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[soundwave05]

I get your idea soundwave and I can see the logic in doing it your way. Nintendo wants more simplicity, and with an interface like that there's really no need to look down at the controller to see what you're pressing which could be inviting. I also understand that players really can only hit so many buttons at one time with their thumbs...so it makes sense that way.

BUT...

This leaves little to no room for ports let alone traditional games. Making a radical two-peice controller with gyro technology is one thing, but limiting the conventional method of gaming completly is...too radical. You could say that combinations of buttons could help map out ports, but what if those games rely on button combinations already (SSX, THPS, etc.)...then that goes right out the window. Plus the whole reasoning for going for a more simplistic design like this is to make it easier for game players...but...button combinations are very hard to grasp for entry-gamers. I know lot's of older gamers who could never adjust to the SNES pad even 'cos of there being more buttons/shoulder buttons...even more were scared of the analog stick when N64 came out. Going for natural movement with a gyro interface could be inviting, but taking away a gaming foundation like the face buttons means all games are going to have to rely heavily on multiple trigger combinations and gyro movement...together those two might be too much and therefore be un-inviting.

I think Nintendo hopes to go for an NDS approach where they have something new like the touch screen/gyro's, but also offer a backbone for traditional/normal/conventional play in the face buttons, directional controls.

I know what you're going to say. Nintendo should just go all out and forget about tradition altogether, but I just don't see them doing that. A two peice gyro motion controller is already differentiating enough don't you think?

I see your points, but still I think just about any "traditional" game would be playable on this setup (even Street Fighter III). It may be a little different, but buttons are still buttons.

It's still from a basic developers point of view got 2 analog sticks, 4 digital buttons (B/A/X/Y), 2 analog triggers, they're just in different positions to open up the door for gyroscopic movements. Moving the buttons to the bottomside actually might put that d-pad in a more optimal position than it was on the GCN pad. Now it can be just to the side of the analog stick.

I think the reason why its hard for novice players to understand the concept of pressing multiple buttons at once is because having buttons on the face is difficult for them to understand. "Press B and A at once!" probably will cause a beginner to look down at the controller or get frustrated, but if I say "press down with the your first and second fingers" ... well that's not so hard.

"Feel" buttons could actually come in handy here. Since your fingers are always over the buttons in this trigger design, lets say the button could give the user a "sensation" when he or she is supposed to press the button. So lets say in Mario 128, the game is trying to teach the player how to make Mario backflip (lets its Z + B pressed together), the Z + B buttons could begin to give off a "buzz" to the corresponding fingers. Perfect tutorial mode.

And again having the buttons in that position IMO would actually yield more button combinations than the Dual Shock 2 controller currently can (comfortably anyway) for more advanced games like SSX. Nintendo just would have to work with devs to make them understand how they can use this controller.

So I see it working both ways. Simpler games could be made simpler, many games could even just require one hand (especailly Miyamoto's stuff), while the most hardcore PC dev, I think could come up with tons of different buttons and combos, even more than the current XBox or PS2 pads can.

 

[Brimstone]

The idea for a gyroscopic controller is cool. It certainly opens up a lot of possibilities. I would think the gyrosensing could be turned on/off easily though. When I play games I tend to hold my pad at different levels and of course move my arms up and down a bit randomly. A trigger z style button placed somewhere to turn on the sensors would probably help out with that.

 

[TeTr1C]

Think of the hordes of bowling games that would come out!