems to me that "swing the controller" is inherently more accurate than "press this button".

So we've concluded that the Wii controls are actually -not- sloppy in the hands of a slightly competent game developer.

But let's hypothetically assume they were.

You know what else has made games a WHOLE lot more sloppy? 3D. Yes, before 3D, games were pixel-precise exercises of skill. Now that 3D has become mainstream, platformers can't have small platforms anymore and they don't have a "duck" button anymore, because what's the fucking use when the gameplay is not precise enough for it to actually matter? Other 3rd person games like Prince of Persia need to have -HUGE- error margins that basically pull you into the right direction while doing anything acrobatic, or else it would be too frustrating. In FPS games, the aiming is precise, sure. But you cannot see what happens around you, so any environmental hazards or anything similar while shooting have to be kept to a minimum.

3D made gameplay sloppy as hell. But is anyone bashing it? No of course not, it revolutionized everything. It's mainstream now.

That was a cool e-zine.

And how fuckin' long does it take to get a comment posted? Damn.

It really is scary how blinded Nintendo fans are.

Wow, this would make so much sense if Dave Perry actually made a hit after Earthworm Jim.

Dave Perry may have some controversial views at times, but his ability to create beloved characters like Earthworm Jim and Klaymen lend credence to....

What's that you say? It was Doug TenNapel who created the characters, not Dave Perry? Ah, okay. In that case, who cares what he says?

I've played far more Wii Sports lately than any other video game (INCLUDING OTHER WII GAMES, let's be precise here). His calling Wii owners fans is calculated to equate them to fanboys, that overused term that exists primarily so folk can dismiss the opinions of huge numbers of people. I'm sorry, but I refuse to be put into the position of trying to explain away the fun I've had. I simply don't think I would have had as much fun with, say, Halo.

he's entitled to his opinion just like everyone else here. At least he made a game...most of you guys have opinions and you bag groceries for a living and still live with your parents.

"And all the replies to my post show the self dilusional Nintendo finatics ignoring the truth just like perry said."

you're a playstation fanboy probably so you haven't played MP3 or resident evil so don't bash the wii without having first hand experience. and most ppl have forgotten that ps3 didn't have motion controls when it was first presented at e3 and was only add after the wii got the major attention it deserves.

Well, personally I agree with the guy. In my case, the reason I bought the Wii was because it was something new, and the hand controller seemed interesting. The problem is that after a while of being just plain disappointed - poor game selection (I get that Zelda and Metroid are good, but not all of us are into FPS), sloppy controls (while there were some annoying points during Zelda, what actually p****d me off the most was the boxing game on Wii Sports, as no matter how I tried, it seemed more like chance as to whether I'd move the controller in the perfect way so as to pull off a myriad of moves. I know people say that the Wii isn't perfect, and it shouldn't be nitpicked, but if this type of control is something they were priding themselves on, I would have wanted it to be perfect), and an unpolished interface (I know this isn't a major point, but it was disappointing) - I just took advantage of the demand for the Wii and sold it on eBay.

That said, I'm happy I tried it, but to be honest, a big determinant for me, and I'd garner to say many other people was the price. To buy an Xbox 360 at that time (Dec/Jac) was considerably more, so the Wii seemed like a good alternative.

The Wii is decent, and especially well suited for some demographics, but it's not perfect, and should not be treated as such. And yes, people do ignore some of the Wii's sloppy controls, but people using the 360 ignore certain negative facets, and likewise with the PS3.

Think about it.

Nunchuk Z-button = Lock-on
Nunchuk waggle = Whip attack

Wiimote aiming = Fire Jim's gun

It would be a perfect time for a 3D Earthworm Jim game to come out and ACTUALLY BE GOOD.

But nooooo, we get whining instead.

Ideally, a truly competent developer really shouldn't have anything to complain about.

Look lets be real the WII is on the hit least of every game maker and critic that pretty much thought they had the Industry in a choke hold. What they said went and what they made got played or the gaming community, would get nothing from them at all.

Well you are X gaming creator and Nintendo finds a new market of consumers that don't give a damn about your name or your product and when you speak it doesn't matter. Same thing with the critics, they hold no sway at all on this legion of new gamers, that dwarf, their hardcore slaves and it angers them.

Conversely, you have developers willing to reap the innocence of a new gaming consumer, putting together poorly made games for quick bucks. If you are a game maker you won't attack the 3rd parties because you would love to tap that market. If you are a critic your voice doesn't even reach that community so you have nothing to say. What do you do, you bad mouth Nintendo to the last gamers you have, critics under rating their good games, while giving that same type of games great scores on different systems. Game makers blaming the WII for every problem because they are angry the market they have power in doesn't rule any more.

Nintendo right now has to concentrate on making their own games and then concentrate on developers actually out to make GOOD games for them. Because critics and 3rd party companies will not go quietly they are going to wrestle. The industry as it was gave them ultimate power, yet now they can make more money with casuals, but they would have to also create a better product that caters to them. This idea is what annoys the Dave Perry's because critics, and game makers like him want to dictate what the gamer should like, not create something new and appealing.

In Japan and Asia games are played by everyone, young old and in between because games cater to many different people, in America games are played by a core few. There are no H games over here, gamers are 10-35 year old males that want to play what the designers say. The idea that the demographic is changing and they have to evolve is scaring them, and they are blaming the WII for this. And they are right, hell if I was Dave Perry I would be angry to, you enter a room expecting praise just to see these gamers turn around to you and go, "What the hell is an Earth Worm Jim" especially if that is all you are known for, yeah developers like him I don't blame for praying for the death of Nintendo they need it.

Who the F*** is Dave Perry???

I would like to see a wii game where you get to define your OWN motions (or button presses). It would make for something everyone wants!

Why does he feel the need to say this?

it doesn't matter if its true or untrue.. or true some of the time.. or whatever.. if people like the Wii then let them like it.

If you aren't bringing out any games on the Wii then there seems no reason to bash it in public.. except to try and get publicity for something.

Man you Nintendo fans are a little sensitive. To me the Wii sucks. Its okay to play with my nephew because he is 10 and he can't play my 360 games very well but I hate motion controls. Oh yeah it was fun playing the party games with the motion controls but thats it. But the other games they have I wanted my regular controller to play with. I found his comments to be accurate and most of you posters to be whiney babys. He at least has made some great games unlike most of you losers whose greatest accomplishments revolve around the number of times relieving yourself in your parents basement.

The problem is that every system has flaws that users turn a blind eye too. Sounds like more fanboyism to me, I'm happy playing my Wii flaws and all, along with teh Xbox 360. It's part of it...but how many Wii console's have been recalled so far?