It’s [finally] official: Sony’s new motion controller is dubbed “Move”. Unveiled in full detail at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), Sony unwrapped the Move and is full-blown marketing mode. Developers are lining up already, with undoubtedly many more on the way. Will this be the next gimmick in the motion-control market, or will it finally bring depth to gameplay and real precise controls to the HD gaming hardcore masses? The Wii has been saturated with shovel-ware and tons of games playing up the gimmick of the imprecise [edit] “Wii-mote”, with only a handful of titles rising above the problems to deliver real interactive experiences.
What Is The PlayStation Move?
The Move is a motion-sensing peripheral that pairs with the PlayStation Eye – yeah, remember that one? – to deliver precise motion controls in video games running on the PlayStation 3. The good news is that the PlayStation Eye has been on the market for quite some time now.
Similar to the Wii-mote Nunchuk secondary piece, the Move will be able to be paired with a secondary “subcontroller”. This piece will have a D-pad and an Analog Stick, with a couple of buttons, allowing more familiar gaming experiences with first-person shooters and other titles: Movement with the left analog stick, point and shoot with the Move.
One key difference and benefit the Move has over the competition is the battery-less design. The Move contains the same lithium-ion rechargeable battery that the Bluetooth PS3 Dualshock 3 has, providing long battery life and recharge capabilities without wasting batteries*.
* The Wii remote leeches battery power even when powered off, FYI, more so than any other device I’ve ever experienced. I use Energizer Lithium Ion batteries in my Wii-motes and they still don’t last very long unless I remove them each time I’m done using it. It’s silly.
The Move and “subcontroller” are wireless via Bluetooth, support rumble, and will be available only in black at launch.
Functionality – How Does It Work?
As you can see in the picture above, the primary Move wand has a colored ball on the top. That color has a function.
The Move uses a three-axis gyroscope, a three-axis accelerometer, a colored ball, and magnetic field sensor to pin-point its location – and don’t forget about the PlayStation Eye. Fast or slow, all movements are precisely input and translate to the software.
The subcontroller has the same motion sensor as the Move wand does. By comparison, the Wii Nunchuk’s gyroscope is ancient and not nearly as precise.
Games? Where Are They?
By the end of fiscal 2010, Sony promises “more than 20 titles” will be available to support Move. Some regular games will also be patched to support it, such as Little Big Planet, SOCOM 4, and EyePet.
A small list of titles will be available when Move launches:
- Move Party
- The Shoot
- Slider
- Motion Fighter
- Sports Champions
- TV Superstar
Cost?
Nothing official about the Move pieces sold separately, but the Move + Eye bundle will cost $99 U.S. – not too bad if you take everything into consideration.
If you want to see how Move compares to the Wii remote, read this article published at Kotaku.com.
This will make me buy another PS3 I can tell you that much.
“the gimmick of the imprecise Bluetooth “Wii-mote””
vs
“The Move and “subcontroller” are wireless via Bluetooth”
your statement makes it sound if the bluetooth is a bad quality of the wiimote but an amazing feature of the PS3′s. Thats a little sensationalist/straight off a press release sounding to me.
Additionally the Wiimote with the motionplus adapter does have pretty precise controls for titles that utilize the motionplus.
The comment wasn’t meant to compare Bluetooth technologies to one-another, I was merely stating that both peripherals attach via Bluetooth. Also, Bluetooth isn’t what makes one thing more or less precise than something else, it’s the gyro and motion-sensing technologies present. My statements are accurate, and from all reports the Sony Move is much more precise than the Wii. I’m simply citing facts as they have been published thus far.
How do my statements make it sound one way or another by way of mentioning Bluetooth? I’m confused by that.
I edited the “Bluetooth” prefix out of the line about the Wii-mote so there isn’t any confusion on my meaning. The fact is that the Wii-mote is imprecise – my wife and I struggle with it all the time – and the titles mostly amount to shovel-ware aimed at very young children.
I love the Wii for what it is, and we have a good time with it at certain times (Wii Fit is my wife’s new best friend after the birth of our son two months back), but the remote has truly gone the way of the gimmick.
My hope is that the PS Move won’t just be another gimmick, but I remain skeptical. But hands-on accounts that compare the Move to the Wii-mote are overwhelmingly preferring the Move. Once it’s released, I’ll be buying the bundle and reviewing it thoroughly, and you can expect a completely unbiased and true review.
I read through the Kotaku article and it doesn’t really give the Move a favorable light so far.
The fact that the sony version of the nunchuck doesn’t have a gyroscope in it is a weird decision.
Also if you haven’t played anything with the motion plus controls it really is a heck of a lot better. Grand Slam Tennis with motion plus is pretty sweet.
I am by no means a Nintendo fan boy, but so far everything I’ve seen covering the Move doesn’t sound all that impressive, which I’m sad about because I really liked the eyetoy for the ps2.
I think this all of a sudden opens up room for MS to impress with Natal and be something different from the Wii & PS3 now. Who knows if they’ll deliver though.
Natal could very well top all motion technologies, if Microsoft’s hype is any indication. Guess we’ll see.
http://gdc.gamespot.com/video/6253374/?tag=topslot;thumb;4#toggle_video
“Sony has a lot of experience with this stuff.” I believe that Sony has technology that Nintendo doesn’t have. This is going to be much more fine-tuned, at the very least, but the bottom line is the software. Will the games break through the gimmick mold and allow for more in-depth experiences, or will it be a normal game with tacked-on controls? I’m rooting for the former.
I dont know why, but the Bluetooth on the PS controller is phenomenally better than the Wii’s. The Wii has a sensor bar and still lags out noticeably even up close. The PS3 controller can be used from very far away and still functions fine. The Wii should have better or at least the same quality/range as the PS3 for Bluetooth….but thats obviously not the case if youve played both.