Nintendo’s controller design philosophy has found an ally from the most unlikely of courses – former Sony head man Phil Harrison.
Harrison, who is soon to part company with the Japanese electronics firm after 15 years of service, commented that modern videogame controllers are simply too complex for most gamers:
You hand somebody a game controller and it's like you've handed them a live gun or a hand grenade with the pin taken out.
When you take a look at the 360 or PS3 control pads, you have to admit he has a point. Many games require a startling number of button inputs and this undoubtedly puts many people off even attempting to play many modern titles.
Harrison went on to praise Nintendo’s “non-game centric” Wiimote design, as well as Apple’s new iPhone, and said that it was devices like these that would ultimately shape the way we interact with videogames in the future.
I saw this first hand a few weeks ago where a two-year-old was playing with an iPhone and he knows how to get the pictures up of mum and dad. The two-year-old then intuitively thought that all electronic devices worked like that: he's pressing the TV to change channels. He's right and the rest of us are wrong - that should be applied universally. Apple should be applauded for that innovation.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 1
Plus my Dad still hasn't got to grips with dual analogue stick controls rendering most new games unplayable to him.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...