Topic: Where should Nintendo go next in regards to control scheme (Just controls NOT OTHER HARDWARE FEATURES)?

With motion controls, I'd love to see A spec upgrade with better sensing and processing (bring it up to snuff with the iPhone). I'd also love to see an additional analog stick for camera control, and analog triggers. Most importantly, I'd like to see Nintendo make a major effort in haptic feedback.

With standard controls, I'd like to see an integration between modern controllers and the gamecube controller. So rumble triggers of the XB1, gyro and accelerator like the Gamepad and DS4, clickable analogs, a left bumper, clicking triggers from the GC, and the button layout from the GC. If they want to be super ambitious, they could add an additional face or trigger button.

No touchscreen though, I think that feature for a console is a failed experiment. It adds too much cost without enough benefit in the long run. I guess it'd be okay as an option sold separately though.

Some Oculus Rift thing with graphics that make the PS5 and XBox Two look like crap, so Nintendo can be cool again like they were in the SNES days.
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I'm fine with what is now. I don't need some pointless things like oculus whatevs or motion control, especially when they are underdeveloped like kinect. Awesome idea, but execution poor

Do you really want no evolution to your controller? Not even something as simple as returning analog triggers?

Virtual Reality. But REAL virtual reality like in Sword Art Online, not fake virtual reality like Oculus Rift or Project Morpheus.

GameCube controller.

I would want the next gen Nintendo Console to push the GamePad further and show the true abilities behind Asymmetrical Gameplay. But I think it is way too early to be wanting a new console anyway

Ideally something that follows on to something like this :

http://projection-mapping.org/roomalive-uist/

I definitely warmed up to the idea of assymmetric gameplay (previous attempts like Double Dash and Mario Galaxy had assymmetric fun too) when I played NintendoLand, but the problem is that that type of gameplay really only shines with multiplayer, particularly local. If you ask me that's just too limited a benefit for the cost it necessitates. The Gamepad costs $140 separately compared to a regular controller that's 60 dollars separately. I can't see that 80$ difference dropping below 50$ and if they develop it further, it will likely stay around 80$. That's just way too costly.

A controller like the Pro Controller, and a handheld as well

I hope they keep the gamepad. But i would love for the pro controller to have opposing thumbsticks. I'm used to that from the gamecube and xbox systems so its always weird. Strangely I am fine on the gamepad but I think it is due to the spacing.

Virtual reality would be good if they can make it work. Other than that, I think they should keep the Gamepad, add the ability to use the handheld as an extra controller, and then maybe keep the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.

Keep dreaming, we're a good several decades away from the point where that's a realistic possibility.

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_{apparently, the new NL commandment is "Thou Shalt Not Post a Thread Unless Tis a Question!"}

Guys, this topic is about additions/changes you'd like to see. Not about how you are satisfied with what there is. Nintendo always makes great controllers, so that's not really news. But no controller is perfect, so what do you want to see beyond what we have?

For example, maybe you want a capacitive screen now, or you want analog sticks replaced by the touch sensitive pads on the Steam Controller. Maybe you think controlling a game directly with your mind is possible by next gen and you want to see that.

Just have a normal controller. The controller was perfected last generation. Stop trying to fix what already works and find other gimmicks to shoehorn, damnit.

Keep dreaming, we're a good several decades away from the point where that's a realistic possibility.

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I would have said the same thing about self driving cars in 2005. Or about recreating organs from a person's own stem cells, but those things will be achieved within the decade. Not saying it's likely, but tech moves damn fast.

But on the subject of VR. I remember going to an exhibit in Pittsburgh in the early 2000s that was very rudimentary VR. But it was cool. You stood in what is basically a virtual court, and a screen to your right showed the match you were playing with the ball and the net. And you controlled it with your body. Today that could easily be implemented with Kinect, but it's interesting to see an early form.

"Fixing what isn't broken" led to the D-pad, the Analog stick, Rumble, Dual analog stick, analog triggers, tough control, and motion control. It's the fundamental force for innovation. Now, when they do it wrong, you have a problem (see Virtual Boy and Power Glove) but the key is to do it right. What they shouldn't do is just leave everything as is. Then we get stagnation, and the reason for even having new consoles becomes smaller and smaller.

