Where the hell do they hand out the professional analyst jobs, because I want me some of that. All you have to do is stand up, say something relatively inflammatory and the internet will quote your opinion on things. Case in point is gaming analyst Doug Creutz who has let his opinion be known on both Microsoft and Sony’s upcoming motion control features for their new games. He sides with Sony, saying that their motion controls are “superior from a gaming perspective.”
“Natal appeared to me to be a technological solution in search of a problem,” Creutz said while speaking with Gamasutra. “Do I really care if I can navigate my Netflix queue without using a controller? I had a very hard time envisioning playing Modern Warfare 3 using Natal. By contrast, I had a very easy time envisioning it (and enjoying it) using Sony’s control/motion capture scheme.
“Microsoft appears to be trying to steal casual gamers away from Nintendo, which is a difficult proposition given that you’re essentially asking casual gamers to upgrade twice during the cycle (assuming they already own a Wii). In contrast, Sony is squarely targeting the core gamer market, which is what they need to be doing,” he concluded.
I hate to say it, but I totally agree, and the line about a solution in search of a problem is spot on. I want to play serious games with my Wii Remote and I’m looking forward to playing serious games with Sony’s controls if they work, but the more I see of Natal the less enthused I am about it as a method to do anything but jump around my living room.
