"We've got to bring more people in," says MS exec
Xbox boss Peter Moore has hinted that
Microsoft could be working on a simplified game controller designed to attract new gamers who might be intimidated by traditional joypads.
At a recent EA Community Event, Moore said the company is looking at "Any way that we can play and make games easier and more intuitive, that takes the intimidation factor away from what is a pretty complex device now when you look at the controller."
"Shoulder buttons, triggers, analog sticks, d-pads - I mean, there's a lot going on there."
Compare it to the old Atari 2600 joystick, Moore suggested - which "Everybody could pick up and have some fun with. Clearly I think the Wii is trying to get back to those days, although when I picked it up I was surprised how much stuff is on there, and it took me a little while even then to get going on those things."
But, as he's previously stated many times, Moore is a big fan of the Wii - and, he added, of "any innovation you can try and do that will make it a broader reach for games, because as an industry we've got to do that - we've got to bring more people in."
Moore went on to explain that his 14 year-old daughter loves racing games, particularly Project Gotham Racing, but "She's frustrated because the button configurations, the use of triggers... She just doesn't like it".
So is Microsoft looking for a solution to the problem of overly-complex controllers? Well, "We're doing a lot of stuff there," Moore said - but "Nothing that we're ready to talk about".
He went on to say that Microsoft is "not going to force anything that is not going to be intuitive and innovative" - which could suggest that the company is unlikely to follow in Sony and Nintendo's footsteps by producing a motion-sensing controller.
The full Q&A can be heard on
GamerTag radio.
