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How Sony and Microsoft Hope To Crack the Motion Control Market
An editorial at Eurogamer delves into what Sony and Microsoft hope to achieve with their upcoming console motion control systems, despite entering the market several years after Nintendo set the standard. "The cards Sony has placed on the table this week suggest one answer to that question. It sees PlayStation Move as being an upgrade path for Wii owners — an invitation to the tens of millions of consumers who have invested in Nintendo's platform to swim upstream to the more powerful, HD-enabled system. Yet even Sony's most optimistic view of the market will be tempered by a dose of realism here. ... What's more likely — and what Sony are probably quietly hoping to achieve a significant proportion of the Move's success through — is that the technology will expand the appeal of the PS3 in the family setting." The Digital Foundry blog has an in-depth look at the PlayStation Move from Sony's event at the Game Developers Conference, saying, "... if there was one positive you could take away from the event, it was that Move is clearly a far more precise implementation than the Wiimote. Some of the games felt clearly more 'tactile' than the Wii equivalents."
Am I the only one who's perfectly fine with two analog sticks and a bunch of buttons? Maybe it's sort of neat to be able to wave a wand around and have stuff happen on the screen, but until they get to a point where your "aim" or "cursor" or whatever is precisely where you're pointing, count me out. I want more precision than a wiimote can provide, and I want action games (think Call of Duty), not games built around some gimmick (Wario Ware or whatever the hell they call it). Guess I'm just not their target market.
is that the technology will expand the appeal of the PS3 in the family setting
Well the PS3 is a 'bloke' machine to show off great graphics on shitty games.
Marketing it as a blu ray player failed. Marketing it as a games machine failed.
They've got to try something else.
...copy something else. And call it their own.
Now you can be modded down twice! Good job!
In order to get that market, they will have to provide something Nintendo has for years... Games for everybody. Fun games for all ages.
I'm talking about Raving Rabbids, Wii Sports, and such.
My parents *NEVER* had any kind of console in the house, even when we were kids. They never even liked video games. Until they tried some on my sister's Wii. Now they bought one with many games. They're in their 60s. So unless SONY can target that kind of audience, it won't work.
The Wii has the games, and also the price. It's the least expensive of all three.
I've got better things to do tonight than die.
Because it was cheaper than the other two. I mean people knew it wasn't HD enabled years ago. I suppose that not being HD is a much bigger deal now that everybody's getting 1080p TV's. But then, the Wii was kind of always the "value" platform. Sony's gonna have to have some good motion games in order to upgrade...because the Wii already has some good brand/franchises going.
for the developers to really develop for it?
You have to pick the right tool for the job: if the challenge of a game is the disconnect between the player and the character being controlled the game will be frustrating rather than fun.
DDR players can hit more steps per second on a keyboard than on a dance pad (compare Tedo typing 0x1311 to Iamchris4life tap-dancing A), yet players still use a dance pad for some reason.
The good news is that you can basically think of all of the good or even great games on the Wii and then imagine them with HD graphics and surround sound. The best examples I can think of are Resident Evil 4 Wii edition and Dead Space: Extraction. Both are highly polished, adult oriented, motion controlled shooter titles. Now imagine the graphics of Resident Evil 5 or original Dead Space on the PS3/360 with the motion controller functionality of the Wii.
The definitive version of Resident Evil 4 is the Wii version in my opinion. After using the motion controls I had zero desire to go back to the old pad controller for RE5 on my PS3. And after playing the RE5 demo I didn't even buy the game. If RE5 had the Wii style controls I would probably be playing the game now. At this point Capcom should should be begging MS and SONY for motion control dev kits for RE5 Motion Edition.
And think of added functionality and benefits that recent games like Heavy Rain (PS3) will have. SONY and MS could really take the motion control idea and expand it into games geared towards adults and older gamers.
The real downside is that the motion controls on the Wii have led to an enormous number of gimmick games with little polish. Basically crap titles that are churned out day after day completely watering down the system's library of games. For every good Wii game that comes out it seems around one hundred awful games join the fray.
It's the sound of millions of Wii haters who are now very confused; after years of bagging on the Wii's control system, now they have to switch to cheerleading for *their* console's version...
I think the real factor in how these new motion controllers will do is the games.
IMHO, in all the years the Wii has been out only a few games have been innovative enough to really show off some cool stuff with the Wii mote.
And I have yet to see anything that made me very impressed.
While I love the normal game pad/keyboard and mouse, I believe that motion controllers have a huge amount of potential (not to take over, but to evolve alongside other controller types).
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
"... if there was one positive you could take away from the event, it was that Move is clearly a far more precise implementation than the Wiimote. Some of the games felt clearly more 'tactile' than the Wii equivalents."
It's interesting that their experience is so different from Engadget's.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/10/playstation-move-first-hands-on/
Engadget's hands-on found:
* We hate to say this about "pre-alpha" software, but we're feeling lag. An on-rails shooter we tried out, dubbed The Shoot, was discernibly inferior to shooting experiences we've had on the Wii, both in precision and refresh rate of the aiming cursor.
