14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello has confessed his love for the upcoming Nintendo Wii U platform, particularly its unique controller, which will enable gamers to transcend the motion control experience currently delivered by the regular Wii, as well as the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, and immerse themselves into the gaming experience.
The Nintendo Wii U surprised lots of E3 2011 attendants, especially with its peculiar controller that boasted, besides the regular buttons, a large touchscreen right in the middle, which can be used to create a variety of new gaming experiences.
This feature, at least according to the EA boss, transcends everything that's been seen in the industry and trumps current motion controls like on the Wii, PlayStation 3, via the PlayStation Move, or Xbox 360, via Kinect.
"It's a high definition platform and I love the controller. I just think it's cool," he told Industry Gamers. "You're a gamer - so you've got the screen here [in your hands] and you've got the [TV] screen there and you've got full control. Personally, while there's some great experiences on Move, and there's some great experiences on Kinect, I'm not a motion control guy. It's still too imprecise for me. I like shooting something and hitting it. I like turning a corner and feeling precision."
Riccitiello highlighted the importance of the new controller through a few examples, like in his company's Madden NFL simulator, and confirmed that a lot of fun can be had with it provided the developers can really make it stand out.
"So I still like my swizzle sticks and my shoulder buttons and my Xs and Os, etc. But there is something about having that second screen that transcends anything I've ever done before.I can draw a pass pattern for Madden, I can be playing an FPS up here while I'm calling in air strikes or whatever I want to do. I can give all the detailed control off the screen, I can see another part of a map."
"I think there's something really powerful about a second screen that I think really matters," he added. "I think we're just beginning to realize what we can do with it and I think it's obvious we can do a lot with it."
The Nintendo Wii U is set to debut in the first half of next year on the global market.