With E3 2010 now behind us, it’s quite clear that each of the three major players in Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are hoping to evolve the way we play video games. Nintendo made the first effort of this generation with the Wii, a console that has broken sales records around the world and continues to fly off shelves. The argument that it doesn’t have the software is ludicrous, considering many Wii titles continue to make themselves at home on the game sales charts.

Understandably, many of you don’t consider Wii Fit or Wii Sports to be actual games, but the reality is, they are. Perhaps some of us are struggling to comprehend the direction of which games are headed, because they’ve been in their current form for a long, long time. The core experience has stayed intact throughout the years, with the controller acting as our pathway into the virtual world on the screen. But we’ve recently seen the evolution of how we interact with games, firstly with the evolution of the controller as seen with the Wii, and now with the introduction of Kinect from Microsoft for the XBOX 360.

It’s interesting to hear different opinions on the topic, whether or not gamers actually want the way they play games to evolve. It’s not necessarily our decision, as Nintendo has proven time and time again that they know exactly what it is that gamers want. But it would be interesting to see what percentage of Playstation 2 owners own and play a Wii on a frequent basis. The stupendous sales of the Wii could quite possibly go down to the console’s appeal to a broader audience, something Nintendo has quite publicly admitted to wanting to do. While they may have lost the hardcore XBOX 360 gamer, they still give that core Nintendo gamer what they want, with the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and its amazing sequel, and several other great first-party titles. The Wii then expands on that experience, giving the average person an experience they just can’t have on a XBOX 360 or Playstation 3.

As gamers, shouldn’t we want what is right for the industry? That’s not to say that the likes of Move and Kinect are necessarily “right” for the future of gaming, but Microsoft and Sony have introduced these new products for one of two reasons; to either counter Nintendo’s current dominance of the market, or to simply assist in the natural progression of gaming. It could quite possibly be both, but no matter what we think of Kinectimals or Sorcery, they are undoubtedly part of the future of gaming.

Something many gamers don’t know is that Nintendo was the only console manufacturer to come out of last generation having made a profit. The Gamecube wasn’t anywhere near as much of a failure as many think it was, and it’s shame that the standards across the gaming industry are so high as to degrade Nintendo’s fantastic little gaming box. The question that needs to be asked is if Nintendo genuinely care about “finishing” third behind Microsoft and Sony if they’re still bringing in the money. Nintendo have created a product with the Wii that offers a completely different experience to that of the Gamecube, and alongside the well-known efficiency of Nintendo products comes a confidence from within the market that ultimately led to the success of the “innovative” Wii console. Nintendo have bragged for a few years about how they don’t consider the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 as direct competitors to the Wii, although that mentality has probably changed with the introduction of Move and Kinect.

However, considering how different the market was for the Gamecube during its market presence, it’s really no surprise that Nintendo branched off so significantly from the other two heavyweights. People so often concluded that if the Wii didn’t beat the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 that Nintendo would head the way of SEGA and only publish software. That’s actually silly, as SEGA had been through several years or turmoil, which ultimately led to their demise as a hardware maker. Gamecube sales were never abysmal, but they were low, even though the company still managed to make more money than Sony’s gaming division, despite the Playstation 2’s runaway success.

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Despite Nintendo’s success with the Wii, gamers are still cautious about the direction games are headed in. The response to Kinect has been relatively cold, especially after Microsoft’s less-than-impressive media briefing at E3 2010. However, there is a reason for that. Nintendo hasn’t only been a trailblazer this generation, as it’s quite often redefined and reinvented the way games are experienced, even through the smallest of changes.

