In case you missed it, Sony officially unveiled their new motion controller at GDC in San Francisco this month, and it’s going to be called… the Playstation Move. Will this be the next big thing? Somehow I doubt it.
This peripheral, along with Microsoft’s own Project Natal, is an attempt to follow in Nintendo’s footsteps and cash in on the casual game market. Here’s the problem: Nintendo already has a stranglehold on that market, and I don’t see anyone breaking it. Parents just trust the Nintendo name, and on top of that, the concept of motion control in video games is no longer as novel as it once was back when the Wii was first released. Aside from a few blockbuster titles developed by Nintendo themselves, no one is buying Wii games anymore, and the console is basically just collecting dust.
What’s different about the Playstation Move? Well, it works in combination with Sony’s Playstation Eye camera, which allows you to import images of yourself into games, and it also allows precise tracking of your body’s movements. The controller itself is also supposedly more precise than the Wii (although I’m not sure if it outperforms the Wii with a MotionPlus add-on), and of course, the Playstation 3’s graphics capabilities are a lot more powerful than the Wii.
While I’m sure they’ll come up with some fun little mini-games for the Move, the titles that have been announced thus far look pretty generic. They’ll really need to come up with some triple A games that are created exclusively for the Move if they want to get people interested.
I think my biggest problem with all of these damn add-ons is that they are just watering down the game market. Developers feel pressure to make use of these stupid gadgets in their games, but it’s just a distraction that takes away time and resources. Sony is making a big deal about the fact that they want to attract hardcore gamers as well (for example, Socom 4 will be compatible with the Move), but I think it’s going to take a lot more than this to win them over.
The starter kit is expected to sell for under $100 U.S., and that will include the controller, PlayStation Eye camera and a game. I don’t think I’ll be in line to buy it when it hits stores this fall, but who knows… maybe it will end up being the hot seller for the holiday season. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time I underestimated Sony.
One advantage it does have over the Wii is the fact that the two controllers are not linked with a wire. I find it very annoying sometimes playing the Wii and having the two controllers linked. It isn’t a huge advantage but it will make it easier to pull off more active movements.
People might not be buying many new games, but I don’t think Wii’s are collecting dust. People are still happy to play their simple wii games, and wii fit is pretty popular I think!
This sentence perfectly describes my feeling on all this motion control nonsense:
“Developers feel pressure to make use of these stupid gadgets in their games, but it’s just a distraction that takes away time and resources.”
It was fun to use the Sixaxis a little bit when I first got my PS3, but it just gets in the way of the fun. For example, in the first Uncharted game, when you walked across a log or other narrow surface you’d have to use the Sixaxis motion control function to keep Drake from losing his footing. It was just a pain in the ass to suddenly hold the controller up, find a center of gravity, and ease your way across the obstacle. I’m SO glad that they got rid of that feature for Uncharted 2.
Almost everyone I know who has a Wii hasn’t touched it in a very long time (with the exception of perhaps the New Super Bros game that came out last year).
But even for people out there who still actively use their Wii, will they really want two systems like this (or three, if you count Project Natal)?