* The system seemed to have a bit of trouble understanding the configuration of our body in a swordfighting stance: even though we selected "left handed," it was putting our sword arm forward instead of our shield. Right-handers didn't seem to have similar problems, and we're sure this will be ironed out in time, but it certainly shows that the controllers aren't magical in their space-detection prowess.
For every good Wii game that comes out it seems around one hundred awful games join the fray.
It's been that way since the Atari 2600. Sturgeon's Law: every console's library is 90% crud.
I can't see either Sony or Microsoft succeeding, regardless of the quality of their actual products. The problem is that the "hardcore" gamers, the ones who flock to the Playstation and Xbox, don't want a motion controller. They're content to play games with a gamepad. Meanwhile, the more "casual" gamers have already gone with the Wii. Anybody looking into buying a new system with motion controls will see that the Wii is $200 while the PS3/360 are ~$300 plus the cost of the motion controllers.
This has nothing to do with the quality of the products (I suspect Natal's going to suck hard, though the feedback from Move seems to be pretty good) and everything to do with what people want. If Sony or Microsoft released a new, cheaper console with a motion controller packed in, I could see that being successful. As it stands, I can't see too many people dropping $100 to play LittleBigPlanet with a motion controller.
I read the title of the summary and hoped that I could watch the comedy as Sony and Microsoft would try to compete against Siemens, GE Fanuc, Mitsubishi, etc, (you know, actual motion control vendors), but then I read it was about video games.
Oh well. So much for "news for nerds"
--
BMO
We have a Wii - it was the first current-generation console we purchased. We did eventually buy a PS3, but in large part it was because our old DVD player died - we figured if we were going to have to live with discs a while longer, we might as well have the option of watching Blu-Ray (through Netflix; I don't have much interest in purchasing most movies). Of course we did buy a few games for the PS3; but in the end we still end up playing much more on the Wii because it just seems to be more enjoyable.
I know there are lots of Slashdotters that really get into the high-def, shoot-em-in-the-head-repeatedly (or cut-them-into-multiple-pieces) games; but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of variety or innovation in the PS3 games that I've looked at. The graphics are certainly stunning; but so many of these games are just variations on the same theme. If these new controllers end up leading to a wider range of games, then great! But if they end up just offering yet another way to swing that sword or shoot that gun, I can't see them having much impact - the people who want to spend lots of time playing those sorts of games seem perfectly happy mashing buttons.
#DeleteChrome
A 67x series should know better.
Microsoft won't copy Nintendo. Microsoft innovates. Steve Ballmer said so.
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I believe what Sony really hopes is that it will help developers create games for the Wii and PS3. The difference between the two will not be that huge other than one has HD. However, the huge problem for Sony is that this controller isn't in the hands of the 32+ MILLION PS3 owners. The other problem is that the vast majority of PS3 owners currently don't really buy the "casual" games and thus the games don't reflect the market base. Now Sony getting the PS3 down to 300 in the U.S.A has helped a ton, but the market here still buys the hard core games for the PS3 a lot more.
The more I learn about science, the more my faith in God increases.
...they are already designing the next bombshell for MS and Sony to run behind. ^^
And that is why they won’t actually catch up. ;)
It’s old. Go ahead MS and Sony. Control that market for the time it dies while getting replaced by the next big thing.
The big thing that won’t be coming from you.
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
It's the sound of millions of Wii haters
Millions?
I'm hard pressed to think of one. Lots of people think the motion control system is a decent idea, they just don't necessarily care about it much for games they play.
I don't have a Wii myself but I admire what they have done, which is to grow the gaming market to places traditional consoles never went.
I honestly can't remember seeing single negative post on the Wii, in a long time...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
The problem with the demo is that you are not really seeing the effect of your actions. Unlike traditional "quicktime" events where you succeed or fail, in Heavy Rain you don't exactly have failure or success, so much as consequences. If you look compare to something like the God Of War demo, which does have "quicktime events" as we know them, it's really different... consider also that at a number of points (even in the demo) you have many different possible actions to take, it's just that instead of fixed controls the controls vary in context. So it's a lot more like the old school adventure games in the sense you can explore or have choices in how you respond to people or what you ask them... I think it's really immersive.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I know there are lots of Slashdotters that really get into the high-def, shoot-em-in-the-head-repeatedly (or cut-them-into-multiple-pieces) games; but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of variety or innovation in the PS3 games that I've looked at.
Those games, on larger scales, are starting to come out. (Heavy Rain was mentioned, and I'm pretty sure Last Guardian will be pretty unique).
But if you really want something different, explore the games on PSN. There are some really fun things there, Flow was excellent (though short), Pixeljunk Eden has a unique design and fun swinging mechanic (and great music), there's also more family fare like multiplayer trivia games and such.
I think lots of the innovation these days is happening in the smaller game space, so it's worth taking a look even at the older titles on PSN and I'm sure we'll see a ton of interesting smaller titles for the motion controller too.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Why dont PC games developers support the Wii balance board?
