Friday, February 04, 2005
The next generation Eye-toy? When I first heard about the Eye Toy, I thought it was goofy new gimmick that would not work. I guess I was wrong, it was a goofy gimmick that actually worked, and it looks like they are exploring new ways to enhance it.
Game hardware that goes beyond the standard controller has a serious habit of being DOA. Light guns, console mice and keyboards, racing wheels, action mats, and 3D glasses all are plagued with having a small number of titles that support their use.
Why is this? Some of the games just suck. The games that used the SNES mouse royally sucked, where as a lot of Halo fans would give anything to use a mouse. Sometimes the hardware is more frustrating than it is fun. The NES Power Glove was awkward to use and did not read all the movements right, causing many frustrating game deaths. High cost is another problem. The Steel Battalion Controller has got to be the most expensive controller of all times, and it only works on one game. That brings up storage, an issue that everyone has heard their mom nag about more than once. The SNES Super Scope has got to be one of the best light guns ever made, but it was a freaking bazooka with no easy way to store it.
It will be interesting to see how many of the new Eye-Toy ideas make it to the shelf. I welcome and dread some of the new features. Instead of just bouncing around to a beat on the dance games, chicks will be encouraged to shake their grove. The down side is that instead of just trying to bounce around to a beat, white boy will be trying to shake their grove...
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Game hardware that goes beyond the standard controller has a serious habit of being DOA. Light guns, console mice and keyboards, racing wheels, action mats, and 3D glasses all are plagued with having a small number of titles that support their use.
Why is this? Some of the games just suck. The games that used the SNES mouse royally sucked, where as a lot of Halo fans would give anything to use a mouse. Sometimes the hardware is more frustrating than it is fun. The NES Power Glove was awkward to use and did not read all the movements right, causing many frustrating game deaths. High cost is another problem. The Steel Battalion Controller has got to be the most expensive controller of all times, and it only works on one game. That brings up storage, an issue that everyone has heard their mom nag about more than once. The SNES Super Scope has got to be one of the best light guns ever made, but it was a freaking bazooka with no easy way to store it.
It will be interesting to see how many of the new Eye-Toy ideas make it to the shelf. I welcome and dread some of the new features. Instead of just bouncing around to a beat on the dance games, chicks will be encouraged to shake their grove. The down side is that instead of just trying to bounce around to a beat, white boy will be trying to shake their grove...