And no, the controller was not perfected last generation. The fact that people still prefer to play FPS and strategy games with a mouse and keyboard is proof of that. Or that people want a GC style controller for Wii U. Speaking for myself, the 360 controller is adequate, but it's not super comfortable and the button layout isn't particularly spectacular. That's not to mention all the more casual players who are intimidated by such a control scheme.

We will have a perfect controller when it works near perfectly for nearly everyone. And we aren't there yet, at all.

People prefer FPSes on PCs because that's what they're used to. Other than that, we're close enough for them to stop obsessing on reinventing the damn wheel when nobody wants them to. The only reason people flocked to the Wii mote was because it was new, and when the newness wore-off, people stopped caring. Nintendo, king of missing the damn point, decided to learn nothing from that experioence and decided to play that trick again, but this time with something more familiar. Now nobody cared in the first place. Instead of beating a dead horse, all they need to do is make a controller like the Pro controller, but this time make it the standard controller, and focus on innovating other aspects that might actually need changing.

I want to see something new. No motion controls,drop the "Wii" name.. I just want to see something brand new that Nintendo can do.

Okay wow. So much wrong with this post.

No, people prefer FPSes on PC, or sometimes Wii, because those have larger interfaces for motion and aren't resistive. This allows or faster and easier movement. It's the same reason most people had trouble/didn't prefer using the right stick in games like Okami, The Wonderful 101, Pikmin, Pandora's Tower, or Wind Waker HD. It's also why the Steam controller scrapped them. Then there is all my other points. That the GCN button layout is superior for most 3D platformers, Sports, Adventure, and Action games (in fact, the only game in my ~40 GCN game collection that doesn't work well with the GCN controller is Soul Calibur 2). That the Wii, DS, and Smartphone interfaces are much more intuitive to people who are less experienced. Or a few other examples. That full sized Joysticks are the better way of playing flying games. Or that for games that could have gestures appropriately matched to in-game actions, the Wii Remote was far more immersive (don't try to argue this. There are multiple studies that have been done that indicate this).

The prevailing controller model is NOT perfect, or even close too it. What it is is a good compromise that works adequately for nearly every type of game in existence. But who is to say that that compromise is ideal for a console? And who is to say that this is the best compromise we can have? Why not a different mix that is slightly better for some games and worse for others (see Gamecube controller). Or why not work to improve a controller to be even better for more games, like the Dualshock 4's touchpad and motion sensing, which work to make some gameplay more intuitive.

People don't typically know what innovations they want. Sure, there are the apparent problems that need to be fixed too, but it's the job of creators to bring new ideas to the table to show people what they want. I'm not sure if you watched Part III of the Game Theory episode on the Wii U, but he talks about this with the pasta sauce example, where no one really asked for or sold a Chunky pasta sauce until someone actually had the idea to make it. So even if no one is begging for a particular feature on a controller, it may very well be that they just don't know they are interested. And we have seen successive additions to controllers in nearly every major console in every generation by the 360 controller in the 7th, which was basically a rearranged Dualshock 2. Even the most conservative main controller this gen (the XB1 controller) added something interesting in the form of rumble (haptic feedback) in the triggers.

The Wii sold incredibly well though 2010, and, for most of it's life, had a higher tie ratio than the PS3. It also has 5 of the top 15 highest selling games ever (excluding the Wii Sports titles), 2 of which were released in 2009. A product that is just popular because it's "new" doesn't put up figures like that. The Kinect, Eyetoy, and Zune are examples of products that "sold well mostly because they were new".

The Wii sold well for several reasons (in no particular order, not exhaustive):
1. The controls were incredibly intuitive, as were many games on it, which made the console very easy to pick up and play. The most dramatic impact was an increase of sales among male children and young women (mid 20s to mid 30s), though sales likely increased across the board because of it (who didn't have a blast with Wii Sports at some point)
2. Yes, there was some launch hype and shiny new toy hype. They poor implementation of motion controls in many 3rd Party multiplat games was easy to overlook when you first got it, and were entranced when it worked. Over time those flaws became more and more bothersome.
3. The best marketing campaign Nintendo has had in decades
4. It was cheap and affordable
5. Among exclusives, the console delivered an incredibly unique experience with motion controls. Allowing brand new game mechanics and ideas
6. Among exclusives, the console also delivered a strongly immersive experience, increasing engagement and presence in actual studies