I see three reasons:
There is ONE thing that REALLY annoy me with these reviews, it's all the buildup-hype.
Too many times I've been disappointed with all these augmented reality devices that are set to change the world every time they're released.
The only controller that "surprised" me in a positive way was the WiiMote, it was truly revolutionary, but the Wii itself - way behind our time due to it's slow speed, low-resolution non-HD graphics.
The PS3 camera was a HUGE disappointment for me, especially with EyePet, this thing needs 300-600 watts indoor lighting (no - I am not kidding, I have this thing!), and it sucks donkeysballs.
The Nintendo DSi (with camera) sucked even worse, the augmented reality games for the camera, was a joke, and the resolution a lowly 300k pixels, for the release price, this thing was a pure ripoff. At least they could have included some InfraRed LEDs to illuminate the face with, but no...
The PS3 SixAxis function is a joke. It's not even accurate in any way, it's flimsy and shaky at best, no wonder most games doesn't use it, it's major FAIL.
The wiimote's major advantage is it's infrared-camera in front of the wiimote. This gives a fairly accurate aiming function as it tracks the two infrared-led in the illumination-bar that it comes with. Still - unfortunately...the accelerometer is a bit on the flimsy side too, and yes - the wiimote suffers severely from lag, so no REAL skill is involved (which explains why it's so popular with elders & mothers) If you want to test this, you can sit down while you play golf / wiisports etc...and barely rotate the wiimote lightly at will..there are no kinematic weight-transfer from your body to the wiimote, hence...it's more a novelty than a real augmented reality unit.
Project Natal (to me) is what seems like the most likely new unit to have something really NEW to offer, as it comes with a 1080p High-Resolution camera AND an Infra-RED camera (yes - two cameras!) and therefor will be able to be used in almost total darkness, hence work the way these cameras should work with games.
However - adding a unit with a more precise accelerometer - wouldn't be entirely stupid either, then we're in business.
The new ps3 controllers (wiimote clones with a led-bulb and the camera on the other side rather than in the remote) is technically the same as the wiimote, I just hope that the accelerometer is more precise and more capable of measuring weight (power transfer from your body) to "feel" your energy, then it might stand a chance.
What worries me - is the Eyetoys epic crappiness, as an owner of this camera, I know it's weaknesses, out-of-focus, narrow-angle-view, low-light, out-of-whitebalance piece of junk. My asus Eeetop computer has a better webcam than this, and it can see almost in total darkness, which is exactly the oposite of the PS3 Eye that needs several hundreds of WATTS to even work.
What this world is coming to - is for you and me to decide.
Same old games- and heavily 1st shooters and racing. Now its HD, you can see more details maybe have less gameplay and more realism. Same old thing new look with maybe a big new "revolutionary" feature like some comical weapon or gimmick.
I didn't plan on touching any new systems, I've been there and done that; plus I have more of a life so I can't invest the time to master something that is just version 8 of the same cliche with more controls than version 7! (except no keyboard...)
I ended up with a Wii- because it is new and has some new things plus it encourages real social gaming like we used to have before online games existed. Couldn't care less about the new 1st shooter's 1-2 "new" features.
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I'm getting too cynical, but I wonder about the ratio of patents filed to the number of people beta-testing and suchlike. And this http://xkcd.com/187/ makes me think the people shouting are the company PR guys.
I think this is too little and too late from Sony. I recall they tried to rip off motion controls at E3 a few years back with the x-axis controller and now this. Apparently the game plan is that if they can adequately copy Nintendo's motion controller, they can entice Wii owners to move to PS3 because they like motion controls and they desperately want HD graphics. A few reasons why I don't think it will work - 1. Wii owners purchased their systems without HD and did not seem to care. This is also probably the same sector of the world who have not run out to buy a Blue Ray player yet. Most people don't believe there is that much of a difference. 2. The Sony motion controllers are more expensive. No matter how you slice it, they do cost more and hopefully they are alot better functionally than what the Wii already offers. 3. The Sony motion controllers are not the default controller. Nintendo was able to get more developers to embrace the technology as it was the default standard control method. 4. Lets face it, some of the Nintendo appeal actually are the games. Sony will need to do more than crank out first person shooters. Sony will also need to target a broader audience with their games.
So are you meaning the ability to chose a response (Chase after bad guy! or Tend to the victim!) or the annoying Resident Evil 4 "phew, cutscene n- why am I dead?"
In Heavy Rain, it's more like you are building up layers of something rather than just choosing a tree to follow... you can ask different sets of questions, you can partly fail a task but still succeed. Something like the climbing up of the hill in the demo - you can get partway up and slip back, to try again - or decide it's too dangerous and give up.
It's also the fact that you don't have to do anything. Normal quicktime events are required to succeed. In Heavy rain, you could if you wished simply bypass them altogether. It all feels much more like making real choices than just matching buttons to on-screen prompts (even though that is part of the mechanic at times).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley