^ Pretty much the same as my post...

But, you do know, that Nintendo invented the Powerglove, right?

Thats a very impressive list. Wow Nintendo innovated a lot when it comes to the controller... the user experience is always the number 1 thing nintendo focuses on.

DLC I'd have to give to Sega though. Sega channel let you get new and unreleased games every month and predates that Nintendo service by 2 years. Godlen Axe 3 for example was only available as a downlaod off Sega Channel in the USA.

Sega had a shitload of attempts at innovation. The bad ones failed obviously (activator controller, add-on hardware accessories)

But a lot of sega innoavtions are still being used today. Major ones being-

- dedicated online gaming (my saturn was online in 1997 playing bomberman with my freind who lived across the street)

- Browser on a console

- DLC service like sega Channel

- analog triggers (dreamcast was first)

- backwards compatibility adapters

- Portable handheld that plays TV channels (does DS or PSP do this?)

- Microphone and voice chat in gaming (Alien Front Online on Dreamcast)

No wonder people see Xbox as the Sega's successor console... I mean, a lot of the things that Sega innovated with were pretty much taken by Xbox 1 and 360 and made better and popular.

That quote referred not as much to controllers as to values. That's where the big game lies. Microsoft has started to try to attack the same values that Nintendo has conquered. Sony is still nowhere near that.

Some other random tidbits.

Nintendo released a 3d goggle system for the Famicom in April 1988. The game it was released with was 3d hot rally developed by Nintendo. It was the first Mario kart the cover art features Mario driving.

The famicom had a modem and disk drive that attached to it. This enabled users to download content from kiosks and bring them home or in the case of the modem download it. Though the main use was primarily horse race betting it also was a online game in the early 1980s.

The Super Famicom also had a modem which as far as I know did not support online gaming but allowed people to download games, as well as news and even had a satellite radio channel.

The Sega Channel was pure innovation though and on top of all this Sega has always been better about taking their riskier peripherals and innovations overseas. Where Nintendo was more cautious with the US and Euro markets.

All the above said though it was truly the Dreamcast that set the stone for modern day online gaming for consoles. Intergrating the modem(something neither the PS2 or the GC did) was the first step forward. Including a browser made people more friendly to the idea.

BTW both the PSP and DS have a TV tuners in Japan by third party manufacturers. Also the Turboexpress was the first to have one.

Good stuff. I always love going over retro gaming...

"The Super Famicom also had a modem which as far as I know did not support online gaming but allowed people to download games, as well as news and even had a satellite radio channel." - was this in Japan? In North America and Europe this never happened. I lived in Europe till 1995 and then in Canada after and this was never even spoken of here.

"All the above said though it was truly the Dreamcast that set the stone for modern day online gaming for consoles. Intergrating the modem(something neither the PS2 or the GC did) was the first step forward. Including a browser made people more friendly to the idea." - Sega Saturn had a browser. I used it for online chats in 1997 to try to pick up ladies. My handle was studboy3000...

"Nintendo released a 3d goggle system for the Famicom in April 1988. The game it was released with was 3d hot rally developed by Nintendo. It was the first Mario kart the cover art features Mario driving." - so it was after the 3D glasses for Master system? I believ that was 1987...

Yes it was in Japan only. That is why I said Super Famicom..they had weird stuff over their like a audio cassette player for BASIC programing on the original Famicom.

Other consoles had browsers but the Dreamcast is the only console I know that actually included it at purchase which is key.

I am not sure when the sega goggles came out. The sega goggles were more supported and better advertised then the nintendo ones. Which only got support for one game. I only know the game because it was the first mario racing game and is significant for its spirtual successors that would go on and become one of the biggest selling franchises in VG history. The gap between goggle releases was not that great but neither were true 3D instead they relied on field frame interlacing and blacking out one eye and then the other.

The VB on the other hand actually used a military technolgy which involved rotating mirrors and a red LED. Though its implementation was horrible and only good for 2 or 3 games max the others were unplayable IMO.

Sega was better about bringing products overseas than nitendo....BTW after 1988 Tonka made the master system in the US.

Sega was more willing to take stuff over seas.

There was the Virtual Boy...

BEHOLD the Virtual PFP!!!

But they pretty much have abandoned standard control save for the NES style buttons affixed to the wiimote itself. Non motion controllers must be purchased separately. Nothing is ever really completely abandoned, in which case, if the idea of abandonment must continue, then the applicable range must be increased. In this case, abandoned would be that the Wii has "dis-standardized" analog, shoulder buttons, and button number.

So, to rephrase my OP, since semantics have gotten in the way, "what will nintendo de-standardize/ what will they standardize?"

They've said before that they will always do something different. According to what we've seen, the only thing different come next gen is this vitality sensor, as balance boards are already in production by some companies for all systems.

Now, will the vitality sensor really make that much of a difference? The long answer is that the vitality sensor doesn't have that much to do with gameplay, and rather it is an add-on for exercise, where monitoring heart rate is important, which will likely be adapted by competing companies due to the technology being very simple and already existant in exact duplicate.

Of course, wii fit is probably ~20million reasons why the wii is in front. So this is indeed a great idea. If we can leave it as that, and just accept that it will have minimal implementation in standard gaming, where do we go?

What will be the innovation? An actual power glove? Possibly. But they run the chance of reaching triviality.

My point, as it has been, is that there really is nothing that can be innovated next generation with the same effect that motion control did this generation. I mean, I am kinda saying "Wiii is DoooMezdd!11", but not really... I am trying to say that Wii is going to have some stiff competition come next gen and it's going to be interesting to see how it pans out for them.

Not all nintendo controllers have been the best, same goes with the peripherals and innovations. There is always a risk. I'm just being realistic here.

Video games are in the entertainment business, not the technology business!

That's the entire point! They can innovate with anything that gives new gameplay experiences. They don't have to wait for more advanced technology, because people don't buy better technology, they buy better gaming.

The Balance Board isn't super-advanced technology, neither Vitality Sensor. 

When they release a new console, it will use somethng with a similar approach. (but more universal). 

Attach the nunchuk and you have shoulder buttons, analog (and button number??), trigger, it's all there but now you also have IR. Just like the d-pad was still there on the N64.

Wii Sports Resort doesn't need an analog stick.

"Standard" gaming and games were killing gaming. Luckily Nintendo saved gaming again with the DS and Wii. Nintendo's next console will be designed around new game mechanics from inside Miyamoto's brain. Sony and MS just don't have that creativity. Nintendo will be fine.