The future of gaming is revealed. In my youth, gaming systems became a clash of graphics, speed, and power. When the original Nintendo came out, games were about personal adventure and the development of a good story. Titles such as Super Mario and the Legend of Zelda easily captured the hearts and minds of a gaming generation that would soon crave more.

Eventually, competitors such as Sega, Sony, and Microsoft entered the market and buyers were forced to upgrade systems. As the technological curve allowed for improvements to these machines, older units became obsolete with the availability of emulators that can play rom files of all the gaming classics that we have grown to love right on our very own computers.

A major step occurred in the mid-late 1990s when 3D oriented games began to take the place of 2D technology. For gamers who grew up in a 2D world, the transition to the 3D platform can sometimes be difficult to adjust and master. Around this time I personally believed that the realism in games would hit a brick wall. Right now we are rapidly moving towards systems that display smoother movement and graphics similar to that of real life quality. Once this ceiling had been established, I figure the industry would then need to focus on virtual reality. The technology is starting to come around and applications are slowly being developed to allow for this transformational shift in entertainment to occur.

So, instead of mashing buttons and watching movements on screen, you are actually the main character in the game. Imagine throwing on a pair of goggles (enabling movie theatre type viewing) and the attachments/tools necessary to play the game. Then, you could load a game that would put you right there on Normandy Beach during the allied invasion of Nazi controlled Europe in World War II. You could run, dive, and move your way around objects in order to join up with fellow soldiers. In real life, laser tag and paintball are the closest thing that come to mind.

However, virtual reality does not have to be limited to just shoot ‘em up games. What about an Indiana Jones adventure, Jurassic Park, fishing, X-men, flying & skydiving, sports, and possibly sex (as done in the futuristic movie Demolition Man)? Who knows, the possibilities are limitless!

So, maybe it is this vision for the future that can help us understand what is happening today in the battle of two gaming titans, Nintendo (Wii) & Sony (Playstation 3). The Nintendo Wii has already begun allowing the user to become more active in the game by allowing a range of motions joined by controllors that are wirelessly connected to sensors on the system. For example, if you were playing the tennis game on Wii and someone returned a serve, you would take the controller in your hand and wave it like a wand to emulate the action of hitting the ball back across the net.

Right now it appears that the Wii has a leg up on the market and is beginning to bridge the disconnect between today’s gaming tech and the virtual reality world of tomorrow. History will soon judge whether Wii’s new concept is too bold or perhaps just what the market ordered.