But why are so many PS3 and 360 gamers angry at the current direction? If we look at some of the major Sony and Microsoft franchises, we see characters and settings aimed at either a male teen or young adult demographic, which, as anyone in marketing would probably argue, is a very competitive and aggressive market. The same cannot be said for franchises like Mario and Metroid, which, while still “hardcore” to the core Nintendo fanbase, are games that are normally quite accessible and appealing to a broader audience. Furthermore, Nintendo has proven that it can successfully take the next step with a franchise, as seen with Super Mario 64 (transition to 3D) and Super Mario Galaxy (transition to motion-controls, albeit minimally). It might be hard to admit, but Microsoft and Sony, and many third-party developers, haven’t got the confidence of gamers that is needed to make a successful transition. When Nintendo announced the Wii and what it could do, gamers questioned how it would be done, not why it was being done. With Move and Kinect, it’s the complete opposite.

While the Wii has attracted its fair share of shovelware (due to the simplistic nature of the Wii hardware), first-party titles continue to impress and rank well with critics and gamers alike. Nintendo have continuously made that jump, proving time and time again that it has what it takes to counter transition and make a successful change.

As Microsoft and Sony have offered a near-identical experience for over 10 years, gamers don’t seem to be so sure they have the dedication to provide an exceptionally good product. Much of the Wii’s success has come down to its simplicity and accessibility to a non-gaming crowd, whereas Move and Kinect seem to be simple add-ons for consoles that appeal to gamers and gamers only. A 50-year-old woman is not going to go out and get a Gears of War 3 XBOX 360 bundle, whereas she’s more likely to go out and get a WiiFit Wii bundle with Mario Galaxy, a game and character she can remember and appreciate throughout the years.

It should really come as no surprise that Move and Kinect are about to hit the market. We saw the Rumble Pack for the Nintendo 64 lead to the evolution of the Playstation controller, which is an example of how the simplest of additions can change the way we experience a video game. It’s intriguing how distant Nintendo really is from Microsoft and Sony, which is particularly evident in the company’s stubbornness towards online gaming. Perhaps it’s Nintendo’s obligation to the Japanese market, a market that has been incredibly loyal over the years, even through the company’s rough patches. Online gaming isn’t anywhere near as influential in Japan as it is in the west, and it isn’t the influencing factor when it comes to the success of the Wii. Once again it’s Nintendo ability to change the way we interact with the world we see on the screen, as opposed to simply expanding on what is already offered (which is what they did with the Gamecube). Online gaming isn’t a necessity for a game, but it expands the experience, not necessarily how we interact with the world. The transition from 2D to 3D was enormous, and Nintendo got through it with flying colours. They’ve also succeeded in making the transition from how we actually play the game, which is evidently successful considering the push by Microsoft and Sony into a similar market.

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Where does all of this leave the industry though? The main concern for hardcore XBOX 360 gamers is that Kinect could alter the way we play games like Gears of War or Halo, completely and utterly for the worst. They’re afraid of that because they’re not confident Microsoft can come away with goods, just as Nintendo has. Whether you like the Wii or not is irrelevant, because that’s the direction games are headed it. The Wii is a console that will last for years, much like how the SNES and NES hold such a strong place in many people’s hearts. The unfortunate thing is that, with the shovelware associated with the Wii, we’ve seen publishers taking advantage of the large and broad market the Wii appeals to, releasing games that abuse and corrupt the core functionality of the console. That in-turn has created a bubble of insecurity towards the technology, which is incredibly unfortunate, as this technology is an obvious direction for the industry. However, gamers should not fear, as Move and Kinect, at the moment, are really only stepping stones for a promising future of gaming, whereas the Wii was the entrance.

The evolution will continue, and we’ll continue to see the likes of Halo, God of War and Killzone, just in a different way. It’s the biggest leap in gaming evolution we’ve seen for a while, and with change comes caution. It’s human nature to feel like that, but gamers need only be patient. Nintendo might not ever appeal to your senses, but they’ll continue to be that trailblazer that redefines gaming. It’s up to the likes of Sony and Microsoft to grasp and implement what is on offer, to give gamers the Modern Warfare’s and Gears of War’s they so desperately crave.

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Source: ps3.mmgn.com