Cube pad drove us to Wii - Miyamoto News
Wii News by Tom Bramwell
Nintendo superhero Shigeru Miyamoto says that the Wiimote was originally a response to how utterly rubbish he thought the GameCube controller was.
Speaking to Famitsu in an article quoted and summarised by 1UP, Miyamoto said of the Cube controller: "We made it as a culmination of everything leading up to it, but it really underwhelmed. 'This line of thinking doesn't give us anything else to shoot for, does it?' That's how I felt."
The moment of realisation came when Nintendo became conscious that it was designing games around the standardised controller, he said, and that "the market was disappearing".
Not a problem the company seems to have these days, with Wii as the market-leading home console and DS having sold more than 60 million units. A quick glance down the UK All-Formats Top 40 reveals Nintendo games in ten positions and Wii or DS exclusives in a further seven.
Read the rest for more, including Miyamoto informing the interviewer with a laugh that he's making all the Mario and Zelda games.
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Comments: 1-36 of 36 in total
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Artemis_Matsas
31/01/08 @ 09:35
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The cube controller is fine and i still use it where i can. No need to bash it in favour of the Wiimote .
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Pac-man ate my wife
31/01/08 @ 09:37
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I think this is a EG hatchet job on his quote. I don't think he's saying the cube pad was rubbish per se. What he's saying is he felt it was a dead-end, that it was the end of the line with convential controls because there was little room to change them.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 31/01/08 @ 09:37
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thebuzzard
31/01/08 @ 09:38
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I dont think he means it was a bad joypad, he means joypads themselves are limiting in their possibilities where as the wiimote is less so.
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I think this is a EG hatchet job on his quote. I don't think he's saying the cube pad was rubbish per se. What he's saying is he felt it was a dead-end, that it was the end of the line with convential controls because there was little room to change them.
What he said. Nowhere did he say the pad was rubbish, just that it was limiting. |
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seasidebaz
31/01/08 @ 10:02
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the pad was definately the best of last-gen, although the damn z-button was crap! playing through many games i even forgot said button existed!
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Pac-man ate my wife
31/01/08 @ 10:29
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@ Weezer
You can adjust the sensitivity of the controller in the settings menu |
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KingOfSpain
31/01/08 @ 10:47
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I thought it was the best of the last-gen controllers. The 360's is now better but the cube pad is still way better than the any pad that has appeared on any Playstation including sixaxis/DS3
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alimokrane
31/01/08 @ 11:07
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I agree. the GC controller S**** big time. Right now, the Xbox 360 controller is my favourite... it even beats the PS2s for me.
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Triggerhappytel
31/01/08 @ 11:54
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"I thought it was very comfortable...though not revolutionary..."
+1 I really liked the Cube pad. |
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Muddtallica
31/01/08 @ 12:33
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Agreed on the "Cube pad good but limited" front. I applaud for not simply laying out all the buttons and sticks for you in a unimaginative, inorganic way like the DualShock, but the problem was that the philosophy they used to streamline it were too idiosyncratic; Nintendo made judgement calls on control priorities (ie, that the left stick is more important than the right, that the D-pad and Z-button are unimportant, that games should be designed with a "main" button) that suited their own games well, but simply didn't tally with the ideas of most other developers, which meant third party titles, multiplatform ones in particular, felt ill-fitting on the Cube pad.
Then again, the "Nintendo-type pads for Nintendo-type games" idea is an issue that's been present ever since the N64 days, and the Wii is perhaps the ultimate expression of that; still, at least they're being upfront about it now... |
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designerheadache
31/01/08 @ 13:04
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@wazzer
For wii tennis, the direction of the ball depends upon how early or late you hit the ball, and not on the direction you attempt to whack it. |
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FenderMaster
31/01/08 @ 14:00
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Zomoniac nailed it
The Cube pad is ergonomically wonderful. But, like the Wii setup and the N64 before it, it's perfect for games designed specifically for it and horrible for everything else. ignore poster same goes for the Wii and the Wii hasnt exactly lead to a revolution in innovative new software has it? in principle the Wii remote is great, but in reality its just too limited, it needs 1 to 1 controls in golf or baseball it cant even distinguish between the back swing and forward swing!! |
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Kind of surprised, as I think the Cube controller was the best one of last gen. Actually, I still think it's the best now.
The Z button placement was fine as it wasn't supposed to be an oft-used button. Like for a game map or something. It's true that some developers didn't see it that way when designing their game controls though. |
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"Each new incarnation is exact the same as the first games he done 20 years ago! "
*sigh* yes of course it is. Lets look at (say) halo.. each of those are so unique and individual from each other.. it's like playing a different game each time. Now lets look at mario 64/sunshine/galaxy together .. Wow.. They're IDENTICAL arent they! They play the same, look the same, control the same.. Wow! You've really got a point there! |
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robson_wii
31/01/08 @ 17:55
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The Cube controller was the best for me last gen however Halo controls on XBox were also excellent. I like the Wii-mote and if you have problems with its range then try using the sensor stand. I added another 3 metres (approx 10 feet) by doing this which is nice as I have a 44" screen and before doing this I had to sit a little close. Now I can sit on my sofa at the ideal distance.
There's also a link on YouTube somewhere of people playing Wii sports in a cinema with a converted sensor (it's quite funny to watch) I think the fact the Wii-mote is ambidextrous is interesting and works really well as one of my non-gaming friends is a lefty and he took to it instantly. |
Comments: 1-36 of 36 in total
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