Bill Gates Denies Wii's Existence

[gunntims0103]

news via nintendojo (http://www.nintendojo.com/infocus/view_item.php?1180978480)

Bill Gates apparently thinks that Wii is the future of computer hardware and software. But not in so many words.

Speaking with Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the D5 conference, the Microsoft founder described what he saw as the future of input devices for PCs and other electronic media: "And as we get natural input, that will cause a change. … Software is doing vision and so, you know, imagine a game machine where you’re just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it."

To which the moderators replied, "We have one of those," and referred to Wii by name.

Gates, however, insisted that Nintendo's console was not what he was talking about, saying, "No, that’s not it. You can’t pick up your tennis racket. And swing it."

It's possible that those who've played Wii Tennis might think otherwise, however.

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[Shadowblind]

The title of the thread and the first line of the thread don't seem to agree with each other. He thinks its the future of computer tech, but he doesn't think it exists?

[alienanthropologist]

The title of the thread and the first line of the thread don't seem to agree with each other. He thinks its the future of computer tech, but he doesn't think it exists?

He thinks it's the future: It's a games device that allows you control the swinging of the bat by "swinging it"...

Which sounds an awful lot like the Wii (I think)...

But he denies it. In other words he denies it's inspired by or works like the Wii.

Maybe it's the sixaxis? :rolleyes:

[MagicCake]

Um, even from that small summary I can understand what he meant. He wasn't talking about a motion-sensing controller. He's thinking something more along the lines of the EyeToy on the PS2. Re-read what he said: "imagine a game machine where you’re just going to pick up the bat and swing it". As in an actual bat, not a controller. So the machine will "see" you with some kind of camera and the software will interpret the motion.

He's not "denying the Wii exists", he's seriously talking about an entirely different method of control. Of course, real bats would break even more TVs than Wii-motes, so I sort of hope things don't go in that direction... :)

[mastersho]

you know why he denies the wii right? Cuz when micro come out with an os the looks alot like the wii's os(after vienna that is) he can say that he has never heard of the Nintendo Wii.( Yeah Im being dumb)

[Accordion]

Um, even from that small summary I can understand what he meant. He wasn't talking about a motion-sensing controller. He's thinking something more along the lines of the EyeToy on the PS2. Re-read what he said: "imagine a game machine where you’re just going to pick up the bat and swing it". As in an actual bat, not a controller. So the machine will "see" you with some kind of camera and the software will interpret the motion.

He's not "denying the Wii exists", he's seriously talking about an entirely different method of control. Of course, real bats would break even more TVs than Wii-motes, so I sort of hope things don't go in that direction... :)

exactly. this isnt anything close to the Wii because camera software has done it for years [eyetoy mostly]
but it woul require markers or colour coding for the camera to take in the information, which the eyetoy games did well on the ps2...

[ICE]

pick up a real bat to play baseball on a game? hmm why do i have a feeling that will be disastrous?

EDIT: how is this nothing like the wii? its motion sensing achieved in a different manner.

if i kill someone with a gun and another guy kills a guy with a knife is that different? no its both murder. its just achieved in different ways.

MS is ripping off ninty just like sony has.

[mastersho]

If that was the case then whats to stop anyone from going OUTSIDE and playing baseball???

[Accordion]

pick up a real bat to play baseball on a game? hmm why do i have a feeling that will be disastrous?

EDIT: how is this nothing like the wii? its motion sensing achieved in a different manner.

if i kill someone with a gun and another guy kills a guy with a knife is that different? no its both murder. its just achieved in different ways.

MS is ripping off ninty just like sony has.

i agree, naughty microsoft copying nintendos camera...

and i consider murder by bullet or knife vastly different.

more to the point, nintendo invented motion control...no nintendo created motion...stop copying±!±!

[mastersho]

All Hail The D-pad!!!!

[ICE]

i agree, naughty microsoft copying nintendos camera...

and i consider murder by bullet or knife vastly different.

more to the point, nintendo invented motion control...no nintendo created motion...stop copying±!±!

what does the camera do? detect motion you say? sounds familiar..

ninty struck big with motion control and now everyone is trying to strike while the irons hot.

different means to reach the same result.

