Controller Evolution

Over the course of our lives, most of us have witnessed the evolution of video game controllers - starting with the "anything goes" era of the Atari joystick and an assortment of very alien-looking controller designs, then several years of developers building on the revolutionary NES template, and now into the next generation, brought about by the Wii Remote. I consider the progress up until this point to be, for the most part, progressive, however I think we may soon bump our heads on the ceiling (at least until we have a few significant technological advances).

Excluding the Wii, I feel that most recent systems (XBox 360, PS3, GameCube) have mastered the ergonomics of traditional controller design. Sure, there are complaints, but they're mostly issues of preference rather than better design. The NES-derived controllers are about as good as they can get, which makes Nintendo's attempt to break the mold a logical and almost predictable business decision. The company was falling behind in the gaming world and needed something revolutionary to bring them back into the game. Traditional controller design couldn't go much further, so they changed the rules.

I don't dispute the fact that Nintendo's latest release has been beneficial and innovative, but because the success of the Wii and its games has so much riding on the controller design and style of gameplay, I feel that developers are making a lot of poor decisions. Sure, bowling, golfing, performing surgery on convulsing rabbits, and, in some cases, first-person shooters are really appropriate for the WiiMote, and having this new technology enhances gameplay. But the applications are limited, and mini-games can only go so far. Once the novelty wears off, those that don't already will start to miss the old-fashioned controllers. The WiiMote is more of an extension than a substitute, and as a long-term solution, it just isn't going to cut it. It's not that the WiiMote is poorly designed, it's just that its predecessors are just too efficient in most situations. So, I guess what I'm saying is that until we have a big breakthrough (like being able to control characters with our minds), there probably aren't going to be any controller innovations that will completely replace our current standard. The NES template is here to stay for a while.