So, I was just checking out Wii news and apparently the newest iteration of Tiger Woods is going to feature MotionPlus (read: true 1:1 swing recognition... when did "1:1" become such a buzzword?) and will be joined by a tennis title, also using the improved technology.

This is actually exciting! I can already hear the cynics and the XBOX faithful sneering "gimmick"... but I don't think so. Here's why:

In my mind, this was the purpose of the Wii... to usher in a gaming era with new, more natural motion-based controls (remember the water-cooler comparisons made of the Wii, to the computer interface in Minority Report? I do. I also remember the Power Glove... but that was different, damn it...) and motion-controlled console gaming, while still admittedly experimental, are a big part of why we got excited about the Wii; we bough them to be a part of that.

1:1 swing recognition in 3D space is a far cry from "ok, you need to waggle your right hand to swing a sword instead of mashing the A-button" (and it's also a far cry from Far Cry, and a slew of mediocre ports with tacked-on motion controls). It's what the call a Unique Selling Proposition, it's what the Wii can do that the other consoles can't. And it's not surprising that, along with Nintendo, a giant like EA is the among the first to dive in and putter around with the experimental technology.

I didn't just get a Wii because I'm a life-long Nintendo fanboy, or to get my Mario and Zelda fix.. I got it to be part of something new. This might be a good start.