Monday 4-Jun-2007 12:41 PM Microsoft chairman hints at motion control future for Microsoft's gaming sector, following teasing comments from other MS execs
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has offered further hints at the direction Microsoft's gaming division is taking, and if his comments at last week's All Things D conference are anything to go by, Gates wants to outdo Nintendo's Wii.
"Software is doing vision and so, you know, imagine a game machine where you're just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it", he said.
A bit like Wii then, Bill? "No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket. And swing it." Oh, right.
Earlier this year Xbox boss Peter Moore hinted that Wii-like motion controls might be in the Xbox's future. "We have plans. This does not come as a surprise", he said.
Frankly, we're quite happy with our bog-standard 360 controllers as they are, but with these increasingly common comments considered, E3 could just be the place where we see Microsoft shake things up.
Now that sounds a bit interesting. With the combined force of the 360's power and some kind of innovative Wii-like control method, the world of gaming could be in for a shake-up.
I think Bill Gates can only talk in zeros and ones; he's one of the most incoherent billionnaires I can think of.
What is he talking about anyway? He is just saying "We're gonna assimilate the Wii's technological distinctiveness into our own. Resistance is futile."
Are we supposed to be impressed or excited? Bill if I wanted a Wii-like control system, I'd buy a Wii. Not interested in any of your half-baked rip-offs. Stick to programming, you gorm.
I think Bill Gates can only talk in zeros and ones; he's one of the most incoherent billionnaires I can think of.
What is he talking about anyway? He is just saying "We're gonna assimilate the Wii's technological distinctiveness into our own. Resistance is futile."
Are we supposed to be impressed or excited? Bill if I wanted a Wii-like control system, I'd buy a Wii. Not interested in any of your half-baked rip-offs. Stick to programming, you gorm.
Well said! I'm sick of Bill Gates and his "I wanna take over the world" attitude.
I think Bill Gates can only talk in zeros and ones; he's one of the most incoherent billionnaires I can think of.
What is he talking about anyway? He is just saying "We're gonna assimilate the Wii's technological distinctiveness into our own. Resistance is futile."
Are we supposed to be impressed or excited? Bill if I wanted a Wii-like control system, I'd buy a Wii. Not interested in any of your half-baked rip-offs. Stick to programming, you gorm.
haha, i haven't heard the term gorm for years.
i'm slightly annoyed at this wii-imitating crap though, i got a wii, tried a few games, decided that it is shank, and sold it. until there is a system that can work out where my hands are and what my fingers are doing, i don't give a crap.
oh well immitating the wii is not gonna bring him any fortune, cause they don't have the games to adopt the controller. the only thing they have is FPS and Sports games that would use the wiimote in such predictable ways, they don't have the nintendo creativity to create awesome games for the controller. oh well they're sinking themselves in deep MUD.
If they make there own Wii Remote, it will most likely fall to pieces if the 360's console reliability is anything to go by. However what do, I really mean by fall to pieces, I mean quite literally fall to pieces into lots of little pieces.
But what does this mean for motion tech like in the Wii remote and full true body motion, which is true motion in the Eye Toy and the future PS3 Eye, well leave all this motion stuff to the Jap's, because they are really great with this stuff.
I can only pray that MS doesn't try and do a Sony by copying other consoles ideas. Each console has a defining factor and it should stay that way. Wii has its motion sensor stuff. 360 has LIVE. PS3 has Blu-Ray.
Copying ideas never turns out well. Just look at PS3. They tried to copy LIVE and have yet another below par online service. They tried to copy Wii's motion sensor features to make up for the lack of rumble and that is a joke. If MS want to make use of motion senor attributes make some damn games that make use of the 360 webcam!
I know just what he means. All games will become like Guitar Hero. Buy a game for $100 and it comes with a special controller, bat, racket, lightsaber. Just another way to get more money out of us. Unlike the Wii however we at least won't be limited by the controller for ALL games. After thought controllers won't do much good though as not everyone will have them. How about you make better use of the camera I bought for the 360 Billy before you try and get me to buy the pizza tossing motion controller for PIZZA PARTY 07? You Nintendo fanboys should be flattered that you are being copied.
