r4ndom h4x

When one company does something that wipes the competition off the map it is inevitable that the competitors will try and copy it.

Usually, devices evolve over time and improve in performance or price. Nintendo decided to buck the trend and aimed for mediocrity with the Wii. And it worked for them – the wii has been a stellar sales success. Even I bought one.

It’s no secret, then, that Microsoft wants a piece of that action. And Sony, too.

But here is the rub. One of my gripes with the Wii is that the control scheme means that game developers feel compelled to use it. Even when it adds nothing to the experience. Wii Tennis? Sure, that works. Boom Blocks? Yup, seems to work tickety boo. Mario Kart? Nope. No More Heroes (cmon, it’s got swords!! It must work!)….. nope.

Do I try to play a driving game with a keyboard? No. I’m sure some PC users do that, but real gamers would have a wheel or a gamepad – depending on the type of driving game we’re talking about. The Wii remote is not a steering wheel. Please, give up on it.

And secondly, when I want to sit down and play a few games I simply don’t want to waggle my ass, or gyrate my wrist, or shake my nunchuck or whatever. It does not add to the game, it gets annoying very quickly.

So will the new Xbox 360 waggle controller/weight training/DDR controller have any positive effect on the sales of the 360? Nope. Will it stop people buying and a Wii. Nope. Will the PS3 be a better machine if it had more waggle (since the six-axis controller already has some motion)? Nope. Do I forsee Minority-report interfaces for everyone? No idea.

The thing that sells Wii’s is Wii Sports. And probably Mario Kart. And parents that know nothing about games “know” Nintendo and trust them with the welfare of their darling child’s fragile mind. That’s what sells Wii.

If Sony wants to sell more PS3’s (and why not, it’s a great console and media centre) then here is the plan:

1. Good games. Honestly, I’d tick this one off for now as it looks like some kick-ass games are coming out. But momentum needs to be maintained.
2. Advertise it like you love it. In Australia, I don’t think I have ever seen a PS3 advert. Sony seems to not advertise it very well, if at all. That needs to change. Awareness must be raised.
3. Encourage the indy games guys & girls. This seems to be moving along slowly – the PSN has a few gems that break outside of the norms. But if it were opened up even more then some gold might come out. Small, cheap games from small developers. But it needs to be worth their while to develop the stuff too.
4. Embrace the past. Every PS3 can play PS1 games. So why are there hardly any PS1 games on the PSN? Surely this is almost free money?
5. Value add. The box that the PS3 comes in should include at least one good game. Or two. And an HDMI cable. I have no idea on how much it would cost to add a couple of games, but I know the cable would be dirt cheap. And when you think that each game is at least AU$80 (for a triple-A game) it starts to make sense. How about a bluetooth headset? Different colours? Two contorollers standard (because parents will notice that).
6. Devalue the competition. I don’t mean spewing abuse – I mean point out the areas the PS3 is strong. People do compare the PS3 to an Xbox360 Arcade. Parents have no idea. So point out the hard drive size, make a big deal about it. Draw attention to the included Wi-Fi, the DivX certification, the free PSN, folding@home, half-decent web browser etc. Include words like “parental lock-out contol” on the box.

And when you’ve sussed out that, apply it to the PSP as well!