I had a discussion about motion control in all 3 consoles now and that discussion is worth of a thread in here.

It was discussed how motion control has become the standart input for games... or it will be.

For the Wii that's true since launch and Nintendo is likely to slighly improve it for Wii HD.

For the PS3 not likely, the "dildo" will work as an additional peripheral but in PS4 it is likely to be dildo-only if Sony implements some buttons on the wands.

For the 360, same as PS3 for this gen but a camera itself can't replace the controller in the next gen, because it doesn't work with some game genres as arcade fighting games, some sports games, adventure games, platformers, etc...

So that made me and my friends wonder if Natal will work along a wand next gen, so it can fully replace a traditional controller in the next gen or microsoft will just stick with the 360 pad + Natal.

Thoughts?

More than likely it'll just be a remote next gen. I don't think they'll take the risk of having a different controller than the competitors.

Yeah, they'll release a Wii Remote-like controller, eventually, don't worry.

Seems to me like all they need to do is use the regular 360 controller and Natal. For the majority of Wii-style motion games, Natal is all you'd need. Games that are played with the analog nunchuck attachment such as platformers, shooters, etc, usually do not use much motion controls at all (mostly an afterthought for those game types) so a standard controller will always be a better choice for those games.

With Natal, if they want to add a few gesture controls into one of those games like Sony tries with the SixAxis and Nintendo does with games like Zelda and SMG, they can use Natal to track your movements while using the controller (such as a throwing/swiping motion with the controller still in hand).

And what's to say they won't advance the technology even more by the next Xbox so that there will be absolutely no need for a controller at all in any games? I sure don't see it happening, don't get me wrong, but it is still a possibility and it is, I believe, the next big step that all 3 companies will be shooting for. They will want to make things more "virtual/lifelike" and immersive by using our own bodies for everything. I can't wait for the day that I just buy some "direct to brain" interface where it literally is controlled by whatever you want and you have everything including sights, smells, other senses uploaded into your brain via Matrix style (without the painful looking needle jacks).

No one cares that it's contradiction to what Microsoft talked about those words are for other people not for us. We all know the awesome possibilities of head tracking and simple gestures like waving goodbye or flipping the bird (that would be awesome in multiplayer) all while playing it like we use to. I like the controller myself and I think if Microsoft does anything to increase the controllers usefulness it should be to add in something that interfaces with the Natal that comes with the next system.

Natal games would still be hands free.  It would be the normal games like RPGs and Shooters that are mostly used with controllers and maybe add some slight gesture controls.  And they could still find a way to make all games hands free, we'll see.

Oh and since when is Natal a gimmick?  They aren't copying Nintendo like Sony is, they are making their own version of motion control that takes things to a level not seen before in gaming without any peripherals what so ever.

lets just wait and see what games microsoft releases for this thing first okay.

@Keep_the_change : Maybe I'm off my hinges, but I believe ya. That's why I'm gonna let ya go. I'm gonna give ya 'til the count of 3 to get ya lousy, lyin', low-down four-flushin' carcass out my door! 1... 2...(unloads clip of Tommy Gun)....3. (respect to the avatar. I love that Johnny Guy)

Really? Is that the best you could think of for NATAL? Because if that's it, then that's absolutely gimmicky shit.

I'm becoming more and more doubtful of NATAL. I mean lets look at the genres:

Platforming: Are you going to be awkwardely holding the controler and moving your character with the analog stick, and then repedeatly jump up in the air? What will happen if we're talking about hard platformers that require absolute precision? And do you want to jump in the air, over and over, rather than just pressing X/A?

FPS: Shooting purely with NATAL is out of the question (as the Sony engineers emphasized, you need things such as triggers). Throwing grenades with a motion? Again, sounds gimmicky and do you want to, in a competitive game such as Halo, let go of one hand, and take the extra 1-2 seconds to wind up and do a throwing motion? Will you want to use NATAL controls over button controls in a competitive atmosphere? I mean, people criticized the use of the Sixaxis (such as shaking the controller in GTAIV to reload) and I don't use the Sixaxis when I can use buttons. Will you?

RTS: NATAL is much better suited than the standard controller, and will greatly be enhanced with a combination of controller.

JRPG: I can't think of a good, non-gimmicky use for it. If it's turnbased, it has to be all controller, I can't see any non-gimmicky way to do it. AJRPGs, I can see it being used, although I don't know how you'll swing a sword with one hand, move with the analog, turn with the analog and/or change the camera angle, all at the same time.

WRPG: I mean, I guess smiling and frowning for dialogue will be great, but what if it miscalculates? Or hell, lets say it's perfect. Is this really a big push as to why you'll want to have NATAL?

Driving: Can't say much until it comes out, but I think that it won't work as well as the Wii wheel, and if you want, again, to be precise, especially in a game the requires precision such as driving sims, then you'll substitute regular analog/real wheel for NATAL.

Biggest problems with NATAL:

You can't run/move. The games are limited to STATIONARY games.

Replacements for other controls seem gimmicky and echoes the way the Sixaxis has been used (e.g. shake to reload).

Xbox controller is a two handed device, and trying to use it with one hand is awkward and will be even harder for casual players, the audience Microsoft is trying to get.