"Software is doing vision and so, you know, imagine a game machine where you're just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it"
If they're going the motion-control route for the 360, then I hope Microsoft release it alongside the conventional one rather than as a replacement because the Wii proves that while its controller is perfect for some games, it certainly isn't for all games, e.g. the lack of a second analogue stick and fewer buttons being the cinch. That's a problem for a system that only has a unique controller as a selling-point in my opinion.
As for the PS3's SIXAXIS controller, well it's poorly thought out and tilt controls were clearly added last minute as a replacement for the loss of the dual-shock feature. I've yet to actually use it in any full-priced PS3 game and most of the time I forget it even has tilt-sensing controls!!!
P.S. I own all three consoles so I'm in no way biased to any particular format.
leave the gimicky controls to the wii. It doesnt sound at all like any thing i would want to ever use,all that jumpin n wavin about like a nutcase .if gamers want that or motion sensing we know where to go ,dont lose the rumble in controlers like ps3 either ,microŁ$oft leave 360 as a more grown up console we dont need the grannie n housewife crowd IMO .
The only virtual motion you need for microsoft is the yawn! They remind me of my dad when he is trying to be cool. And he aint. They try so hard to be down with the kids that it is now becoming embarrassing. Stop it. Stop it now.
I think you are all missing something here. Gates is talking about doing a eye-toy type motion detection device not a motion sensing controller. There has been a lot of work in the past few years on video motion control and it's getting to the point where you can control UI's through video cameras. I am not sure how useful it will really be in video games as you cannot really play Gears of War through a video UI!! Nintendo's motion sensing controllers are a lot more useful.
waste of time.i like my 360 as is.no need for wii nonsense they must be taking the p**s out of themselves.stupid bill gates stick to being rich and retire or something.
They are absolutely desperate. There is no doubt the 360 will come third this generation, close behind the PS3. Consumers are clever enough to see through this.
I don't think that'll happen... I think over the next couple of years, sales of the Wii will slowdown massively and sales of the 360 and PS3 will increase. The Wii already looks dated hardware wise but the PS2 is still around so it's not really a big issue at the moment. However, in 18 months time when the PS3 has taken over completely from the PS2, the Wii could look very sad indeed unless Nintendo release some incredible games for it and drop the price to a sub-Ł100 price point.
No, my prediction is that the PS3 will take the lead over the next two to three years, especially once the price drops a couple of times, and the Xbox 360 will take second place ahead of the Wii. I really cannot see it going any other way as the Wii just doesn't have the CPU/GPU grunt to compete with the PS3 or Xbox 360 in the long-term.
I must admit to being very surprised the Wii is selling so well now especially as it has very few must-have games for it and it's been out six months but then the GameCube was a big seller for a year or two before third-party support dried up and consumers lost interest in the machine. The Wii seems to be no different to me and I'm speaking as an owner of all three current systems.
They are absolutely desperate. There is no doubt the 360 will come third this generation, close behind the PS3. Consumers are clever enough to see through this.
Microsoft had good reason for thinking motion control wouldn't take off.
They released a controller with the same functionality as the PS3's Sixaxis nearly a decade ago back in 1998 (Sidewinder Freestyle Pro). Which very quickly gets rid of the 'MS copying Sony' arguement.
It never took off. Infact they only games it's particularly good for are Motorcross Madness 2 and some Superbike games. (It's very good for leaning into turns accurately etc)
Ofcourse we still don't know if it WILL last. It still seems rather gimmicky to me. Great for some quick party games but for a long sit-down session a pad or mouse/keyboard still make more sense to me. Who knows.
Software is doing vision and so, you know, imagine a game machine where you're just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it
I think some people have just totally mis-read this, as somebody said earlier in the post - this is about motion detection. Its not about buying a tennis racket controller, it's about waving an actual tennis racket in front of the TV, or anything else you've got to hand.
