Motion Sensing Technology

Among current generation consoles, the Wii has been extremely successful by focusing on a new way to play games as opposed to improving the current methods of play. Microsoft and Sony are joining the affair by introducing the Kinect and Move, motion sensing devices similar to the Wii controller. The question is, is motion sensing technology just a fad or does it actually bring something unique to the experience?

For most games, the addition of motion sensing technology is not helpful in the least. Games that require character movement still need to use a direction pad to accomplish this, hence the nunchuck attachment that features a d-pad. The sensors are also not always completely accurate in sensing the motion you are making, leading to imprecise control and occasional unnecessary character deaths.


Imagine if this syringe goes in the wrong part of this fellow's liver.

On the other hand, the technology does make some aspects smoother. You can move the cursor around the screen faster than with a regular controller in most cases, allowing for faster reactions in shooting games. Additionally, it makes certain movements more natural, such as turning cranks by spinning the Wii-mote around like a crank instead of mashing A. This certainly makes the game feel more natural to people who don't play games very often, as they can make a movement instead of trying to figure out where the A button is.

However, the largest impact of motion sensors is on the population of gamers. People who never played videogames at all own a Wii and enjoy it greatly. It allows many to feel more like they are part of the action than if they were using a regular controller. It's easier to pick up, you don't have to learn where buttons are, you just move it around. Maybe eventually they'll start playing traditional games.