[Miria]

lol Its how the Industry works.. They like to Scab each others ideas and claim them as there own... Come On Nintendo PATENT your stuff and buy other companies out..

[Accordion]

what does the camera do? detect motion you say? sounds familiar..

ninty struck big with motion control and now everyone is trying to strike while the irons hot.

different means to reach the same result.

very familiar...eyetoy, dreamcast, gametrak...

[ICE]

very familiar...eyetoy, dreamcast, gametrak...

yes we're getting somewhere!! i never said that ninty invented motion sensing, i just meant that its recently caught on with the public and ninty is responsible.

MS and sony never had interest in really going at the whole idea of motion sensing until ninty showed them it could be done and done well. now all of the sudden they want to try their hands at it.

[Accordion]

yes we're getting somewhere!! i never said that ninty invented motion sensing, i just meant that its recently caught on with the public and ninty is responsible.

MS and sony never had interest in really going at the whole idea of motion sensing until ninty showed them it could be done and done well. now all of the sudden they want to try their hands at it.

please stop with inclusivity and patronisation. i am not agreeing with you.
you simply dont understand nintendo very well

there is no 'all of a sudden' about it, and im too altered/tired/busy to break your illusions of nintendos pro-consumer image.

i will say that the real acomplishment from nintendo is their ability to keep both the investors and consumers sweet with talk of innovation and risk.
if you want to prove me wrong, tell me the risk of selling old hardware and software for a large profit and i will gladly accept.

[ICE]

please stop with inclusivity and patronisation. i am not agreeing with you.
you simply dont understand nintendo very well

there is no 'all of a sudden' about it, and im too altered/tired/busy to break your illusions of nintendos pro-consumer image.

i will say that the real acomplishment from nintendo is their ability to keep both the investors and consumers sweet with talk of innovation and risk.
if you want to prove me wrong, tell me the risk of selling old hardware and software for a large profit and i will gladly accept.

what are you talking about? my illusions of Nintendo's pro-consumer image? when did i ever mention anything even remotely in that direction?

ALL i said is that N struck at the right time with motion sensing. i didnt say that they made it or invented it. just that they busted it out at the right time and now everyone is trying to do the same.

also i know you werent agreeing with me. its called sarcasm.

[Accordion]

nighty night

[Shadowblind]

--nintendo invented motion sensors--.

Not really. I had a sega genasis game that used a motion sensor rifle to play it.

[DeeDub]

That article was very selective in what quotes they included to make Bill Gates sound bad, here's the rest of what he said (saw this on xbox-scene):

He ended his comments by saying, "And as we get natural input, that will cause a change... Software is doing vision and so, you know, imagine a game machine where you're just going to pick up the bat and swing it or the tennis racket and swing it."
As the similarities behind his concept and that of the Wii were pointed out, Gates responded: "No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket. And swing it."
"You can't sit there with your friends and do those natural things. That's a 3D positional device. This is video recognition," he added.

[DPyro]

Um, Sony has had the Eyetoy for awhile now. And a motion sensing patent long ago as well.

[ICE]

you gotta admit that sony didnt do much with eyetoy. yeah they had it but for some reason no one cared.

and shadowblind i dont appreciate you quoting me on things i never said.. lol

[Shadowblind]

Oh, sorry about that, its just the impression I got from what you said. :)

[ICE]

lol in the post you quoted me on i actually said nintendo didnt invent motion sensing. oh well no harm no foul or something ..

[Demolition49]

This is a joke, guys nintendo spurred on the idea of motion sensing and really made it work, now we see sony and microsoft (as usual) stealing the ideas nintendo made, first it was the analogue stick and rumble now its motion sensing, when will it end. I really think if your going to use somones idea atleast give them credit acknowlege it and then take it a step furthur. Not deny its existence and pretend you made the whole thing up.

