What people don't understand is that Nintendo reached the casual gamer because of the core gamer.  It was core nintendo fans, the ones who grew up with metroid, mario, zelda, etc., who showed their own family members and friends wii sports and wii play.  It was core nintendo fans who convinced their family members to get wii fit.  And this worked because believe it or not, core gamers do play those games.  Wii music failed because core gamers did not get behind it and spread it to casual gamers.  I gurantee you if more core gamers bought wii music, it would have taken off with the casual gamer because the core gamer drives the casual gamer.

But Natal is completely eliminating the controller.  If the core gamer isn't there to act as an ambassador to spread the enthusiasm to the casual gamer, it will fail.

Sony on the other hand is doing everything nintendo does, but with higher tech.  Sony is a bigger threat.  Core gamers will get behind the wand but not behind natal.  And core gamers are what drive the casual gamer.  The casual gamer does not read gamepro and stop at gamestop every month.  They get their games because of the core gamers who put peer pressure on them.

Gamers need a controller to enjoy gaming, yet you've never experienced Natal so you can't really say if it will work or not. If hardcore gamers, like you say, find it enjoyable, then trust me Natal will work!

If so Sony is still a small threat. The best thing Sony is doing is reworking old hits to work with the wands. It's too little to late for both ideas. I hope we can go back to normal controls soon.

i don't think the core gamers have as big an influence on the casuals as you think. casuals got behind wii fit because it was a new and was perceieved as a video game that can help you stay in shape. the core weren't behind wii play, and the reason wii music failed (by nintendos expectations) was because nintendo couldn't properly convey what the game was really about.

nintendo has brand recognition now, they also have huge franchises like the wii series and the mario series. Sony has neither, nor a franchise that can even compete with these two. SOny might get mote core support with their wand but they arn't going to get more casuals than nintendo.

I know Sony very well, and trust me, The wand will have potential but it will be too expensive at first.

I think your entire argument is flawed.

1. Nintendo's advertising and campaigns with out of the ordinary media outlets drove the Wii's success. Not core Nintendo gamers.

2. While Sony can and probably will follow part of that launch style, the controller itself is not up to par with what a wiimote can do. No nunchuk will dramatically limit the game styles it can do well.

I believe Natal and the Wand have yet to even demonstrate, let alone prove, they can actually replace a standard controller. Without that they will simply be largely ignored and only have a handful of viable games, that will sell far better on Wii if multi-console.

I doubt either one of them is a "threat" to Nintendo, as neither one of the HD motion systems offers a method of forward/backwards/strafing controls in a manner similar to the nunchuck. It may enhance the library casual titles, but fall short in offering "core gaming" motion controls due to this. That said, I don't believe that the motion systems were thought out to be used for core gaming, as most core gamers that dont own a wii generally prefer traditional controls anyhow.

I honestly think that a WiiHD is a bigger threat to Sony and Microsoft then Natal and the Wand to Nintendo...


there.. I said it..

I think the Wand's problem is that it will end up another EyeToy, in the sense that it will build it's own userbase of games, sometimes rather good games, but not really break out and impact development on the console at large

Natal has a different problem, in that it seems to me that Microsoft is clearly drawing a line in the sand between Natal style games and the regular games that will continue coming. Fable III is the only thing we know of so far that seems to bridge the gap, but it seems like other 360 devs are just giving it lip service, like "yeah, you know, Natal is the future. But i want to get back to making my real games now." or something

yea but ...but ...but that guy said there will be no Wii HD lol =P