Gaming Is AR a gimmick ?

[pachura]

Not trolling, just wondering...

I get it's cool to practise virtual fishing or to shoot a photo of a Super Mario figurine standing on your table. But all these games/demos/whatever seem to be really simple and not having lasting appeal. Would you still play Face Raiders after having 3DS for few months ?

AR games can be cool as mini-games in something like Another Code, when you have to perform a specific, short task. Or in WarioWare 3DS (if it is to come). But can they make fully-fledged games ?

Another thing is that AR games are not really so fit for mobile gaming. For me, a game is "mobile" if you can play it everywhere - in a bus, in a crowded waiting room, sitting on the floor. I don't think it would work well with AR cards. Not even to mention 3D; I imagine it must be quite difficult to focus your eyes and keep them in the "sweet spot" of 3D while running around a virtual monster on your carpet...

What do you think ?

 

[nryn99]

well, there has been an argument about what "gimmick" really meant.

my opinion is a gimmick is something that is unique to a gaming system that will lure gamers to buy/play the console/game.

so i say it's a gimmick.

 

[TheNikkoMan]

I agree, but I'd like to add that, at least I, don't count a gimmick as negative. In this case it's the complete opposite.

 

[Veho]

my opinion is a gimmick is something that is unique to a gaming system that will lure gamers to buy/play the console/game.

Well AR isn't unique to the 3DS. You might say AR in general is a gimmick, though.

 

[Donald Serrot]

As TheNikkoMan said, I'd call it one, but a positive one not a negative one. I know I for one am practically raving about this feature to anyone that will listen. XD

One thing I keep coming back to is it kinda combines Nintendo's history. Nintendo was originally a card game company, and before they tried video gamed they were a general toy company. AR is a toy, and amazing adult (get your mind out of the gutter) toy that used cards, Nintendo cards, on a Nintendo game system. the 3DS represents Nintendo's rich history!

 

[notmeanymore]

Yes it is a gimmick. An awesome gimmick.

Adding AR to a Yu-Gi-Oh/Pokemon game would be nothing more than a gimmick, and people would be fine with that. It would add nothing else to the gameplay.

 

[Ikki]

It's a gimmick as it's not.

AR on a Pokémon game would be a gimmick. AR in AR based games isn't.

 

[twiztidsinz]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimmick

In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature. It began, however, as a slang term for something that a con artist or magician had his assistant manipulate to make appearances different from reality. Such things as the manipulating of a gaming wheel led to the idea of a "gimmick" being used. [1]

It is a gimmick... Just as two screens on the DS was a gimmick, just as 3D on the 3DS is a gimmick, just as the Wiimote on the Wii was a gimmick.
It doesn't mean it's bad, it's just something that stands out and might not always be useful.

 

[AntvgX]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbTJw_2E-Ww[/youtube]

 

[Ikki]

-snip-

And so you know, they level up, evolve and whatever.

Unrelated post is unrelated.

 

[AntvgX]

Was just showing AR potential.

 

[shadowsfm]

seen that last year

 

[omgpwn666]

A gimmick is not really a bad thing. AR really peaks my interest and curiosity, makes me want to 3DS even more. So yes, it's luring me into it, but I really do feel this technology is something that can be taken farther in the near future. And by the way, I also love achievements, progress with proof.

 

[_Chaz_]

It's a feature that ventures away from the norm in an attempt to make the product more desirable.

Of course it's a gimmick.

 

[Schlupi]

AR= DEFINITE gimmick. the 3D is also a gimmick... by the very definition of the word.

But whether or not it will be useful and properly supported... we are yet to know.

 

[Ikki]

You're ignoring the fact that some games are entirely AR based.