Well, Sorta

Video game developers get that they have to reach out to non-gamers... but at the same time, they really don't get it...

Microsoft's new technology is a motion sensor device that tracks your movements (much like the Sony EyeToy, I suppose). While cameras like this have been in use for a while, this promises to be the most sophisticated device yet, and not choppy (read: Crappy) as other peripherals.

Most people can see this is an attempt to subvert some of the Wii's audience (even Microsoft's not hiding that one) but at the same time, it seems as if these consoles don't care at all about actual "gamers." Part of the point of playing video games is that it can be done completely in the imagination, so people who can't do incredible things like run all day or jump really high can still do them on screen. It's an outlet for the non-athletic... but with all these motion sensor devices, I guess that won't be true anymore.

On the other hand, it could just become a nuisance. These motion sensor devices have a lot of problems (and since I, like everyone else, has experience with the Wii, it's pretty easy to see what the problems are) - you don't have as precise a control when swinging about (the time taken to process the movement is still going to be slower than the input from a button press, since my thumbs can hit like 12 different buttons in under a second), you need a certain amount of open space (so game systems in confined rooms become a problem), and programming games to make use of the technology is difficult (I'm sick of games where I have to either hit buttons on the screen, or keep up a balloon, or hit a moving target... that's what a lightgun was for anyways). If anybody has played Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the Wii, you know that the majority of good gamers just plug in an old GameCube controller for it, and I know for a fact that many Wii-mote users still just lie on their side and flick their wrist instead of doing the full movement, 'cuz it's tiring).

If people want to just lie down and use minimal movement, I fail to see how an advanced Eyetoy is a brilliant move. But then, I was also against the Wii, and through genius marketing, Nintendo has managed to capture the non-gamer market (which is substantially more affluent and apt to buy their games since 1) they have real jobs and 2) they aren't as techno-savvy so won't just download games...). This has led to a giant market share and a lot of profits... for a bunch of people who don't play games.

These people all buy Wii Fits and such, but I wonder at how many people actually buy them and never really use them (e.g. I haven't touched my Guitar Hero set for what seems like ages... and it was supposed to be huge). The Wii also has an abundance of terrible games (they're 4 times more likely to be rated as a 4/10 or lower than a PS3 or XBox 360 game), so it's pretty clear that it's an over saturated cash grab at this point.

The Wii has a lot more going for it than merely clever controls: I always assumed that the best parts of the Wii were that it was billed as a family product, something that can be played with friends, and something that was actually really cheap. Those are far better selling points (to me, anyways) than the fact that it's got a fancy controller - the "activity" part seems to be focused on parents worried about lazy children, anyhow. Not that I really have a point: I just wish to say that this new technology seems to be ingenious, and at the same time, completely unnecessary (like a Videophone... it doesn't seem like they grasp what the best aspects of the market are).