Probably based on their gesture system which has been around for yonks, at least it should have positional awareness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr85EsHCz1g
As far as I'm concerned, any game I gave to stand up to play is a backwards step.. (unless it is called Samba De Amigo and that was innovative 10 years ago)
I think a lot of you people aren't paying attention....
"No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket. And swing it."
he is talking about a system where it can sense you picking something up and then manipulating it. that seems to suggest to me, some kind of glove...
Thats even worse, so I would have to buy the device and then a tennis racket to just paly a tennins game???
And going on the figures of the amount of idiots that managed to hurt themselves with the Wii remote... think of all the damage they will cause swinging a real life tennis racket idoors... or maybe a cricket bat...
RTY 07? You Nintendo fanboys should be flattered that you are being copied.
well thank you!. bill should just stick to to what he does best and not take our wii contrls. bit pointless. he can pay people to study for the VR Game that should come out soon and would give M$ a headstart as Nintendo and sony rush a console to compete yet! he does a half-a** job of copying the wii-mote
Are we supposed to be impressed or excited? Bill if I wanted a Wii-like control system, I'd buy a Wii. Not interested in any of your half-baked rip-offs. Stick to programming, you gorm.
Erm wasn't that how MS Dos was created - he bought someone elses patent and made a few modifications?
I don't think that'll happen... I think over the next couple of years, sales of the Wii will slowdown massively and sales of the 360 and PS3 will increase. The Wii already looks dated hardware wise but the PS2 is still around so it's not really a big issue at the moment. However, in 18 months time when the PS3 has taken over completely from the PS2, the Wii could look very sad indeed unless Nintendo release some incredible games for it and drop the price to a sub-Ł100 price point.
Doesn't the DS already look dated compared to the PSP? The DS seems to be still selling rather well...
god no. I would much rather all three companies go in their own direction rather than try to be as similar to each other as possible, that way I get more choice and distinct games for each system, rather than slightly different games for very similar systems. the wii has done motion control leave nintendo to focus on how they can improve that. microsoft have done online and they should focus on improving that, after all it is one of the main reasons people get a 360 for the great online service not the possibility of some add on device.
"Software is doing vision and so, you know, imagine a game machine where you're just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it", he said.
A bit like Wii then, Bill? "No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket. And swing it." Oh, right.
So, essentially- what you can do- is play Wii Tennis- but with a tennis racquet instead of a Wii remote. I'm feeling I'm either in the dark, or missing something fundamental about this entire concept... isn't the activity he's describing a sport more commonly known as tennis? Have I grasped the basic priciples of what he's saying well enough for this observation to be of any value; or have I missed something critical to the apprehension of the whole thing?
I don't think that'll happen... I think over the next couple of years, sales of the Wii will slowdown massively and sales of the 360 and PS3 will increase. The Wii already looks dated hardware wise but the PS2 is still around so it's not really a big issue at the moment. However, in 18 months time when the PS3 has taken over completely from the PS2, the Wii could look very sad indeed unless Nintendo release some incredible games for it and drop the price to a sub-Ł100 price point.
No, my prediction is that the PS3 will take the lead over the next two to three years, especially once the price drops a couple of times, and the Xbox 360 will take second place ahead of the Wii. I really cannot see it going any other way as the Wii just doesn't have the CPU/GPU grunt to compete with the PS3 or Xbox 360 in the long-term.
I must admit to being very surprised the Wii is selling so well now especially as it has very few must-have games for it and it's been out six months but then the GameCube was a big seller for a year or two before third-party support dried up and consumers lost interest in the machine. The Wii seems to be no different to me and I'm speaking as an owner of all three current systems.
Sorry but the wii has sold a over 7 million in about 6 months the cube only sold about 21 million. Its just a feeling but i think that the wii may do a few more than that! If nintendo can make a healthy profit whilst including a game now, the price can clearly get much lower later in its product lifecycle which can only improve future sales.
The only virtual motion you need for microsoft is the yawn! They remind me of my dad when he is trying to be cool. And he aint. They try so hard to be down with the kids that it is now becoming embarrassing. Stop it. Stop it now.
Sweet monkey Jesus! 99% of the posts above are retarded (mine included).
