It would appear that Nintendo's Wii and its unique controller may be having the unintended effect of forcing the other console makers to look at their controllers and seeing where the designs could be made more "accessible" for the casual gamer. During discussions at at recent Electronic Arts Community Event, Microsoft's Xbox boss Peter Moore suggested that the company may be studying a simplified alternative to its current Xbox 360 gamepad design, according to a report at GamesIndustry.biz.
As he has on previous occassions, Moore praised Nintendo's console for its controller design, comparing it to the Atari 2600's joystick, for its simplicity and stated that Microsoft is actively looking at ways to make games "easier and more intuitive." Moore claimed that current controller designs with their "shoulder buttons, triggers, analog sticks, d-pads" represent a significant "intimidation factor" that acts as a barrier to entry for a wider gaming audience. To solidfy this point, Moore stated that Microsoft was open to any innovation that creates a "broader reach for games, because as an industry we've got to do that - we've got to bring more people in."
When pressed on the issue of Microsoft's developing of an alternative to its current Xbox 360 controller design, Moore cryptically stated that the company was "doing a lot of stuff there", but added that it was something that was not ready to be publicly discussed. Moore did say that Microsoft would not force "anything that is not going to be intuitive and innovative" which suggests that the company would not be employing motion-sensing technology in any future controller designs.
-IGN.com
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