Kind of like how Eyetoy and Singstar have destroyed the PS2? And the Dual Shock killed the PS1, allowing the Saturn to dominate the "32-bit" generation? And how the "classic pad" for Wii has caused it to be stillborn and be crushed beneath the might of the PS3?
I never said peripherals and fragmentation kill a console. There is a point to be made that peripherals and non-default control schemes don't catch on beyond a few titles.
Has the EyeToy been successful outside of a couple of titles? What about Singstar? Hell, even the Guitar from Guitar Hero series. What about the myriad Light Guns that have been released? FX Chip games? Even the Dual Shock didn't become the dominant controller until PS2, at which point it was the default out of the box controller.
The classic pad for Wii was designed with a specific purpose, i.e. to play old VC games. It hasn't been pushed as the default control scheme, nor was it intended for that purpose. People can still play their VC games with the Wii-mote just fine. But trying to play a Wii-mote designed game on a regular controller just doesn't work out that well. See the reviews for Rayman Raving Rabbids on 360 and PS3 as an example.
Even if MS were to release a 360-mote, it wouldn't be a widespread success until they made it the default control scheme. What then though? Alienate their existing base of users? No, they'll wait until the next generation to do so if they go that route.
The likes of the 32X and M-CD shouldn't be compared to controllers that add specific functionality. You could possibly even combine full 360 pad functionality into a split, dual controller setup - it wouldn't be difficult, it'd just be a matter of seeing if people accepted it.
The elegance of the Wii-mote is that it strips the controller down to only the essentials, and translates the rest to motion control. And you're suggesting that the 360 pad add more buttons? If so you're missing the point of one of the reasons why the Wii has been so successful to date.
Even Live Arcade games and souped up Wii ports could easily justify a couple of cheap wireless controller. The Wii is attracting a lot of people who don't particularly care about Nintendo, they just like the fun it offers. There's no reason the 360 couldn't reach out to some of the same kind of people whilst also offering ... well, being a 360 to boot.
And you think that the mass market will buy into that? As I said before, Guitar Hero has been a smashing success. But how many games are designed around the guitar? Same with the Eyetoy. How many games have been designed around that functionality beyond one-offs and whatnot?
This isn't about beating Nintendo outright (because I know someone will pop up and say"Ru saYing that MS caN celL more than wii! lol." if I don't clarify this), it's about there being a low risky oportunity to reach out to new customers, a way to sell profitiable controllers and cheap to develop games, a movement in the games industry to join in with, and a way to add to the 360s repertoire of entertainment modes.
Make the 360 a party machine too, to compliment its online gaming, Live arcade, DVD playing, and movie downloading. It's an entertainment device, so add an extra way to entertain people. You don't need to stake the platform on it, and you'd almost certainly make some money on it.
1) The 360 is too expensive to do what you're looking for.
2) The 360 isn't associated with the kind of market you're talking about.
3) The 360's control scheme, unless radically altered, will still be the same pad it is today. The same pad that hasn't captured the imagination of the gaming public at large.
Answer me this. If the public sees the Wii as the uber fun machine, and MS tries to catch onto that with a cut down minimized version of that, why would anyone buy the more expensive MS version rather than the full Wii version where all games are designed around the "uber fun"?
That's something Nintendo learned with the Gamecube generation. They tried to compete with the PS2 on graphics, but because the PS1 had established the PS brand as the place to be for cutting edge graphics and killer 3rd party titles, they had no shot. This was borne out in the sales last gen. So Nintendo had to differentiate themselves from Sony and MS this time around.
If MS and Sony try to out-nintendo Nintendo, they would still get their arses handed to them this gen.
They need to stick with their strengths and lower their price. Price, not motion control or uber graphics, has defined this generation more than anything else. Until MS and Sony drop their prices, nothing they do will stop the Nintendo juggernaut.
