The Move system is Sony’s new handheld motion-sensing device for the Playstation 3. It will be autumn 2010 before either the Move or any Move-ready games are available but Sony have set out their plans for the PS3 well in advance of the 2010 E3 show.
The Move’s controller is already identified with the glowing ‘context-sensitive’ coloured orb at the top of the device. The orb’s colours change in-game according to the game and/ or the gameplay going on at the time. The Move’s appearance succeeds in distinguishing the Move from Nintendo’s Wii-mote, but it makes little difference to actual gameplay.
More significantly, the Move, and the Nanchuck-like Sub Controller that comes with it, operate in much the same way as Nintendo’s Wii-mote and Nanchuck combination. Though the Move system has a slight advantage in terms of offering more button inputs, which gives Playstation 3 developers more options to work with.
The need to purchase a Playstation Eye camera to operate the Move and the Sub Controller means the bundled price is likely to be about $99. However, the use of a camera means PS3 players can expect a responsive system to match the Wii’s MotionPlus system.
Sony’s approach isn’t as innovative as Microsoft’s forthcoming Project Natal, (which plans to offer a more ‘whole body’, ‘hands free’ motion sensitive system), but the Move system does fit straight into today’s market.
Designing and re-programming games for motion control will be all the easier without a ‘whole body’ option and the relative ease of development suggests the Move will soon work with plenty of games. Sony has already announced a stellar list of Move developers and promised ten Move-ready games before the end of 2010.
Sony’s capacity to bring onboard top developers is critical, as both new titles and re-releases should deliver motion control to major titles and franchises that haven’t published on the Wii. Titles from the developers of series such as Final Fantasy, Assassin’s Creed and Mass Effect should all benefit from the new ‘hands on’ control system.
The Wii loses its unique selling point when the Move arrives but Nintendo appear to be content with their very sizeable share of the ‘casual’ games market. The Wii and the DS have given Nintendo a huge ‘war chest’ to play with and there’s little doubt that the company does not plan on being outmanoeuvred.
The forthcoming release of a series of ‘credible’ titles, such as Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Metroid Prime: Other M and Zelda 2 may seem too little, too late. However, Nintendo’s plans for the DSi, perhaps, indicate what is planned for the console market. The DSi has been followed by the larger DS XL, which is, apparently, going to be superseded by a new DS powered by a Tegra chip.
By moving to a Tegra chip the DS range will become a more powerful system capable of supporting both better games and running basic business and personal applications. The result is likely to be very much a discount iPad in the same way as the Wii is a discount Playstation. It would, therefore, come as no surprise to find that Nintendo are waiting and watching to see where the touch tablet market goes and how this should shape their approach to the console market.
Overall, Sony’s Move system promises to bring together motion sensing gameplay and the best games developers around, which strongly suggests that the Move will become a standard part of PS3 bundles. It seems less clear how much impact the Move will have on Nintendo’s sales. The Wii has developed a market of its own making and it would be remarkable if innovations involving consoles, touch technologies and shared gaming aren’t in the pipeline.
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