Avoiding the Performance Trap

In 1994, Atari television commercials emphasized performance and graphics

For non-gamers, learning to master most game controllers is, without question, a daunting task. In his new book, Ludoliteracy: Defining, Understanding, and Supporting Games Education, José Zagal observes that even experienced gamers can find it difficult to keep up with rapidly changing technology. He quotes one former gamer who says,

I no longer play video games because I don’t understand the controls. Give me a NES controller any day, but these new ones with all those buttons? I don’t know what to do with so many buttons!

Yet, complex controllers are not a new phenomenon. The Atari Jaguar was introduced in 1993 with a 15 button controller that represents the epitome of needless complexity, clumsy ergonomics, and deficient usability. Although technically, Jaguar was one of the most advanced consoles of its time, it should come as no surprise that it was also one of the worst selling consoles in history.

Atari's poorly designed controller helped solidify the company's demise

The following television commercial, ironically titled “Video Game Marketing 101,” emphasized the advantage of Jaguar’s 64 bit processor over the 16 bit and 32 bit processors that were common in competing consoles.

Although the clip touted Jaguar’s superiority over 3DO’s 32 bit Multiplayer and Sega’s 16 bit Genesis, final unit sales were the inverse.

In the end, the actors who played Atari sales reps in the commercial were not the only ones who were left with confused looks on their faces.

For more on the failure of Atari, see Innovation and Marketing in the Video Game Industry: Avoiding the Performance Trap, pages 15 & 52.