Yeah, using the sticks is an unrealistic way too, of course, I never said it wasn't.

But not half as unrealistic as the glowing icecream cone, please. :p I can see those hardcore snobs now... 'Man, dude, this game is HARDCORE! Like, totally manly and not for kids! It's such a realistic and adult game man, just look how awesome and cool those cars look!'

'But, dude, man, what's that glowing red phallic cone you're holding...?'

'Nevermind that, man, dude, just look at the game! It's so REALISTIC it hurts my eyes!'

X'D

Yeaaah i know what you saying, but more options for playing never hurt anyone... As long as they dont focus more on that than they do the rest of the gameplay.

Software, software, software. Thats how they can make it more relevant.

I would like to think Sony can do decent. They have done casual games before they just need to stream line a few franchises. A lot of stuff that Nintendo has been doing now and Microsoft is busy making commercials for has been done already with Eyetoy although not quite as intuitive because of technological barriers that now have been surpassed. Plus they will have the support of core games such as RE:5 and GT5, LBP and such.

Microsoft i dunno. New Fusion Frenzy? Fable and I dunno. They need to show us more stuff.

Nah, I wouldn't worry about that, I mean, they've been working on the game for what, close to eternity now? I'm sure everything will be fine and well-implemented, the motion thing will probably just be an optional distraction anyway, not a defining feature.

@Carl: My point is that the peripheral should be meaningful for the game. Otherwise you see them just collecting dust or be sold at ebay for pocketchange and i doubt Sony wants to kill the profit from its biggest cashcow by bundling peripherals, or to have the sales hit with high price caused by a useless or little no use peripheral.

@Kenology: I'm personally looking at EyeToy when comparing Natal to something, since that's pretty close to what Natal is.

The point's been made, but introducing a bunch of software to go with the things is key. Microsoft and Sony are in a better position to do this than Nintendo because they're apparently more willing to subsidize third-party development than Nintendo and because they generally have better third-party relations than Nintendo (mostly due to Factor #1).

By contrast, Nintendo pretty much has to work alone, which means less software (especially since they're a relatively small company that's juggling five different platforms right now). So Motion+ isn't going to get the support it needs, while Natal and the Wand will. At least at first. To be honest, I don't see either as being a long-term success right now. But then neither of them have showed their cards yet.

Have the games people want to play have meaningful uses for the peripherals. I'm extremely excited to see what Sony does with the new Ape Escape game they are making for the peripherals, because that could be epic-awesome!

It will come down to the end support though. If a lot of games support them, but only with some half-assed mini games application (or anything else in that ballpark of effort), then it won't really matter. But if these controllers can really enhance a game, then they will see some success.

When that has been said though, price will be a very big factor (though I don't know just how big).

If I were Sony, I'd offer some kind of incentive for third parties to include Red Lolipop support as an option for their games. Online, (if the Wii's control is any indication), people using motion control would be far more accurate and quicker than people who used controllers. And since the camera is a must with their peripheral, I'd include all kinds of features (like picture in a picture) to generally give the impression that having the motion control device is waaaaaay more elite than gaming without one.

If I were Microsoft, I'd appeal to the casuals like never before. I'd have so many applications for voice control, motion control, and so many Wii-Fit rip offs, it would be sad. I'd have a virtual dance party where you'd dance at home and your online avatar would be mimicking your movement. I'd be trying really hard to come up with the next Pokemon.

If I were Nintendo, I'd go to a bar and find myself a lonely, hot girl. I'd say, "Hey, baby. I'm Nintendo." Then, we'd have sex.

Really?

I doubt those 20mil+ Wii Fit buyers care all that much about Yoga. That was only part of the game's appeal.

On topic, I don't see Sony's solution working well. They haven't shown any software worthy enough to sell the hardware.

As for Natal, who knows. Not much is known about it.

The most important factor in becoming a success is software. They will need at least one major hit, and maybe some smaller ones to go with it.

@Noname: Theoretically you're correct, but you should also factor how the third parties grasp the controls, especially when they're making sequels to their existing games that should have the old gameplay with new interface. This is one of the problems Wii have faced with "tacked on controls".

New games with new controls have in general done better than old games with new controls, unless the games clearly benefit from new controls. Metroid Prime 3, Redsteel and RE4 benefited from the new controls and they had good sales, Mario Kart Wii benefited from the controls etc. SMG and Brawl don't even use the new method, while WSR, Wii Fit and Wii Play are completely different beasts.

Third parties aren't really interested in making new IP:s that would drive the sales of the new interface. No matter what the platform is. Most likely the third party games to drive the sales of the peripherals, are games that a third party developes for a first party, that paid the development, to release. Other than that, we see "additional features" that support the peripheral or something similar.