Motion Controls Don’t Work For Everybody

This week I discovered a fatal flaw in EA Sports Active: you have to be well enough to play. Having been struck down by some mystery illness that the NHS helpline informed me definitely wasn’t swine flu, I found myself unable to finish the review this week. I’ll wrap up with “Week 4″ next week, but today I thought I’d discuss the problems of motion control in general.

Whilst being ill sucks, every gamer knows it offers a great opportunity for some quality gaming time. When you’re laid up in bed and don’t have to leave the house, most of us will reach for the controller.

That’s fine on a traditional console, which is why I’ve been playing Red Faction: Guerilla all week. Flailing my arms around on the Wii just wasn’t going to happen.

With both Sony and Microsoft eager to grab some of the Wii market by coming out with their own motion controllers, we could see a future without traditional controls. That’s a problem, and not just when you’re ill.

Not everyone is capable of making the full range of motions required by the Wii remote or similar controllers. Disabled gamers, who can easily adapt to the small motions of a regular controller, will be left behind if the industry moves to a motion control future.

I enjoy motion controls, when they’re done right, but being ill made me realise they just aren’t suitable for every situation. I hope that in the rush to adopt new technology, some gamers aren’t left behind.