by Doktor Rictopus

Created on: February 18, 2007   Last Updated: May 04, 2007

When it comes to games, people tend to see it as a small market for people who know how to use the machines. People get confused over lots of buttons and complicated combinations. Recently, games companies, specifically Nintendo, have been trying to innovate to get more people into video games. But is it working?

Nintendo are definitely leading the way in innovating. The Nintendo DS took complicated ideas and made them into a pen and paper. This worked well, allowing FPS controls like that of a mouse and keyboard and letting developers explore new areas. A fine example is Pac-Pix, a very simple game where you draw a Pac-man onto the screen and direct it around the screen with walls to eat ghosts, retro style. Even my own mother enjoyed that.

Then there was the Nintendo Wii. Despite the "hilarious" jokes that the name caused, it has proved to be a success with gamers and non-gamers alike. The idea was that the remote was just like a TV remote, simply point at the screen and things happen. The motion sensing abilities lets people swing their arms around instead of idly pushing buttons. As an example of how succesful it's been, my GRANDAD got a tad obsessed with it after the first time he played Tennis with me. He then went on to trash me at Billiards.

Sadly, some people are seeing these bold moves as gimmicks, ideas that will run out only a few years in. Sadly, I have found this true for the DS, with games now rarely featuring touch-screen ideas. People were also confused by the controls of the Wii, finding them to be difficult to master. A prime example is the launch title Red Steel, which reviewers found difficult to control. Luckily however, these people are clearly too used to their standard controllers and haven't bothered to stick at it, as I have always found the controls easy to pick up, despite my 7 years of gaming using the standard controllers.

So, is innovation a good thing? Well, yes and no. It draws people in for a go, but alienates people who are unwilling to open their minds a little. My opinion? Of course it is!

Learn more about this author, Doktor Rictopus.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.