You've all pretty muched missed the point...well done, give yourself a pat on the back, whats that you can't because your spastic limbs won't permit it? There there, the nurse will be in to see you shortly.
be honest,is this really a surprise? not too keen on the idea myself but the success of the wii has clinched it despite the fact that apart from wii sports nothing has justified the idea of motion sensing.EVERYONE rips nintendo off (in the console space) ms are no different.
It annoys me when people start to predict which console will win out; especially when they only base their guesses on one aspect, like graphics. The PS2 won out last generation, despite the fact it was the weakest graphically, you gorms! Add in the fact, that it won because of it's brand popularity bringing games to the mainstream (a.k.a. casual gamers) and is anything starting to sound familiar? I'm not saying that the Wii will have the most success this generation, I just wish people would stop saying that it's not, regardless of current sales. I only really care if whichever consoles I own will be killed off early or not; like my Dreamcast (I never got my PS2 online, even to this day, but I was playing Quake on the internet on my DC, at least 6 months before the PS2 was even out) or my Gamecube. It seems like all three consoles are going to be well supported this cycle for a change; I mean the equivalent to what happened to the Dreamcast, would have been the 360 dying off as soon as the PS3 came out and the Gamecube didn't have third-party support, but with the number of Wii's being sold, it would be ridiculous for that to happen again. Stop bitching about stuff you don't want or haven't got and just get the stuff you want and enjoy what you've got. I know it isn't exactly a proverb or anything, but there you go...
Hahaha, Bill Gates wants to outdo the Wii. What a funny man.
He's very insecure about the 360 isn't he. He releases the Xbox 360, see's it's not doing well, starts to develop motion technology and pays all the good game companies so that games like Splinter Cell : Conviction are 360 exclusive.
don't see it happening this year.plus i think it will be peripheral like eyetoy and not replacement.ms should wait for big guns to arrive then they'll see sales shoot up. we've got forza this week bioshock in 2 months time.mass effect,halo 3 on the way and still the ex sony exclusives to come like dmc 4.don't know why gates is worried
Sweet monkey Jesus! 99% of the posts above are retarded (mine included).
You've all pretty muched missed the point...well done, give yourself a pat on the back, whats that you can't because your spastic limbs won't permit it? There there, the nurse will be in to see you shortly.
Without getting into the good/bad points of each console and its controllers I think that we have reached a point where graphics, sound and gameplay are all at a very good standard (not to say they can't or shouldn't get any better though ).
I think if Microsoft really want to push games and interactivity forward they should look towards the viewing screen. I know most consoles are played on TV's and probably HD ones at that with the current generation. However, there is a lot of different technologies out there for creating true 3D images that leap from the screen. Some are old, some are new, some are bad but some are really good and promise a lot of potential.
If he wants to invest his billions into something this could be a winner. Once he has proved it in the games playing arena he could expand it into normal TV viewing and revolutionise the whole industry of leisure time etc.
Or of course, they could half-bake it as usual and completely cobble it together which would consign it to the history books as just 'A GIPE' tm (another good idea poorly executed).
Problem is, microsoft don't have franchises that are interesting for familys. They are a geeky company catering for geeks. They should stick to what they know because people who are interested in fun, motion-sensing games are not interested in microsoft.
I remember when playstation first showed up in rave clubs up and down the country. Sony is famous for cool. I feel cool having a PS3.
Nintendo are famous for Mario and Zelda, famous world renown characters. Cool. It's cool to have a Wii!
Microsoft are known for..... erm..... windows?.....bad jumpers?...erm.....Oh! Halo! That will get the party started come xmas!!!!...not.
If he does manage to pull off a Wii beater, that idiot will be well on his way to buying his own country!
I don't think that you could call anyone who has amassed enough money to buy a country an idiot
I don't know what everyone is so surprised / angry about. All companies copy each other when they see that someone else has had a good idea. It's just common (and sensible) business practice. If you don't want it, just don't buy it. Nobody is forcing you to. I seem to remember a few years ago a chap called Henry Ford coming up with the idea of a motor car. It's been copied by lots of different manufacturers since but I don't see anyone moaning about that. Anything that adds to consumer choice and competition is a good thing in my book. It'll spur the games companies to produce better games to try and sell their software / hardware...
I've spotted many faults in his system. In his very silly explanation, he says that we need to get a tennis racket and swing it at the tv, what about volleyball? do we gotta hit a volleyball at the ceiling or at the tv to play volleyball? soccer too, kicking a soccer ball at the system or tv wouldnt work either. Heck, if i wanted to do that, i'd go play sports in real life. I dont think gates has ever heard of sports. He's describing thing we can do already without his crap. Now i got a challenge for ya, do we gotta buy a variety of guns to play FPS games? what about racing games, do we gotta drive a car around the tv? get real! leave motion sensing to Nintendo and get back to your Mature game creations. they're good enough already even if they're losing.
If he does manage to pull off a Wii beater, that idiot will be well on his way to buying his own country!
I don't think that you could call anyone who has amassed enough money to buy a country an idiot
I don't know what everyone is so surprised / angry about. All companies copy each other when they see that someone else has had a good idea. It's just common (and sensible) business practice. If you don't want it, just don't buy it. Nobody is forcing you to. I seem to remember a few years ago a chap called Henry Ford coming up with the idea of a motor car. It's been copied by lots of different manufacturers since but I don't see anyone moaning about that. Anything that adds to consumer choice and competition is a good thing in my book. It'll spur the games companies to produce better games to try and sell their software / hardware...
Well I could not exactly call him anything else that I would love to call him without being banned from here!
This sounds...I don't know...like a PS3 perhaps? Powerful console + Motion sensing controller = PS3
you are joking, right? the ps3's sensors were just slapped on at the last minute as a token to avoid being outdone by nintendo. Very few games actually use it, evidence of how crappy they are. No, I think they are talking about proper, wii like sensors.
The thing that Bill Gates dosen't realize is that most people who bought the XBOX 360 bought it because they didn't have to move about, and they didn't want to pay Ł400 for a PS3. Now the idiot is bringing out something that most XBOX owners probably don't even want.
I seem to remember a few years ago a chap called Henry Ford coming up with the idea of a motor car.
Actually that's not true. What Henry Ford did was MASS PRODUCE the motor car, the idea of an automobile was invented WAY before this.
Not wishing to rain on your point at all, which is avalid one. If companies didn't copy each other, hell, can you imagine what Xbox and Playstation controllers would look like now??? No shoulder buttons, no D-pads, no analogue sticks, no rumble... Wouldn't they be interesting...
I think a lot of you people aren't paying attention....
"No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket. And swing it."
he is talking about a system where it can sense you picking something up and then manipulating it. that seems to suggest to me, some kind of glove...
Thats even worse, so I would have to buy the device and then a tennis racket to just paly a tennins game???
And going on the figures of the amount of idiots that managed to hurt themselves with the Wii remote... think of all the damage they will cause swinging a real life tennis racket idoors... or maybe a cricket bat...
A link please to show how many people actually got hurt playing with the Wii. You just sit and play.... why do you people think you need to stand to play the damned thing? It's not like it senses your friggin feet, so you don't have to run or jump or any of the things you'd have to do when you are playing on a floor pad for DDR. Please set your fanboyism aside and try and discuss things in an intelligent manner.
I think Bill Gates can only talk in zeros and ones; he's one of the most incoherent billionnaires I can think of.
What is he talking about anyway? He is just saying "We're gonna assimilate the Wii's technological distinctiveness into our own. Resistance is futile."
Are we supposed to be impressed or excited? Bill if I wanted a Wii-like control system, I'd buy a Wii. Not interested in any of your half-baked rip-offs. Stick to programming, you gorm.
haha, i haven't heard the term gorm for years.
i'm slightly annoyed at this wii-imitating crap though, i got a wii, tried a few games, decided that it is shank, and sold it. until there is a system that can work out where my hands are and what my fingers are doing, i don't give a crap.
Well i think the wii is amazing and the remote is incredible! At least its a start to virtual reality games where you can do what ever you want!
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