"I don’t think as a creator that I could create an experience that truly feels interactive if you don’t have something to hold in your hand, if you don’t have something like force feedback that you can feel from the controller."
        -Shigeru Miyamoto, talking to Wired.com

Both Microsoft and Sony introduced new motion control technologies for their respective consoles at this year's E3.  To many, this seemed like a concession to Nintendo, whose own motion control console has cleaned the competition's clocks to a spotless shine in terms of sales.  And that's exactly what Xbox's Project Natal and Sony's untitled motion wand are.  They're also-rans piggybacking on Nintendo's proven success.  But only one of them is also showing the way to the future.

Shigeru Miyamoto is arguably the most prestigious game designer in the business.  He created Mario and Link, for Christ's sake.  Also, his smile is simply dreamy.  And when Wired.com sat down with him for the interview from which the above quote was taken, of course they asked for his thoughts on other companies aping Nintendo's success.  Specifically, he's talking about Project Natal, which uses camera sensors to recreate your body's movements on screen.  No wand, no remote, no controller.  Just you, the air, and the limitations of your Cheetos-stained physique.

Anyone who's seen Microsoft's demos of the device knows that it works.  Apparently, it works very, very well.  And it's exciting, because eliminating the need to hold any type of physical controller would seem to only immerse the player in the game world more.  You don't have to pretend the white plastic wand in your hand is a sword.  Like a Muppet Baby, you can simply use the power of your imagination.

But the thing is, Miyamoto's right.  Not having anything in your hands when you're playing a game can actually pull you out more than it sucks you in.  Take, for instance, the situation presented in part of Microsoft's official announcement commercial for Project Natal.  A nuclear family of well-scrubbed white people sit on their Ikea couch and try to ignore the constant pain of their daily existence by playing some kind of NASCAR sim.  The daughter plays "driver" by holding out her hands as if she's grasping a steering wheel, and dad is working pit, pantomiming changing a tire on the fly.

No doubt it looks pretty fun.  I mean, it's not like you could pay actors to smile that much.  But think about the practical implications here.  With no object (say, for instance, a white plastic steering wheel shell) to hold onto, your fists are going to naturally drift all over the place.  And wouldn't you rather have some kind of drill-shaped object to hold than point angrily at the air with a finger pistol?

Think about when you were a kid and you played outside with sticks you pretended were swords.  You and your friends didn't want to air-slap each other with your fists like violent mimes.  You wanted something vaguely sword-shaped in your hands.  Something that gave you a little force feedback when you clocked your best friend's knuckles.

This is why Miyamoto poo-poos Natal and begrudgingly tips his hat at Sony.  The PS3's motion controller uses a wand much like Nintendo's.  And like with Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus, the goal is to create true 1:1 movement within a game.  In both cases, the idea is to recreate the same kind of immersion you felt when you scraped layer upon layer of skin from your poor friend's hand.

Miyamoto's also way, way wrong.  I said at the beginning of this article that only one of these new motion controllers is the wave of the future.  It's Project Natal.  Sure, Natal doesn't require you to hold something in your hand, but the key here is that it doesn't prohibit you either.  With Natal, you're not limited to just a wand or a remote, and you're not limited to simple miming.  By sensing your movement visually, there's no reason you couldn't be fighting a skeletal warrior and use anything--a stick, let's say--as a sword.  Tired of holding your fists in the air at ten and two?  Why not buy a Wii steering wheel and use it to play Burnout Paradise instead?

In another part of the Natal announcement promo, a boy holds his skateboard up to the camera, which scans it into his Tony Hawk game.  Aside from the fact that this makes the upcoming Tony Hawk skateboard peripheral look even more ridiculously unnecessary, it also goes to show just how amazing Natal could turn out to be (if, of course, it actually works as advertised).

Miyamoto's imagination has churned out some of the greatest and most innovative games ever made.  But with Natal, Microsoft seems to be handing the keys of imagination to you.  In which case, Miyamoto's comments seem less like a justification of his company's hardware and more like a flailing gasp from someone whose company will soon have nothing to offer.

Source: Wired.com