Is Immersion Inside or Outside the Box?

It seems that there is quite a bit of buzz (more)over the pros and cons of Nintendo's new controller. It's been said in other articles that have been written that gamers may be looking at more than just the specs inside the box to have a truly next generation gaming experience. This leads to some interesting questions in terms of how one would teach someone to play with this new game. One of the press images that I have seen has an elderly couple using the new "remote" controllers to play a game, bouncing and smiling in front of the TV. Nintendo suggests that this is a more natural controller, and it may be true as this could be everything from a bat to a drill. I think that this "new" control system may be an interesting way to look at when the Nintendo Revolution comes out. If only to watch how the old control ideas break and new control ideas are formed. In a poor example of instructional design, we may end up looking at how the interface guides and limits the experience, rather than how the experience is aided by interface. I can't imagine what it would be like to port games if this is the only way to interact with the console (QWERTY vs DVORAK anyone?) The other consoles are looking at throwing more pixels and sound at the user to create the next generation experience. This may be more successful if only because people are not willing to change from a control system that they are used to and are more attuned to AV immersion as opposed to tactile or kinetic immersion. Seeing as we are going to have to "compete" against these toys, we may as well consider what they are going to be learned by out students. But with any luck, this could be a really interesting educational tool for any acvitity that requires kinetic skills or dexterity. For example, all those PhysEd people out there, this could really be an interesting tool for teaching skills in racquet sports. Technorati Tags: Nintendo Revolution, Xbox 360, PS3