Unplug Your Funby Steven L. Kent
When Super Mario Galaxy was released for the Nintendo Wii last year, critics complained that the game's graphics looked positively primitive compared to the games on other next-generation game consoles. That did not stop Nintendo from selling 2.5 million copies of the game in less than two months, making it the fifth best-selling video game of 2007.
Perhaps critics should have spent less time debating whether Mario looked long in the tooth and more discussing how Mario had turned blue in the tooth. That's because the game, like many for the Wii, took full advantage of the Bluetooth technology built into the motion-sensing Wiimote controller.
Nintendo wasn't the only console manufacturer to add Bluetooth wireless capability. When virtual street racers power-drift hairpin turns in Gran Turismo 5: Prologue on Sony's PlayStation 3. they do it using Bluetooth enabled controllers; like Nintedo, Sony seems to have placed its bets on Bluetooth technology.
In fact, of the three big game companies, only Microsoft, maker of the Xbox 360 game console, has opted to go with proprietary technology for its wireless game pads instead of harnessing the power of Bluetooth technology.
But not even the Xbox experience can entirely turn its back on Bluetooth technology. WHen users smack-talk each other using headsets, they do it over a Bluetooth wireless connection, thanks to third-party manufacturers such as Datel that have incorporated the technology in their wireless headsets for Xbox 360.
Wireless Revolution
The whole point of video games is to let people experience thrills not normally available to them: Players can explore haunted houses, pitch in a World Series game or fight to the death on the streets of Hong Kong. Games don't need to be realistic to be good, but they do need to draw the player out of his or her world.
Simply put, it's harder to suspend disbelief when you're tethered to a television by your game pad's cables. Bluetooth technology changes all of that.
"I really can't see myself playing games with a plugged-in controller again," says Andrew Reiner, executive editor of Game Informer magazine. "Having wireless controllers lets you do whatever you want to do. You can raise your hands over your head, lopunge back on the couch ... whatever you want."
Reiner's opinion counts, too: With more than 2 million subscribers, Game Informer is one of the leading magazines of its kind.
But wireless controllers and Bluetooth enabled consoles aren't just about letting gamers do what they want. They're about opening doors for game designers.
"Bluetooth is being used in creative ways in the gaming consoles." says Douglas McEuen, a senior analyst specializing in wireless semiconductors at ABI Research. "The sky is the limit; it's really up to the creativity of the original equipment manufacturer. Wii caught everybody off guard with its motion-sensing technology. It's a ripe field in which to experiment with Bluetooth applications.
Examples abound of creativity gone wild. Electronic Arts in turning parties into virtual concerts with Rock Band, and a Wii controller the the game set to come out this summer will feature a wireless guitar. Wii Fit, Nintendo's new excercise regime, comes with a Bluetooth enabled platform that lets players interact with their TV as they do pushups and run in place; the system then analyzes the workout.
And then there's the Wiimote - the basic controller for Nintendo's Wii. Similar in size and design to a television remote control, the Wiimote tracks motion. Thanks to creative game designs, players can use the Wiimote like a samurai sward, a Jedi lightsaber, a golf club - even a tool for placing dentures in an old woman's mouth.
All of those creative applications of wireless technology have translated into incredible sales. Released a full year after the Xbox 360, Wii has overtaken the Microsoft console to become the best-selling next-gen game console worldwide.
"As a console, (Wii) has sold beyond the expectations of even the most optimistic projections," says Fiona Thomson, senior market research analyst for IMS Research. "The Wii is a very sociable console. It took gaming to another level and the opportunities are endless."
Gun, dance pad, steering wheel and other, similar peripherals are, of course, nothing new to games. But just how much fun are shootouts or NASCAR races when there's a leash between you and your television? This became clear when Activision released the first Xbox 360 version of its smash hit, Guitar Hero II. The original guitar-shaped game controller came witha cable. Months later, when Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock came out, the wires were gone.
"IMS Research estimates that over 80 million Bluetooth enabled gaming consoles and controllers were shipped in 2007," says Thomson. "We believe there is little chance that Bluetooth technology will be excluded from future generations of these consoles, and therefore, once previous generations stop selling, the market will quickly increase to 100 percent penetration."
History Unplugged
Despite experiments with arcade-style controllers, virtual reality controllers and one that looked a lot like the gauntlet worn by the alien in the movie Predator, all but a few were wired - but those few were the start of something wonderful.
In the mid-1990s, while Bluetooth technology was still on the drawing board, several companies experimented with radio waves and infrared tracking. The problem was that the first radio-frequency controllers were slow, and infrared technology required players to maintain line-of-site contact.
Since gamers take life in the fast lane and squirm in their seats, neither technology paid off. In 2002, Nintendo struck pay dirt when it released the RF-based Wavebird controller for its GameCube game console. Wavebird was expensive and ate batteries alive, but it had a range of 70 feet and next to no latency problems. Wavebird became the darling of the industry.
"There were wireless controllers before Wavebird, but they never worked out," says Reiner. "They were inconsistent and more hassle than they were worth. Then Wavebird came along and changed all that. I loved that controller. You finally got to experience what it felt like when you were not tethered to your machine."
With the 2005 release of Xbox 360, gamers became truly unbound. Because of the popularity of Wavebird, all three game giants - Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony - quickly followed suit, buidling their new consoles around wireless controllers.
While Sony and Nintendo opted to use Bluetooth technology in the design of their game consoles, Microsoft decided to reinvent the wheel and put out a similar technology of its own. "By doing it themselves, Microsoft limits companies from poaching its territory," says John Taylor, managing director and anaylyst for Arcadia Investment Corp. "So far, they have been really tight about giving out licenses."
It should be remembered that, for console manufacturers, profits do not generally come from hardware. It is not unthinkable for companies like Microsoft and Sony to lose US$100 per unit on game hardware sales and then offset that loss with licensing fees. By using a proprietary technology, Microsoft builds an additional layer of security between its system and companies that might dump unauthorized peripherals into the market.
Still, it's clear that regardless of the technology used, wireless controllers and the games that support them have revolutionized gaming.
Less Power, More Opportunity
McEuen, Taylor and Thomson all agree the demand for wireless gaming technology will continue to grow. "With silicon, your Holy Grail is to make things more efficient, smaller, less power (consuming) and lower cost," says McEuen of ABI Research. "With the next generation, I would expect to see a Bluetooth low energy (controller), something that ... gives you longer battery life on your remotes."
There was a time when people thought video games would be a passing fad. They were wrong. The American game industry, which barely cleared US$6 billion per year in the early '90s, topped US$18 billion in sales last yaer, and the global gaming market is expected to reach $US47 billion in 2009.
No one, however, is mistaking the move toward wireless controllers for a fad. As an entertainment medium, video games are clearly here to stay, and Bluetooth technology should enjoy sustained growth as an integral part of gaming.
Steven L. Kent is a leading write on video games whose work has appeared in many newspapers and magazines worldwide. His books include The Ultimate History of Video Games. |