Joy for Joystick Lovers!

With the advent of game systems like the Kinect, it seems as though the old-fashioned joystick that gamers grew up loving has gone extinct. However, the controllers are still preferred by gamers who enjoy the control that only a joystick can give them. Gaming systems like the Wii and Playstation still have managed to keep the joystick intact for users, but it has changed quite a bit.

Now Wii is coming out with a new game system, called the Wii U. They are doing something totally different that they hope will please motion sensor loving techies as well as old-school gaming lovers.

Wii U Reinvents the Joystick

Whether you’re at home on the couch or at your Baltimore conference center, it’s always a good time to play a video game! Wii will be releasing its new game system to waiting fans later on this year. So what’s the controller going to be like?

It’s a far cry from the first controller most of us saw, when we bought Atari consoles in the 80s, but it’s pretty amazing. It’s a combination touch screen and analog controller that puts together the best of both worlds. It will require the use of both hands, and in the center there will be a touch screen flanked by two joysticks, buttons and triggers as well. It should be functional and useful for every type of game you could play. But how does the controller feel and work?

Too Much Technology

Video game companies keep adding bells and whistles, when gamers prefer their systems and their controllers stripped down and simple. Some of today’s bestselling games aren’t motion sensor games, but games that require a standard controller such as the throwback to our childhoods, Super Mario Bros. The precision that the more standard controller allows the gamer to have doesn’t allow for as many mistakes as motion sensor or touch pad controllers may allow for.

The problem with newer controllers such as the new Wii U touch pad is that it may allow gamers to play “sloppier,” which won’t work for more precision game players that don’t want to make any mistakes, especially ones they aren’t sure how they made them in the first place.

Split The Difference?

The good news about the new Wii U is that gamers don’t have to use the touch pad controller if they don’t want to. With all of its knobs, buttons and screen, it may be intimidating to a more casual gamer. There will be an option to use standard motion controlled Wii controllers, which are the ones we have all gotten used to through previous incarnations of the Wii gaming console.

What does the future of gaming hold? With touch screens and swipes, motion sensor technology, and now the touch pad Wii will offer, it looks like gamers are still holding on to their joysticks as tightly as possible. Will gaming companies allow the retro indulgence? High demand for the joystick should keep companies producing them, even if they come with a touch pad in the middle!