If there is one overriding criticism to Playstation Move it has to be that it’s Wii HD, Wii 2.0, etc.
Unlike Natal, which escapes heavy bearing to the Eyetoy by being a whole generation ahead, Sony’s motion control can be seen as a blatant mirror of the Wiimote, dressed in the notorious sexy, sleek black, and with a giant bulb. Looking a little deeper one will notice the promise of Move. Though aside from more accurate precision the Wand doesn’t seem to do much to differentiate between the Wii (or at the very least, it hasn’t shown off the exclusivity of precision… yet).
To understand this, we must look at the aim of motion control. There is, without a doubt, a casual audience that both Sony and Microsoft underestimated. Perhaps even Nintendo did the same, but the sheer amount of success that the Wii has gotten from casual gamers mustered enough of a response to Sony and Microsoft to follow suit. Maybe it was a natural step. But, there is no way to escape the fact of the matter that Sony, and to the same extent Microsoft, are building off of older ideas. When looking at the elitist, all knowing, and all powerful eye of the “hardcore” gamer, motion control is by and large a novel experience, but nothing that will get one to drop a control. The key to the success of Move is a tricky concern. Unlike Natal, Sony has no real directed audience. On one hand, they are promising Move to be an alternate experience, a simple optional peripheral. Microsoft on the other hand calls Natal the successor to the 360. While Sony tries to passively to ensure that Move will work for hardcore games, they attempt (as proven through GDC) to appeal to the casual, family-friendly market. Granted, Socom 4 was shown off, but Sony is clearly trying to balance two entirely different plates. Microsoft on the other hand has made a clear campaign to take a rather peculiar chunk out of Nintendo’s demographic in Natal.
Where, then, does the success of Move lie? It’s hard to predict what Wii gamers will do, and if at all they will “upgrade” to Move. After all Sony has been claiming even before Move that Wii gamers have been upgrading to the PS3. Sony’s passive attitude about Move being an optional peripheral and Sony using motion control to show off party games have largely left people unstirred. Compare the media hype to Natal and Move starts to worry me. This is where 3-D is bound to step in for Sony. Part of what makes motion control so inviting is the idea of being in direct scope of the experience as opposed to controlling a character that is detached from the experience with the only thing really connecting you to the game being the controller. Two things have always limited interactive experiences: the Flat panel TV screen and the detached experience that comes with a controller. The “hardcore” gamer may not like to admit it, but motion control is offering experiences that are bound to grow bigger and better. Motion control seems to only get one so far as it removes the detached feeling of a gamer, though the complete experience seems to be lying in the specs of a pair of glasses. 3-D is undoubtedly Sony’s ace up the sleeve. While Move tries to mimic Wii with Sports titles and mini games 3-D would add another dimension that would be exclusively Sony. A flat TV screen comes to life with human interaction, and it will push that level of interactivity even further if you could almost touch things with your hands.
With E3 looming all the focus is on Move and seeing games just work. However Sony could very well wow audiences and completely distinguish themselves simply by handing the press a pair of 3-D glasses. It may not be the ideal method to what most gamers would like to see, but most who consider themselves gamers are in fact casual players. 3-D would be an excellent move (pun intended) for Sony to bust out alongside Move. Not only would Sony remain passive with their product, but they would also manage to garner an even more unique experience. 3-D Cinema has swept the storms of millions, Avatar being the latest hysteria. The beauty of 3-D in gaming, and that Sony can offer is interacting with a 3-D environment and actually changing and manipulating what we see before us with our hands.
This all seems well and great for the casual market that motion control aims for, and though it may peak just the slightest bit of interest out of more active gamers, Move seems to go hand and hand with Sony’s next big project. While a lot of hype is placed on motion control many have kept 3-D at the back of their minds when in reality both would go well together. As Microsoft would have you believe 3-D and Move would bridge the gap between gamer and game in the same philosophy Natal tries to aim for.
3-D the key to Move
If there is one overriding criticism to Playstation Move it has to be that it’s Wii HD, Wii 2.0, etc.
Unlike Natal, which escapes heavy bearing to the Eyetoy by being a whole generation of gaming ahead, Sony’s motion control can be seen as a blatant mirror of the Wiimote, dressed in the notorious sexy, sleek black, and with a giant bulb. Looking a little deeper one will notice the promise of Move, though aside from more accurate precision the Wand doesn’t seem to do much to differentiate between the Wii (or at the very least, it hasn’t shown off the exclusivity of precision… yet).
To understand this, we must look at the aim of motion control. There is, without a doubt, a casual audience that both Sony and Microsoft underestimated. Perhaps even Nintendo did the same, but the sheer amount of success that the Wii has gotten from casual gamers mustered enough of a response to Sony and Microsoft to follow suit. Maybe it was a natural step. But, there is no way to escape the fact of the matter that Sony, and to the same extent Microsoft, are building off of older ideas. When looking at the elitist, all knowing, and all powerful eye of the “hardcore” gamer, motion control is by and large a novel experience, but nothing that will get one to drop a control. The key to the success of Move is a tricky concern. Unlike Natal, Sony has no real directed audience. On one hand, they are promising Move to be an alternate experience, a simple optional peripheral. Microsoft on the other hand calls Natal the successor to the 360. While Sony tries to passively to ensure that Move will work for hardcore games, they attempt (as proven through GDC) to appeal to the casual, family-friendly market. Granted, Socom 4 was shown off, but Sony is clearly trying to balance two entirely different plates. Microsoft on the other hand has made a clear campaign to take a rather peculiar chunk out of Nintendo’s demographic in Natal.
Where, then, does the success of Move lie? It’s hard to predict what Wii gamers will do, and if at all they will “upgrade” to Move. After all Sony has been claiming even before Move that Wii gamers have been upgrading to the PS3. Sony’s passive attitude about Move being an optional peripheral and Sony using motion control to show off party games have largely left people unstirred. Compare the media hype to Natal and Move starts to worry me. This is where 3-D is bound to step in for Sony. Part of what makes motion control so inviting is the idea of being in direct scope of the experience as opposed to controlling a character that is detached from the experience with the only thing really connecting you to the game being the controller. Two things have always limited interactive experiences: the Flat panel TV screen and the detached experience that comes with a controller. The “hardcore” gamer may not like to admit it, but motion control is offering experiences that are bound to grow bigger and better. Motion control seems to only get one so far as it removes the detached feeling of a gamer, though the complete experience seems to be lying in the specs of a pair of glasses. 3-D is undoubtedly Sony’s ace up the sleeve. While Move tries to mimic Wii with Sports titles and mini games 3-D would add another dimension that would be exclusively Sony. A flat TV screen comes to life with human interaction, and it will push that level of interactivity even further if you could almost touch things with your hands.
This all seems well and great for the casual market that motion control aims for, and though it may peak just the slightest bit of interest out of more active gamers, Move seems to go hand and hand with Sony’s next big project. While a lot of hype is placed on motion control many have kept 3-D at the back of their minds when in reality both would go well together. As Microsoft would have you believe 3-D and Move would bridge the gap between gamer and game in the same philosophy Natal tries to aim at.
