Motion gaming.
Ask 100 gamers, and you'll probably get flamed on a message board, melee'd repeatedly in an FPS, possibly the victim of a drive-by Wii-moting.
But you will also get a better-than-half response from a growing segment of the gaming world that sees motion games as the future of interactive entertainment. The Nintendo Wii is the best selling console of this generation, with almost 80 million consoles sold worldwide--almost more than it's two more "grown up" competitors, Xbox 360 (42 million) and PlayStation 3 (38 million, all as of July 2010), combined.
It's little wonder, then, that said competitors are working to take a bite of the Wii's casual audience... in their own unique Sony and Microsoft styles. Where Wii made the control your motion machine, Microsoft's Kinect makes your body the instrument of destruction, using a camera system to capture your every move. So far, we've seen a couple of interesting party titles and a smattering of games catering to the 'core' audience... and not much else from a system that launches in November.
Meanwhile, Sony went for a middle ground. Having already released a motion camera (twice, with the PS2 Eye Toy, and the PS3 Eye), and experimented with adding motion-sensitive interface to their primary controller with SIXAXIS, Sony wheeled out the culmination of those efforts just two weeks ago with the (yes, boringly named) PlayStation Move.
The Future of Gaming?You know me a little by now. I'm a PlayStation fanboy, for sure, so you know I went and bought the new controller as soon as I could... and by that, I mean opening day. Because I did not have the PlayStation Eye, I opted to purchase the (currently) only available bundle, outside of the new 320 GB console/controller/game package, which included one Move controller, the Eye, the Sports Champions launch title, and a demo disc. In addition to that, I purchased a second Move controller (I pre-ordered the second, which was fortuitous as the GameStop I bought from had already sold out extra Move controllers by the time I was able to pick up mine after work) and a Navigation controller (the counter-point to the Wii nunchuck).
The PlayStation Eye: yep, just like it sounds.So with all of that added up together, it's a pretty significant buy-in investment ($99 for the bundle, another $50 for the second controller, and $30 for the Nav controller). Slightly higher than the buy-in price for Kinect, which (allegedly) can support more than two individuals at a time. The question becomes: is it worth the expense?
My answer at the moment: we'll see. Admittedly, like any new platform, it's all about the games. And right now, the games just aren't there, especially for the core gaming audience. The controllers themselves are very, very solid. Unlike the Wiimote, the Move conforms very well to an adult hand; it's functional, and stylish, even with the ball at the top--but the ball is so necessary to the accuracy of the controller. Using the Eye, it tracks the color of the ball in 3-dimensional space: the size of the ball is calculated by the camera to determine where it is in relation to other objects, and provides an level of detail that the Wiimote just hasn't been able to capture. Having played Sports Champions and a few of the demo titles, the controller is definitely as accurate as Sony has claimed. And Sports Champions is a great introductory title, just as Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort were great for the Wiimote and the Motion Plus add-on.
Sports Champions and controllers, a match made in Sony heavenBut at launch, the rest of the software (based on what I've read, and what I've heard first-hand) just isn't up to par. Tiger Woods 11, EA's perennial golf game which usually scores higher on the Wii version than on the PS3 and 360 versions, was given a lazy port that just doesn't have the nuance that could be added. I've heard that the new John Daly's Pro Stroke Golf makes better use of the Move controller, which is saying something if John Daly can best Tiger Woods at ANYthing. And face it, when EyePet and Tumble--a kids game and a downloadable title--are the standout non-packaged launch titles, you're not going to draw in your primary audience.
There are some games coming down the pipe that could make the Move a valuable accessory. Killzone 3, SOCOM 4 (which was supposed to come out not long after launch, but has since been delayed to 2011), LittleBigPlanet 2 (also delayed to 2011), Sorcery (the E3 presentation that stood out as a Harry Potter-game-done-right) the Sly Cooper collection, and patches to MAG, Heavy Rain (already available) and others could be the products that drive in the hardcore. But all of these are Sony-exclusive titles we're talking about. It's the third-party publishers, and their willingness to adopt, and perfect, the use of Move controls, that will ultimately make or break the platform. How many gamers would run out and buy a Move/Nav controller bundle immediately if they knew that they could pull off headshots easier in Call of Duty: Black Ops?
PlayStation Move is a great controller. It looks great, it feels solid, and it really does work well. But only time will tell if Sony's jump into motion gaming was a move in the right direction, or if they they're four years too late to the party.
Next up from JTS: Demo Derby #2--the Move's killer ap?
Hmm interesting. Thanks for the review on that thing. I wasn't entirely sold on the idea of a Wii-like adaptation for the Sony or Microsoft systems, seeing as (which it really is if we are honest) a blantant copying of the what the Wii. Not that there is anything wrong with that, as that tried and true formula often works (WoW stealing the good ideas introduced in Warhammer Online, for example.) Still not impressed, but not as dismissive as before. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMTV's gaming blog (multiplayerblog.mtv.com) had a feature a few days ago on the use of the Move controller in Killzone 3 (which is still months away). The blogger noted how he didn't like the controls in Killzone 2, and that his experience on the Move-enabled KZ3 was excellent, going so far as to say he'd rather use the Move and Nav controller setup than the traditional DualShock. So only time will tell if this thing'll catch on.
ReplyDelete(BTW, I had someone tell me that images of the products would help enhance the review... they are coming!)