[mastersho]

This is a joke, guys nintendo spurred on the idea of motion sensing and really made it work, now we see sony and microsoft (as usual) stealing the ideas nintendo made, first it was the analogue stick and rumble now its motion sensing, when will it end. I really think if your going to use somones idea atleast give them credit acknowlege it and then take it a step furthur. Not deny its existence and pretend you made the whole thing up.

well said! I'd rep you but the Rep is now gone. That's what Microsoft is known for. It was built on lies and a rather large pot of coffee.

[alienanthropologist]

This is a joke, guys nintendo spurred on the idea of motion sensing and really made it work, now we see sony and microsoft (as usual) stealing the ideas nintendo made, first it was the analogue stick and rumble now its motion sensing, when will it end. I really think if your going to use somones idea atleast give them credit acknowlege it and then take it a step furthur. Not deny its existence and pretend you made the whole thing up.

Spot on.

I sort of understand why they've copied Nintendo so much. Sony and Microsoft's main business isn't really gaming, so when it comes to video games they tend to "play it safe" and seldom innovate, unless there is a very clear commercial advantage.

Nintendo, on the other hand, has produced and/or developed a series of innovations which have become standard throughout the industry. If a new technology or idea is successful, then it's likely to be copied, irrespective of who it is.

I disagree with the person earlier who said there was no risk in the release of the Wii. Firstly, so far, the release of the Wii hasn't proved just "safe", but highly successful (outselling Ps3 5:1 in Japan and 3:1 in US). So is he trying to imply that in order to release a successful games console you just need to repackage an old console?

If that was the case Sony would have release a upgraded version of their successful Ps2. They are probably kicking themselves that they didn't come up with the idea of a cheap and profitable console with an eye catching motion sensitive technology before Nintendo.

Nintendo did run a significant risk releasing this console. It came at a time when there was market saturation and where Nintendo could clearly not compete with Sony or Microsoft in the same terms. The Wii had the potential to finish Nintendo as a home console manufacturer if it didn't do well. To say the success of the Wii was assured is easy to say now, but before it came out if would have been pure folly.

The reality is Nintendo took a BIG chance and it paid off.

[ICE]

they took a HUGE chance as far as winning the console war goes buts lets face it. if they wii was a total failure ninty could just cut off the console section of ninty and flourish on handhelds.

EDIT: heres the thing for me. video games honestly bored me. i was tired of playing them because it just felt like id done it all before. the wii is the only thing that new in the market. everything feels fresh and i actually want to play again.

say what you want. call it a gimmick if you want but to me its freshened up something that needed it badly. for me.

[Accordion]

I disagree with the person earlier who said there was no risk in the release of the Wii. Firstly, so far, the release of the Wii hasn't proved just "safe", but highly successful (outselling Ps3 5:1 in Japan and 3:1 in US). So is he trying to imply that in order to release a successful games console you just need to repackage an old console?

If that was the case Sony would have release a upgraded version of their successful Ps2. They are probably kicking themselves that they didn't come up with the idea of a cheap and profitable console with an eye catching motion sensitive technology before Nintendo.

.

ha
http://www.stg.com.tr/shop/images/SONY_GAM_PS2_B011_b.jpg

they did
no less than 21 games which use the eyetoy as control, and 29 games which include eyetoy features...sold very well also.

[masterpaul]

Bill gate is scared of Wii, because he knows that the next generation of Wii's controller will help to kill of PC gaming

[Basil Zero]

Guess, Ol' Bill Gates has bad vision or just dont want to admit that the Xbox360 is being overkilled by the huge sales and success of the Wii.

[ICE]

sony may have been using motion controls via eye toy but they didnt do anything with it. what like a handful of games that got no commercial time or any push at all.

motion controls are great whether its eyetoy, ms's rip off of eyetoy or the wiimote. i just prefer the wiimote and apparently im not the only one.

[mastersho]

yeah i mean you can control a pc with glove pie now. what from stoping nintendo to make apps for the wii os and add some wireless keyboard and mouse drivers. that would kill mircosoft.

[jdnation]

Bill is referring to the ability to use actual household items for interactivity... Another cool idea implimented by Microsoft (Though used in Sci-fi movies, comics and anime for a long time, should they bother crediting all of them too?) are their new touch screen surfaces. Check out a video and you'll see what they mean by usings items for interactivity! Very cool!