EA CEO Taking Level-Headed Approach To Motion Controls

[ChaseB]

When it comes to talking about the future of motion controls, there has been an underlying sense of dread among some community members here at Operation Sports. Some users really feel like motion controls will one day inevitably take over the sports gaming landscape, and others are simply worried that their favorite genre will be watered down to simple mini-games. Recently, two OS writers even wrote pro and con articles about the future of motion controls in sports games.

But no matter where you stand on the topic of motion controls, EA CEO John Riccitiello has told IndustryGamers that he just does not see motion controls replacing traditional controllers.

Quote:

"I’ve had a number of people ask me 'Will gesture-based gaming replace controllers?' I don’t think so. I think that there will be genres where the gesture-based gaming, however delivered (Kinect, Move, or any other device that comes down the road), will actually be the superior way to play. Dance games, music games, exercise games. It’s really hard to imagine an exercise game with your thumbs. It’s really hard to imagine that I’m going to play a future edition of Medal of Honor, or Call of Duty, or Battlefield, hiding behind my couch, making a gun out of my finger. I’ve tried driving with gesture-based controls; I don’t really like it.""

Riccitiello does specifically talk about sports games and how the best implementation of motion controls in traditional titles might be for menu navigation or selecting plays.

Quote:

"My guess is that some genres will be best on Move over Kinect, over controllers; some genres will be best on Kinect over Move and controllers, and some genres will be best on controllers and then there will be some blend where we might deliver sports games, which some might argue are best on a traditional controller but we might ultimately use gesture-based gaming for scrolling through menus at times or picking my team or pick one of those and call plays. That’s very possible."

The menu navigation statement is actually a really fair point by Riccitiello. I can't even count the number of sports games that have confused me or hampered my experience because of shoddy menus.

Source: EA CEO: Motion Controls Will Not Replace Traditional Controllers (IndustryGamers)

[Dazraz]

Totally agree