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New Games Promise More
Activity and Possible Family Appeal
When the Nintendo Wii hit the marketplace a couple of years
ago, many were watching to see how the new console’s unusual controllers and
relatively simplistic games would be accepted. We now know the answer: The
enthusiastic response resulted in over
50 million Wii’s finding their way into homes
worldwide as of March 31, 2009. (Microsoft’s
Xbox 360 and
Sony’s Playstation 3 lag far behind with 30.2
and 22.73 million units respectively.)
The Wii’s worldwide embrace is significant because it
clearly demonstrates there is a huge segment of the world’s population that
would like video games a whole lot more if they didn’t have to commit a week
just to learn how to play a game and if they can get off the sofa and move
around. (Parents, like me, really like that last part.)
The other interesting aspect is the Wii is far inferior to
its competitors from a technology point of view. It’s “CPU” (the chip that does
the hard lifting to create the virtual gaming worlds) runs at roughly only
one-quarter the speed of the other two systems. Yet most Nintendo games are
family oriented, offer fun and colorful environments, and encourage play by
multiple participants.
While the Wii’s success went beyond what I was expecting,
I’m not all that surprised to discover many of us would play these games if they
were entertaining, easy to learn and weren’t all about shooting someone’s brains
out.
With Nintendo raking in wads of cash (prior to the Wii, it
was the company that was struggling to stay in the video game race) it’s also
not surprising the other two gaming giants have taken notice. Thankfully,
because of Nintendo’s lead, the outcome may mean even more games that will turn
the family room into a very fun virtual play place.
At this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3)
– a convention where the gaming industry pulls out its best toys – Microsoft
revealed that they have been watching the trend toward full-body gaming very
closely. The result, if it works as well as the demonstration videos depict, is
nothing short of science fiction coming true.
Named Project Natal, the company has developed an
imaging system that looks similar to a webcam and sits above or below your
television screen (similar to the Wii’s sensor bar). Using this device, your
current Xbox 360 creates an amazing virtual world that allows you to interact
with what you see on the screen by simply moving your body.
The demonstrations truly look too good to be true, and we
really won’t know for sure if what we see will work just as well in our own
homes. A family sits on a sofa watching a racing game. Their daughter is driving
simply by holding her hands on an imaginary steering wheel. She hits the pits
and her dad jumps up and uses an air wrench (bit of a pun there – just
like an “air guitar”) to tighten the bolts on the newly mounted tires – which he
also had to “lift” into place.
Another segment shows a boy practicing some kickboxing
moves and the character on the screen reflects his every action. In a soccer
game, a player virtually kicks the ball with their foot. (The Microsoft produced
demo showing all these tricks, and more, is
here.)
For me, the most impressive showing, assuming it’s as
unscripted as they claim it is, is from a game designer called Lionhead. The
segment features an on-screen character named Milo who appears to be able to
interact to not only the movements of the person in the real world, but also to
her spoken phrases.
This demonstration begins to touch upon how
transparent the interactive world may become in the next decade.
Obviously, if you are a parent as cynical as myself, you
can’t help but wonder what games will be created that will take advantage of
these amazing technologies in a negative way. Certainly it seems content
creators of violent and sex-laden games are often recognized as the leaders in
the industry – just as R-rated movies seem to attract the best directors and
talent.
However, as the gaming world continues to evolve, it has
already proven that games playing to a family-oriented audience stand to make a
ton of money. The Nintendo Wii is just the latest indicator of this fact. (And
yes, I know, there are some nasty games that are available for the Wii, but
Nintendo itself has been fairly keen to keep it’s games clean from profanities,
sex and explicit violence.)
I also believe these new game systems may actually bring
families together in a new way. Unlike when we used to sit in a semi-circle and
watch a television show thirty years ago in stunned silence (“Shhhh!! We’re
trying to watch!”), interactive games that support multiple players may actually
provide a common platform for families to begin playing together again. The
Wii’s ease of use allows parents, who may not be as proficient at pushing seven
buttons in a certain order, to quickly jump in and join the fun. From the looks
of it, Microsoft is trying to take the Xbox in the same direction.
So, although the video game landscape will still be dotted
with gun toting double-D breasted women shooting their way through 56 levels of
carnage, there is some hope that the big game manufacturers are finally pulling
their heads out of all that doom and gloom and may be creating a few titles for
the rest of us.
Rod Gustafson
Besides writing this column for the Parents Television Council, Rod Gustafson authors Parent Previews® - a newspaper and Internet column (published in association with movies.com) that reviews movies from a parent's perspective. He's also the film critic for a major Canadian TV station, various radio stations and serves on the executive of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness. Finally, his most important role is being the father to four wonderful children and husband to his beautiful wife (and co-worker) Donna.
Parenting
and the Media by Rod Gustafson
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
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