http://kotaku.com/5303609/in-defense-of-the-classic-controller

For gamers who have not been catching up with the E3 or read the news about Microsoft's Project Natal, it is a code name for a "controller-free gaming and entertainment experience" for the Xbox 360. It claims that it will soon revolutionize the way of gaming as YOU are the controller. I'd like to hear your views on it.

Personally, I don't really support the idea of no controller. Not that I detest change, but controllers have been part of our gaming experience all these time, and I'd prefer to sit down after a hard day of work and play my games, not jumping around frantically like a monkey. Sure, it's exercise, but that's not why I bought my gaming console for.

Indeed, many would say that the very definition of gamers, the era of gaming has shifted to a more casual gaming experience as seen by the popularity of the Wii and its shovelwares (not that Wii doesn't have good games with depth, in its defense). I get the feeling that Microsoft is trying to emulate Nintendo, letting players move around and break everything in the ro-, I mean, get into the game. It's quite disturbing and depressing to see these companies trying to milk as much money out of their cash cows in utter disregard for the previous generation of gamers who actually prefers controllers.

Kotaku

"Sorry to sound elitist, but I like that not everybody understands how to play games, and I doubt that I'm alone," says Lantz, who's also director of New York University's Game Center. "That games require effort and a particular kind of tricky literacy is one of the things that makes them cool. Would pianos be better if everyone could play them? Would punk rock sound better if your grandparents liked it?"

Mr. Lantz isn't alone in this line of thinking. I for one do not welcome this change. Gamers, for that matter, aren't that hard to become. You simply need to pick up the controller, sit down and practice how to play, just like any sport or musical instrument.

In conclusion, I'd like to quote some of the comments from Kotaku which I very much agree with, and I'd like to share with you all.

I find the idea of no controllers to be unsettling at the least. I remember when I was in high school and was home sick, I would finally have some time to play games. So if I had the flu and could barely move, why on Earth would I want to get up and move all around? That's just one example, but I just don't think the complete abolition of controllers is a wise road to go down. The idea of having to play God of War and be flailing my arms around for 4 hours is disturbing to say the least.

i dont think any self respecting gamer wants to 'be the controller'. the concept is fundamentally flawed. no serious game is played by waggling your limbs around, and no gamer who plays for hours on end would possibly be interested in doing that. i dont i will see motion sensing technology in my lifetime that is accurate and precise enough to replace a controller for a real game.

Gamers like controllers. We don't want to hold our arms up for long periods of time in front of us to use an invisible wheel to drive! I love my controller, I love to chuck it at people when I'm mad so that I don't have to hurt my fist, and I agree with Lantz, I like the barrier that is set between gamers and non gamers.

I've been a gamer since Atari (I was like 7) and now have almost 400 games on my PC. Whenever I install a new game, I always change the configuration to play with a controller. I simply can't change to anything else, not even the keyboard. I wouldn't be able to stand a "non-controller" game for I'm conditioned to my hands holding the directional pad on the left and the buttons on the right, so I'm not even trying it.

Yeah, I doubt I'd be able to enjoy gaming hands-free. It would just feel too weird.

You will change eventually

Joystick was awesome but it's almost wiped out of the gaming room.

but you gotta miss the fact you could bash your joystick in fury and the beast would appear unscathed and seem like have unlimited lives.
It was made for bashing and it was awesome.

Try that with mouse and keyboard or others and there goes your gaming for the day.

I am adjusted to mouse + keyboard, it's hard for me to get used to anything else.
Which is why i hate playing games on consoles.

controller free like virtual world or something would be cool but would feel awkward at first
more you are exposed to it and use it it will become like second nature.

Yeah, people have a hard time trying to change to something else after years of using the same system. Something similar happens when you want to implement PCs in offices that only knows about writing machines. They resent it or completely refuse it, "If it works fine, why changing it?".

I would prefer using a controller so I have something that I can at least control or even destroy in the palm of my hand.

I'm not pleased about this. "YOU get to be the controller?" What is this? Project: Human Video Game? I'll pass on get this, thanks.

I think it's neat in the sense that it opens a lot of different gameplay possibilities. It would be in a paradigm of its own though, in the same way that we delineate between console gaming and portable gaming and pc gaming, I think this could be classified as a separate and new sort of gaming genre. It would never replace a more conventional gaming controller, lord knows when I'm dog-tired at the end of the day I just wanna unwind, but it could present another possibly fun gaming alternative, the way guitar hero or wii sports can be fun/interactive/engaging without necessarily requiring conventional controllers.

Microsoft and Peter Molyneux can claim all day long that motion controls will replace physical controllers, but then again, we all know what a truthful person Molyneux is. Not to mention the countless gamers who've played using physical controllers, keyboards and mice since they started playing, I'm one of those, I have no intention of putting my controller down permanently for a fad.

Don't get me wrong though, I love motion controls on the Wii, some games aren't as fun without them. I just can't foresee all games putting them to use in a manner that would convince us old school gamers to rely on them. It's a truly neat idea that was amazing to start off with, but after awhile of using them you just get a ho-hum feeling. Making the shift from using essentially a wand to your whole body isn't going to be a deal breaker either.

Let's just say, I've been waiting for something like the "Power Glove" to actually
do what those nintendo commercials back in the day made me think it could do, I'd
forever grateful.

But truthfully I wish there was a game where several control types were required. Say for instance a Mage-type would use keyboard and mouse, a warrior-type would use a controller, and whatever would use whatever there concocting. The gaming industry is exactly that, an industry. A big polluting, uncaring, monstrous entity these days.

Nintendo Wii Style, the movement of your body to be your actual control device. It can help you to lose weight while enjoying the games which obviously would be the purpose of the Nintendo Wii inventors...

I peronally like my controller, I mean it's been there for me since I first started playing videogames as a little kid, it was one of the first things I picked up, so I can't really imagine a console with no controller.

Rockband is a good example of a game that greatly benefits from using a special controller. I also can't argue that Wii Sports offers a unique game experience because of the controller (although I would argue you should be doing the real thing if you can afford a Wii). I'm sure that a couple of games will make good use of the technology.

The important thing to note, however, is that most games are *not* better with unusual controllers. Wiggling the Wii mote around to get the same effect as a button press is a step backwards for me, not forwards.

Controller for sure, something about playing a video game without one seems weird.

Project Natal sounds like fun for about 2 hours. If I wanted to run around I will go outside. Controllers are a type of interface. That interface is what I like about Video Games. DS is as far as I like to go.