A large list of possible functions from:
http://www.neogaf.co...&postcount=6381"
Frees up screen real estate.- Essential for clean split-screen play.
- Allows for more information to be conveyed to a player even in a split screen environment. Anyone play Starcraft 64 and try and sort out all that info?
- The secondary function of a gun you're carrying, explained in detail rather than a name or blurb. Imagine all of the info that can't be conveyed because it's too much text/images mid-game, but can be shown on the secondary screen. In theory, you could have a sort of 'mini manual' down there.
More 'cinematic' games.- Minimalist UI
- Off-screen subtitles
- Unobtrusive but 'necessary' updates
- Achivements Updates
- Friends logging in/out
- System messages
Privacy during split-screen.- What item you're holding in Mario Kart.
- What weapon you're carrying in a FPS.
- How close to empty your clip is in a FPS.
- Your radar in a FPS.
- How full your Super meter is in a fighting game (so your opponent can't predict when you're about to use it).
- What backup characters you've selected in a fighting game.
- What if there was a fighting game where you couldn't see how much life the other guy had? You'd have to judge based on their character's visible damage.
- What actions you've selected in a turn-based Strategy game.
- A private sniper scope. Even when you see someone zooming in with your peripheral vision, you know they're about to take a shot.
- Maybe there is a 'blind' mode where your part of the TV is blacked out, but you can still navigate via the controller.
- Dice rolls in an RPG.
- Plays in a Sports Game.
- Imagine stealing home when your opponent isn't looking because there isn't a UI element that constantly shows where every player is at.
- Hide and go seek.
- What cards you're holding in a card-based battle (Pokemon CCG anyone?)
Player-specific Information (i.e. Crystal Chronicles)
- Everyone has a different piece of information that they need to monitor and inform the other players of.
- Class based RPGs or FPSers can offer unique 'perspectives', like having night vision as a spy, satellite view as a commander, being able to see cracks in walls as a Dwarf, etc.
- Personal track info in Guitar Hero/Rockband-type games.
- Character sheets in an RPG, so you can see all of your character's info at a glance any time.
Motion Control + Screen = Augmented Reality- Games that can display new things based on where you're pointing the controller.
- Games that change based on where you are in relation to other players.
- With an away-facing camera, a controller you can 'look through'.
The touch screen can become a new set of buttons at any time.- Capable of more buttons than any console controller ever (except that big honkin' PSO Gamecube keyboard).
- A decently sized, off-screen keyboard.
- Context-sensitive buttons, changing as your status or position in the game changes.
- Access to all inventory items / tools / weapons at all times.
- Could allow for MMO-style action bars; a traditional controller has a hard time making, say, 10-15 spells fit comfortably. Now imagine you can just touch a spell icon to cast it.
PSO2 has action bars... and has been announced for PC only... but maybe because Sega hasn't been given permission to reveal it's also hitting on the Wii2.... Ohh, please let this be so...
- Fully Customizable Face Buttons. Imagine you can 'drag' new actions to the XYAB face buttons on the fly
The touch screen can become a more precise method of controlling things.
- As close to a mouse as consoles could get without an actual mouse/trackball.
- Touch-and-drag unit selection in RTS games.
- RTS-style overhead controls for squad-based shooters.
- Make detailed battle plans in a tactical shooter ("Go here, then here, then take out that guy and I will meet you here")
- "Drawing-based controls".
- Draw a line between multiple enemies to aim a boomerang.
- Draw shapes on an overhead map to cast spells like walls of fire, areas of effect, etc.
- Smudge the screen for real-time terrain deforming.
- User-Generated Maps and stages can be built with precise controls.
- Basically all of the touch screen features of DS games."
Basically it is going to offer console gamers more genres like MMO and RTS games.
Edited by ianh05, 11 June 2012 - 11:01 PM.