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Ubisoft Toronto boss Jade Raymond thinks that next-gen consoles must “go beyond” what Kinect has done for controller-free gaming.
“I was a big Trekkie when I was a kid and I still have this dream that, ultimately, we’re going to end up creating the Holodeck – you know, totally immersive experiences,” explained Raymond in an interview with OXM. “I still think one of the huge barriers is the controller, and even people who played games when it used to be just one big red button and a D-pad can’t play games now.
“You have to master face buttons, triggers and they all do different things, so obviously we’re never going to get to that really mass-market place where we’re touching a really broad audience with our messages with controllers, so Kinect and other more natural ways to interact with games are incredibly important. I think we can go further.”
In more specific terms, Raymond thinks that the next generation of consoles must build upon the advances made by Kinect and the Wii.
“I think they should, for sure, and I hope that we go beyond what we already have working and extend it even further. I think we saw some great changes with the Wii and a whole bunch of people playing games that hadn’t previously and I think we saw another step with Kinect.”
It’s fair to say that most hardcore gamers remain ambivalent at best about Kinect and controller-free gaming. For her part, Raymond seems optimistic that things will improve – but it may take a while.
“As more of a hardcore gamer I want to see that stuff integrated into hardcore games in a way that makes them better because as fun as all those games are, I don’t really play exercise games – I can’t picture myself doing that. I’d love to be able to lean and look round the corner and just integrate more natural motions. The tech for those things isn’t quite there, but I hope it will soon.”
