I can't get behind this. The fact that so many people had issues with the controls is evidence that there is a problem. I couldn't get Link to swing the way I wanted even slightly consistently. Maybe there was something I could have done to fix it, but whatever it was, it wasn't self-explanatory. Am I too tall? Not a big enough room? Is there something wrong with my console/controller/sensor bar? I never found out, but any of these reasons are feasible. If a button was broken, I would have known immediately. And there aren't many other wacky things that could go wrong either. I'm not saying I'm totally against motion control, but I think it has a way to go before it can compare with traditional controls. And Skyward Sword isn't a great example of that potential.
I needed to quote this, I love how you worded it.
It is a fact that a lot of gamers, including highly-experienced games had trouble with this control scheme. Nobody has managed to make motions work with at least 99% precision, a precision that can be obtained using a well-maintained classic controller. As far as I know, the Wii is meant to be put in a large room, which I don't have the ability to. I'm basically still living with my parents, saving money so I can get my own place. My living space is a single, small, but neatly organized bedroom. Furthermore, the Wii requires that you position yourself exactly on the right level with your TV. Calibration will be off if you're a bit too much to the right or left, standing too upright or sitting to low.
Another issue is handedness. I know this doesn't bother the majority of individuals, but I'm left-handed. I have to put up with a skill barrier because I had to use my non-dominant hand to do things I would normally not do with it. Believe me, if I was given a sword to swing and I actually wanted to live, I would put it in my left hand. it gets more insulting when Link was traditionally left-handed before and they ret-coned that. Not even giving us a lefty option really pissed quite a few lefties off. Then again, that was a problem lefties had to content with on a regular basis when playing Wii games. To add to that, you need to position yourself more to the right of your TV, having to look at it at an angle if you're playing the game with your left hand, du to detection. Because of that, you need to recalibrate your system every time you change games.
Furthermore, Wii Motion plus required recalibration every time your aim went too far off the boundaries, and I notice that the weaker your batteries get, the more often you had to recalibrate it. Motions that are too swift don't get registered, and as a self-trained fighter and an ex-martial artist, I find it rather strange that I'd have to restrict and slow down my movement to the pace of the game rather than it actually adapting to yours. It's if you pressed a button too fast and the input didn't register.
It is also a fact that Miyamoto himself recognizes that motion Zelda was not as well-received as he initially thought it would:
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2012/06/08/e3-2012-miyamoto-talks-zelda-wii-u
I have no problems with the existence of motion controls. Really, I don't. But they should always be optional, like how the gyro can be turned off in OOT 3D.
