Bill Gates wants to play some kind of tennis simulator
by JC Fletcher 
{ Jun 4th 2007 at 3:05PM }
Oh, what? There's already something like that? No, the Wii doesn't count, because shut up it just doesn't: "No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket. And swing it." We guess motion controls are only cool when there's some kind of camera involved.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jared @ Jun 4th 2007 3:11PM
soooo, does this mean i now need to buy a tennis racket, a golf club, a baseball bat and glove, a new pair of skis, a set of boxing gloves, a bowling ball, a pool cue, and other bodangles??? Sorry Billy boy, you lost.
Elliot J @ Jun 4th 2007 3:34PM
I'm not sure why people are making fun of what he had to say. Personally I think it's a great idea.
Sure it's fun to swing a wiimote around and pretend it's a tennis racket or a baseball bat but I'd much rather swing a real baseball bat or a real tennis racket. When I play wiisports and swing the wiimote around it's fun but at the same time it's pretty lame. What Gates is talking about becomes extremely practical when you place it in the context of pro sports.
Athletes would be able to work on their technique using the same tools their sports require from the comfort of their own homes. Porbably not the most practical idea for your average consumer but market this correctly to pro athletes and you might be on to something Bill!
ArakniD @ Jun 4th 2007 4:05PM
I beleive he was talking about something more along the lines of Virtual Reality people.
Mr Khan @ Jun 4th 2007 4:22PM
I'm sorry, but that picture is just queer/just plain disgusting (depending on your sexual orientation)
gay or straight, i don't care, that picture is just creepy
As i said before, though, i felt that he probably realized he was basically describing Wii Sports after he said it, and then denied any similarity to Wii Sports to avoid being caught glorifying the competition (and maybe not out of petiness, if the CEO of a corporation such as his glorifies his competition, there may be stock reprecussions)
kraoro @ Jun 4th 2007 4:24PM
"No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket. And swing it."
You can if you buy those crappy plastic attachments.
Skyler @ Jun 4th 2007 4:29PM
Oh no italics!
He's just jealous. :P
Chris @ Jun 4th 2007 5:19PM
i dont wanna imagin how to play a shooting game. poor tv...
Kenny @ Jun 4th 2007 5:26PM
I think he means that the motion is determined by your movements and not the movements of a controller (hence the need for the camera).
So swinging a racket (or anything) will cause your on screen character to swing. The Wii required a motion-sensitive controller. Bill is talking about a camera that senses all motion.
cbc @ Jun 4th 2007 7:56PM
what Gates meant is really Sony's EyeToy
Ryan P. @ Jun 4th 2007 7:32PM
I love how Gates acts like he's such a genius by running his mouth on things he WISHES he could pull off but HASN'T
yet. I could sound like a visionary too by saying i want to do a bunch of things i don't actually know how to execute.
Ryan
Kye @ Jun 5th 2007 3:47AM
ElliotJ
If athletes want to practice they can go outside. Last time I checked bats and rackets were'nt that expensive.
For everyone else, a small handheld device would suffice. And as for full strength swings at full reach: please refer to the many incidents of Wiinjuries.
Chris @ Jun 5th 2007 9:41AM
@2: Yes, swinging a baseball bat in the house is probably the best course of action. If you're looking to play sports, go outside. If you're looking to get drunk and play tennis in the house while it's raining, then Wii it up.
wushupants @ Jun 5th 2007 1:05PM
my only regret in terms of wii sports (tennis particularly) is that your movement resembles a command... much like what a button can do. i'm not sure exactly what he meant but, in my opinion, i'd rather see the raquet on my character move at the same time as mine (kinda like wii sports baseball) but when i swing it, i would like for it to hit the ball according to the exact amount of speed, the same position, and the same power that i applied in real life. THAT would be actual motion controls. not swing the bat/raquet, and the character makes a preset animation.
it's pretty frustrating to know that i can get the same effect with a flick of the wrist than with a full-blown arm swing...
CubeGuy @ Jun 5th 2007 1:18PM
This made me laugh harder than I have in a while while reading a news site.
sdc @ Jun 5th 2007 1:36PM
Hey, Bill G.! Listen to cbc and your dreams will be fulfilled. Of course you'll have to invest in Sony's PS2 and EyeToy, but I'm sure your XBox team has some lying around. Then, all you'll have to do is map the end of a tennis racket instead of your hand as the input and you can volley and smash until your heart's content.
smartypants @ Jun 5th 2007 1:48PM
In home damage has been bad enough with people just swinging their light tiny wiimote around. I don't even want to think of the damage that could happen if I was using a real tennis racket. Or a real golf club...
c'mon bill. just say you love the wii, we all know it's true.
Emerald @ Jun 5th 2007 7:23PM
Good job Nintendo Fanboy, you completely missed the point. They are going for visual recognition something your console will never do. In the future you may want to O... I don’t know stick to reporting on your console of choice.