Anyone else absolutely despise the way the industry is moving?

[cAPSLOCK]

*rawr I'm a hardcore gamer!*
Hardcore gaming hasn't changed one bit because hardcore gaming is, was, and will always be the sole province PC gaming -- not filthy console peasants. Hardcore gamers also don't whack off to graphics because they're too busy making a .cfg file that sets their graphics below what can be set in game to make sure their frames per second stay at 60 frames per second and measuring with a ruler to see how much their $150 mouse moves moves on screen per 1 inch of real movement. (I wish I were making this up but when I played competitively that's what everyone did)
*/rawr I'm a hardcore gamer*

Silliness and retarded dick waving aside, don't think of this stuff as a permanent fixture forcing the hand of gaming because it's not. When you're getting right now is the effects of Nintendo dominating the market with an innovative idea. What's going to happen is you're probably going to get a generation of consoles where this continues, and a lot of the bad ideas will be filtered out. They learned an important lesson, though: there has to be a familiar base or no one is going to bite.

You may hate the Kinect rail shooters and the creepy Disney thing, but being able to give your squad voice commands is an incredible innovation to squad based games. No more pausing the action or taking short cuts on abilities to cut down on buttons. Instead of navigating clumsy menus that either pause the game and kill the tempo you can just say "HEAL ME". Mass Effect was a perfect example taking the giant, hulking Kinect apparatus and stripping it down to an essential part (voice command) that greatly adds not only to the flow of the game but the immersion in a way that doesn't feel cheesy or forced.

All that crazy Nintendo strategy aping, trying to get new gamers to play ended up actually a level of immersion and convenience you wouldn't have gotten otherwise that actually improves a "core" (whatever the hell that means) game in a legitimate, drastic, and immersive way. Let that sink in for a second. If it wasn't for Nintendo having a massive set of balls to do what they did, 360 players would being playing with nothing but the normal controller. How quaint; how last gen.

Anyone that says something like voice commands are no big deal or something they'd never do because it's for babies or whatever is just being an obtuse little bitch about the whole thing. I've used voice commands in games since 2002 on PC and let me tell you, the sheer headcrushing depth it adds, ease of use, and the speed you can pull it off what would normally be long winded button commands is the most awesome experience you'll have this gen. (IF they do it right)

Go check out Operation Flashpoint in game command menu navigation. Imagine being able to give insanely detailed and complex orders to squad mates with a few words instead of navigating a menu that can branch 4-5 times. Now you can suddenly have games where you lead a squad of 20-30 people instead of just 4, or even do combined arms and command soldiers, thanks, planes, you name it. Now tell me you'd rather do that shit with just a controller.

I'm actually sad I don't have a 360 now. :(

Edit: ArmA squad commands

http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA_II_AI_Squad_Command

(yes, that's the "simplest" overview I could find and there are a ton of commands--most of which can be replaced with a single voice command and no menu navigation if you have voice)