When the Wii and the wiimote first made their debut in 2006, rivals Microsoft and Sony stated that the new motion controls were a “gimmick” and a “fad” that people would soon get bored of.
In a very short time Nintendo proved both of their competitors wrong as month after month the Wii outsold both Xbox 360 and PS3 worldwide. In fact it was only Christmas 2008 that supply finally met demand which was an unprecedented achievement for a video game console.
Not surprisingly because of this success and the expanded audience the Wii created, Microsoft and Sony have announced their own take on motion controls, albeit 3 years after the Wii debuted.
Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata is not surprised by their competitors actions though he is surprised it has taken them this long to announce motion controls, let alone them being near market release:
“To tell the truth, I expected them to come up with stuff like this last year. So in my mind they’re later than expected. I’d like to say to them, ‘Welcome to the motion-control world!”
Now that the competition has similar tech on the horizon comparible to the wiimote, is Iwata worried?
“[Nintendo] will not be standing still [and are] actually looking forward to engaging in that sort of competition.However, we still have no idea about when their products will be available, or how much they will cost, or what sort of software they will be used with. So, I am not in a position to judge whether they are a threat or not.”
It will be interesting to see what price point Sony and Microsoft have in mind for their new cameras and what effect they will have on Wii sales seeing as they are not packaged as standard with their respective consoles (maybe they will be).
Time will tell!
Source: TimesOnline
