Ferrago is reporting that Xbox’s Peter Moore has said the company might just be working on a new controller for the Xbox 360. The new design would be more simplistic and intuitive to make the system less overwhelming to players — especially young children.
Forget the young children, I’m intimidated with what’s out there now. Controllers, all in all, are just too darn complex for a lot of folks (me) to master. I’m not the most coordinated of individuals and while I love the 360 and its games, I stink at them. It’s not for a lack of understanding on how to play or what to do either. It’s just because my fingers won’t hit those dang buttons fast enough. I can find the letters on a keyboard, no sweat. Give me a controller with Y, X and A, B buttons and I’m lost.
Moore said Microsoft is interested in "any way that we can play and make games easier and more intuitive, that takes the intimidation factor away from what is a pretty complex device now when you look at the controller."
I say whew and about time!
The MS role model it seems isn’t the Wii controller. Rather, it’s the Atari 2600 joystick. Regardless of inspiration, any improvement will be welcomed by those of us who can be counted as less than coordinated gamers.
Article comments
1 - Dynamo of Eternia
This seems kind of silly and pointless if you ask me.
They are planning on making a controller that is only a joystick/pad and maybe only one or two buttons?
For one thing, this wouldn't work with most Xbox 360 games that are out now. So, they'd have to make a series of more simplistic games that are designed to only require the few buttons of this theoretical new control pad.
But, if they are going to do that, then why even bother making a new controller? If they will make a game that only requires the use of the pad and a single button, then they could make it so that only one of the primary face buttons needs to be used, or they could give all 4 face buttons the exact same function, so it doesn't matter which one you choose to push (kind of like the original Sonic games on Genesis, in which the A,B and C buttons all did the same thing).
I'm all for making some (not all, but some) gaming simpler for those who aren't as experienced or as skillful with many of today's more complicated games. But, making a new controller just seems to be silly. All that it means is that its another piece of equipment (that you don't really need) that you would have to buy.
It would be one thing if there were going to do something like the motion sensor technology that is in the Wii controller. At least in that case, this new controller would actually do something that the regular, existing controller cannot. But, if they're just going to make something that only has a portion of the functions of the current controller, and otherwise nothing new, its just redundant and pointless.
2 - Dunkaroos
I agree, I find this redundant...
And after so many people have become used to the current controller, people might have a hard time getting used to a new one
Plus the fact that there are many more "serious" gamers out there who might not want a simpler controller.