Still, the controller should not disappear altogether, says Hiroshi Ishii, who is head of the Tangible Media Group at the M.I.T. Media Laboratory. “I’m a strong believer in having something tangible in your hand,” he says. Wiimote devices, moreover, provide haptic feedback, such as vibration or resistance, which makes the action more realistic. Even for activities like Natal’s soccerlike Ricochet game demo, Ishii points out, a player might miss the feeling of connecting with a physical object that a controller provides.

But Peter Molyneux, creative director of Microsoft Game Studios Europe, looks forward to a new breed of computer entertainment, because eliminating game controllers opens up more creative possibilities. “Natal is forcing me as a designer to think of this as a relationship between the player and a piece of technology,” he says. “We’re trying to make something that feels as if it’s alive.”

Note: This story was originally printed with the title "Naked Gaming"

6 Comments

1. 1. falcor84 10:17 AM 2/2/10

   I'm a math student and am really annoyed at seeing expressions like "almost limitless" and "near-infinite". No number however big is more limitless or infinite than any other.

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2. 2. Derick in TO 10:56 AM 2/2/10

   I love my Wii, and I have to say that holding that Wiimote in my hand makes slashing at the bad guys, swinging at golf balls and batting at badminton birdies way more fun.
   How would this system do a shooter? I'd feel pretty silly if I'd have to form a little gun with my thumb and forefinger. I think the technology is cool, and I'd love for my Wii to have something like this, and it opens up all kinds of options, but I still want something in my hand. Combining the 2 technologies would be fantastic.

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3. 3. Elle_DeB 01:23 PM 2/2/10

   @Derick, I agree. Combining the two technologies would be brilliant. As to your sword/gun in hand dilemma, I don't see why Microsoft would be unwilling to provide props for gameplay, such as swords (althought I suppose you could improvise that with even a handle to something or a stick), steering wheels, and guns.

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4. 4. hotblack 04:53 PM 2/2/10

   I wonder if, in keeping with their thinking on the brilliant "Surface" project, this will require a gymnasium to store it in and operate.

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5. 5. jonitiranes 04:08 PM 2/6/10

   haven't you guys seen "Gamer"?

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6. 6. m 02:04 AM 3/15/10

   Yes Gamer was very futuristic and the world had a lot of convicts apparently. But 1 point I extracted from your comment may be the fact that the FAT American chick playing xbox3millioon couldnt move out of her chair even if she wanted to. So i have no idea why macsoft* would ever bother going down the out-of-sofa experience way. I guess they arent bothered about losing the American market.
   
   *macsoft ... Microsoft and bought macdonalds in the future and now you can order your pies from the comfort of your armchair while playing dragonslayer 2065. In fact you get a free pie T-livered** when you hit 1000, 5000 and 10000 points.
   
   **T-livered (or tele-delivered) is the new teleport from your tv technology...push what you want on the tv and bang their it is in the box next to you.
   
   Unfortunately a few years later the technology was hacked by a 16 year old American kid later described by the FBI as the largest kid in the world, who had fed his entire town for several months before they caught him.
   
   Witness' wonder why it took them several months to catch him ... and wondered how fast his chair was travelling.
   
   :)
   
   
   

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