| Nintendo's "Transparent" Gamepad |
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| Written by Rivithed | ||||
| Tuesday, 28 March 2006 | ||||
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Nintendo has definitely been on the forefront with pushing new ways to interact with video games. Rob the Robot, The Power Pad and The Nintendo Zapper Light Gun were different interactive peripherals that came during the 8-bit era of video game innovation. Other companies such as Broderbund gave it a shot as well with the U Force and Mattel with The Power Glove. In the end, most of these were short-lived, with only The Light Gun passing on to other consoles for limited gaming. The most successful interactive gaming peripherals of today have come from rhythm-music related games. From Konami's DDR Dance Pad, Nintendo's DK Bongos, Sega's Samba De Amigo Maracas, Konami's Beatmania Beat Pad and last but not least Harmonix's Guitar Hero's Guitar. All these add-ons were game specific and most are derived from things in the real world that are interactive tools themselves (instruments!). An inconvenience was the bulky add-on device lying around while you played other games with your standard gaming controller. Nintendo has definitely steered the right way with the DS. The current success of the Touch Screen (and Dual Screen!) on the DS proves that engaging interaction does not need to rely solely on graphic power. The Touch Screen is a standard built-in component of the DS controls. The DS may be a hint of what is to come with the "Revolution" controller. It is there, but transparent and universal for all of its games. Just as it goes for any gaming hardware, its ultimately how creative the developers will push the tool that Nintendo is putting in gamer's hands.
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