Main REPORT:
The real battleground between the survival of two industries (home video games and coin-op video games) was marked out in May'06. For TSR’s purposes, the key question was not whether Sony or Microsoft would beat the attacks of Nintendo in the Next-Generation console scene. Or whether the big software publishers would become victim of the move to online games downloading. For our money, the major dramatic question is:  “Can the $30 billion worldwide home video game sector steal the lead (and hold it) against the $6 billion worldwide amusement scene in the defining of the players need for immersion in gaming?”  This question is of special interest since immersion-style game interfaces are one of the last remaining areas where coin-op has enjoyed superiority to home video.

Let Battle Commence
The consumer sector stole the 3D perception technology from amusement several years ago. Now does the home video crowd need to steal the ‘immersive’ technology from the amusement scene, and make it their own, in order to survive?  The question arises because home video game executives are finally facing the fact that if they fail to enthrall players, the current decline in console sector sales will become terminal – rather than rebounding to a new spike in sales of the new hardware generation!

This may be the definitive and final battle between amusement and consumer. The most recent key skirmish in this ongoing conflict took place on the exhibition floor in Los Angeles California at the behemoth that was Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). At this event the great and the good from the consumer games publishing, manufacturing and development scene descended. This event proved the most important gathering for the consumer games sector since its rise to dominance in the Mid-90’s. The financial analysis stated categorically that the Next-Gen consoles systems that were to be launched at this event had to offer a level of interest to the playing audience in order for the multi-billion Dollar industry to survive – literally the fate of console gaming rested in the hands of the manufacturers gathered.

Where the best and fastest graphics seemed to be the selling ploy of Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo sidestepped all at the event and launched their Wii system placing all their hopes on a new style of control interface with the game. This daring move pushed Nintendo to the front of the perceptual race with fans and media, and left Sony and Microsoft spinning their wheels to try and catch-up. Nintendo is at a make or break period in its history – the company’s executives would later state they looked at innovation while the rest (Sony and Microsoft) looked to create the ‘same old games’ with only a graphical improvement.

The Wii was shown behind a specially screened show booth with Nintendo presenting the Wii controller using wireless connectivity that allows the players gestures to be represented into the gaming environment. The idea is surprisingly old in the consumer sector – Datasoft’s 'Le-Stick' joystick launched to players in 1983 itself used mercury switches to gauge player hand movements – but with the new Wii, Nintendo defined immersion as the new ‘gimmick’ that will establish their platform. Nintendo development have tinkered with physicality in games as far back as the early 80’s – with such products for the NES console U-Force and PowerGlove; though we also have to remember the danger of innovation – the ghost of the 1995 Nintendo Virtual Boy still haunting the corporation.

Left floundering, Microsoft, who had entered the scene with their Billion Dollar gamble Xbox 360 – had launched early to catch the crowds, started a hurried marketing rearguard action to try and attract players to their system at E3. While Sony who had expected to dominate E3’06 with the launch of their PlayStation 3 system had to create a list of new ‘immersive’ features for their machine. This resulted in a higher than expected sales price (over $500) for the November launch. No matter its graphical performance the industry could smell blood as Nintendo launched their lower priced and more functional system – the Wii attempting to bribe the future buyers with the promise of connectivity that brings the ‘Virtual Console’ – downloadable classic games from previous Nintendo systems, playable on the Wii to the masses

Borrowing from Amusement
When Nintendo representatives speak of the capability of the wireless interface - called the ‘Wiimote’ – they speak of unique capabilities. But we in the amusement sector have seen these capabilities before. When they speak of players able to simulate virtual fishing we in the arcade scene remember SEGA’s ‘Get Bass’ (Model 3) back in 1998. When Nintendo talks of body tracking represented in the virtual environment and we think of Konami’s ’Police 911’ (Viper) – 2001 and ’MOCAP Boxing’ (Viper) – 2001. When they claim that the Wii will be able to play virtual sports with the players movements registered on screen and we in the coin-op sector are reminded of Konami’s ’MOCAP Golf’ (Psyon) in 2002 or ‘Nice Smash’ (Psyon) in 2002, or Namco’s ‘Final Furlong’ (System 23) in 1997 and ‘Alpine Racer’ (System Super 22) from 1995; or even Interactive Lights ‘Swing-It!’ (PC Hardware), popular ‘Kick-It!’ (PC Hardware) from 1999, and most recently D-Gates ‘Live Action Ping-Pong’ (PC Hardware). Finally Nintendo’s promises of a possible sword fighting capability in Wii games and we remember Namco’s ‘Mazan: Flash of the Blade’ (Naomi) from 2002.

Suddenly we with long memories prove that the Wii’s ‘Revolutionary’ capabilities are not unique, as claimed. When this issue is raised, an uncomfortable shuffling of feet comes from the Nintendo camp as they steer around possible IP infringement - resurrecting painful memories of the Immersion legal debacle.

The consumer scene has made borrowing concepts from the arcade sector an art form in itself. When the players became bored with force feed-back steering and recoil gun interfaces on their consoles – themselves ‘borrowed’ from the arcade scene -- the console companies had to come up with something new and turned to what we were doing in the arcade sector. The coin-op market had launched in 2003 the ‘Combatica’ (PC Hardware) system from Holoplex, using their ThunderCam technology (based on the ‘digitisation’ and recognition of the player’s movements to be represented by characters in a conventional 3D fighting games). At the same time there had been the ‘Mandala Gesture Xtreme’ (PC Hardware), from GestureTek.

Console Cross Over
A few years after these arcade releases, surprise-surprise…Sony had launched the million-selling EyeToy interface, which ‘digitized’ the players’ movement represented in the game. Behind the scenes TSR has been told that an ‘agreement’ was made between GestureTek so their IP could be utilized (after the fact), but overall this was another example of the ‘borrowing’ of arcade concepts, though it was thought that GestureTek did not enjoy the same kind of remuneration as Immersion did, following its legal suit with Microsoft and Sony over the illegal use of their motion technology in the Joypad systems.

The move to immersive (physically inclusive) interfaces in video amusement crossing into console has continued from the popularity of the EyeToy, one of the best selling peripherals in the console sector. Most recently we have seen the launch of the in2Game developed Gametrak – wire based control interface. The Wii from Nintendo walks into the scene however with its wire-less application and has set the market aflame.

Not to be outdone, Sony launched at E3'06 their 'Eye of Judgment' technology, mixing image recognition and interactive elements to hopefully offer an EyeToy2 peripheral to support the companies PS3 launch. Yet to be fully expanded upon in actual game content the company builds on a million selling record of the original system – throwing in the element of collectable card battle gaming to widen the appeal.

The question remains: can the physicality of player interfaces that amusement originated, still be retained by the amusement scene? Will we have to hand the mantel over to consumer systems in this department, too, and rush to find our next new technology? Or, can we regain control of the immersion element of gaming and prove that it can only be achieved in its fullest versions, outside of the player’s home?

Apropos of the Stinger’s new service, we would recommend if you want more information on the application of immersive amusement, you may wish to read the feature ‘Virtual Comeback’ penned in 2002 and very relevant to this topic – found across at our parent company’s archive of published features - http://www.thestingerreport.com/articles/article_004.htm