Next month we will probably see Microsoft and Sony unveil new control schemes that mimic the motion madness that is the Nintendo Wii.  I certainly understand that Microsoft and Sony believe they are in competition with the Wii, but they are mistaken.  The Wii has become a cultural phenom and sales records of the system are partially due to the fact that non-gamers were caught up in the frenzy.  With that said, I think it’s a huge mistake for Sony and Microsoft to compete with the Wii.  Instead of competing, they need to improve on what they are the best at.  It’s too late in the ball game anyway to expect people to get excited about motion controls on the 360 and PS3.

If the companies decide to heavily focus on casual/mainstream motion based gaming like the Wii, they may end up losing some of their base fans.  I’m not trying to knock the Wii, but the PS3 and 360 already offer gamers many things that the Nintendo system could never give us.  When will they simply realize that the Wii is not even in the same class?  Microsoft and Sony also need to realize that they missed the casual motion train a long time ago.  Microsoft should also focus on making their hardware more reliable.  If they can’t fix basic problems, I don’t see how introducing new technologies will help the platform.  Microsoft will probably unveil a 3-D camera system next month that detects body movements of gamers.  This is exciting, but I doubt it will actually be useful or high-quality during this generation.

Right now it looks like Sony and Microsoft are trying to replicate the Wii’s success, but that may be a waste of time.  The Wii frenzy has come and gone.  The system continues to sell, but I think the best of times is behind for the Wii.  Replication would also create little buzz for the other consoles…

I own all 3 major consoles from this generation and each one has something different to offer me.  Why would I want to see them all become the same old thing?  The Wii has its place.