2. Non-Traditional Controllers
We all laughed when the Wii was originally announced. The jokes about the name rivaled the flood of cheap internet humor that followed the iPads unveiling. But look at us now--everyones got a motion gameplay peripheral of some sort for their system--Microsoft has Kinect, Sony has Move, and in addition to the WiiMote and Nunchuk, Nintendo has the Wii Fit, as well as their new Wii U console. While were not getting rid of traditional controllers altogether, new control schemes are a huge boon to the industry--they not only have an inherent sense of innovation about them (its new, so it must be cool), they attract new consumers to the gaming market. Remember Guitar Hero? Everyone and their mother had that game and got really, really into it. People bought multiple clunky plastic guitars (and eventually a bunch of other plastic tat with the release of Rock Band) that only worked with one game and loved every minute of it. Non-gamers found themselves picking up a controller (regardless of how proprietary and weird it was) and clicking away at Dragonforce tracks like mad. Fast forward a few years and publishers are on Dance Central 3 and Just Dance 4, wildly successful franchises that have players dancing the night away in front of their eerily onlooking Kinect. When theres this much money involved, unusual controllers are here to stay.