With both PlayStation Move and Xbox 360′s Kinect available to the masses, it’s time we have a little discussion the subject.
Both controllers, while similar in the way that they get you up and moving, offer different functionality. Move, on one hand, has players utilizing its incredibly accurate tracking system with the PlayStation Eye camera, which only follows the controller. Kinect, on the other hand, tracks the player’s entire body, allowing players to use their hands, feet, head, what have you… although isn’t quite as accurate as Move.
For this Sunday’s Discussionist, we want to hear your overall thoughts on either/both controllers and their presence in gaming. How have your experiences playing Move/Kinect been? Are you beginning to prefer motion control over standard, sit-on-your-bum control? Do you think motion control could usher in a new era of gaming, or do you think its the next Virtual Boy? What’s disappointed you about the new controllers? And finally, what do you see in the future for this new hardware?
Commence discussion.
My overall experience so far with the new controllers has been mostly positive. I do not physically own either as of yet, but have played them both at demonstration kiosks. Personally speaking, I prefer the Move to the Kinect mostly due to having a physical object in my hand. In my opinion, this addition creates an extra immersion (and precision) which is not available with the Kinect. That said, the Kinect is a very fun device in it’s own right and with upcoming games like Child of Eden, I would be hard pressed not to beleive in it suceeding.
Still, I am still very much sceptical of motion control overtaking the standard controller for quite some time (if ever). Standard controllers are the basis for so many different types of gameplay; they are how we have played for decades and will definately remain a large part of how we play. Of course, I enjoy peripherals such as the Move and Wii Remote, which, when implemented properly, can undoubtedly add a lot in terms of fun and engrossment.
Broadly speaking, though, I feel that the success of motion control is a very positive thing for the industry, from the obvious (more people being able to play) to the less discussed (accessability comes to mind – disabled gaming is now finally possible)
I do not beleive that the new motion controllers are another Virtual Boy, altough I also do not beleive them to be as world-changing as their marketting suggests. In the end, it’s all about the games – something I feel the current lineup on both formats is lacking. Once developers step up from simple party games and realise the controllers potential, everything will take a step for the better. (For example – Wii has had an influx of great P&C adventure ports which console owners might otherwise not have played).
A final note for now is one of price. Personally, I find the pricing of Kinect to be on the steep side. In the UK, it is actually more expensive than the 360 console itself (stand alone SKU’s). This, compared to the Move’s very reasonable £40 price point, is a big point agains the Kinect for me. Do not misread this – I would gladly purchase a Kinect Sensor should the games’ warrant it, but at this point in time, £130 for what is essentially a “fun” peripheral is pushing it (especially considering the time of year and immiment 3DS launch window)
I may pick up a PS Move sometime in the near future, and will be giving more opinions of the product when/if that happens!
Regarding the article, I’d like to make a correction.
The Eyetoy doesn’t just focus on following the controller. Any Sony Tech-demo will show that the Eyetoy is more then capable enough to follow not only the Move controllers, but also the head of the subject as well as it’s general body. Pending upon software, it could theoretically also follow joints, though the most accurate reading is without a doubt the Move itself. A recent game also provided a new alternative, which is to read a person’s outline to determine actions, which actually works okay.
There are also videos showing the Eyetoy used in Conjunction with a microphone peripheral, and the PS2 does have a Voice only game (Lifeline, play it only if you’re in a group so to share the incidental hilarity. Or look up Youtube: Lifeline Abridged)
So. That said. Personally, I find the advantage to be in Sony’s hands. Unfortunately their marketing hasn’t been top notch and it’s hard to beat having Oprah give out free “Kee-nects”. Buzz is currently very strong for Kinect, but in the long run it might not do all too well. Videos of accidents are already spreading, and seeing a young child slapped hard or elbowed in the face can easily discourage sales.
As of right now. The Kinect has only two interesting games for supposed Core gaming. Dance Central, and the upcoming multiplatform Child of Eden. The Playstation Move provides Ruse, Echochrome 2, Child of Eden multiplatform (if it doesn’t get Move support, I’m going to guess that Microsoft paid for limited exclusivity in motion control due to the simplicity of implementation of Move controls in games thanks to Sony dev tools). And also serves as a supplement, as opposed to a full replacement of the controller. So one could, at a stretch, include games such as MAG, Resident Evil 5 Gold, Little Big Planet 2 and the likes.
At both the price of entry, at present choices and later promised titles… The Kinect is lacking, but has one big advantage. Dance Central, an honestly very entertaining game, albeit I feel it might have a chance at being multiplatformed, considering that from videos I’ve seen, it seems like it’s only doing a basic tracking of joints and relying far more on reading the outline of a person to determine action. Something the Playstation Eyetoy is capable of. Since it’s not making any use of the movement rotors of the Kinect to track it’s player from gameplay videos seen on Youtube, and tech demos by ‘professionals’ on any expos. It’d be surprising if it couldn’t. Albeit if the technology is too outdated to handle the data needed to be gathered, then I’d understand.
Which is to say, the Move requires the Eyetoy and thus provides an already ready library of games, though most of them are aimed at the casuals to begin with.
So yeah… Me? I’d get the Move eventually. I’ll probably also get the Kinect in a year or two. More precisely the one bundled with an Elite 360 due to the 50$ cut off the total price due to the bundling, but I’ll also wait a year to determine if the main and only reason I’d get a Kinect in the first place (Dance Central) won’t multiplatform… And even then. I expect nearly all the routines on nearly all the difficulties to be available for viewing/playing on Youtube by that time. There’s already a modest selection available for all difficulties.
The reality: Kinect will outsell Move by millions. Why? because Kinect is different and to anyone that knows nothing about videogames it might as well be black magic. And to anyone that’s ever seen (the constantly referenced) Minority Report it’ll seem like they’ve been transported into the future.
They’ll even be forgiving of the laggy controls because they’ll think, “Well, it’s just a game” because in many consumers’ minds game consoles are still toys.
And let’s face it, Sony’s Move is really a better Wii and we’ve all seen the Wii. Yes, it’s remarkably more accurate and offers HD graphics but it will forever be in the shadow of Nintendo’s Wii and no amount of Kevin Butler will break that comparison.
And while Move does have some great hardcore and casual games I don’t think anyone really cares. Sure Move is selling okay but do you really NEED Move? No and chances are until they get a killer app no one other than hardcore gamers will even take notice. It certainly won’t capture the casual market as much as Kinect will.
I’ll probably end up getting Kinect and the only reason I’m even remotely interested is because of Dance Central, which, as it’s already been mentioned, is quite possibly the most important game for the platform (the Michael Jackson experience will curtail that every nicely and get even more people interested).
I wouldn’t exactly classify the Kinect as Different. It’s somewhat false advertisement. I mean, joint tracking is something that the Eyetoy, not the Move, is capable of doing. Kinect is simply updated technology of the Eyetoy.
The Eyetoy also had voice control capabilities if you had a microphone added to it. So it’s more of a bundled complete Eyetoy optimized.
But yes, it’s undeniable that the Kinect will outsell the Move initially. It’s marketing is far stronger, but it’s long term sales may suffer in the end. And that many early adopters have also generated a fair starting amount of Kinect accident videos. We’ve got a few headshots already (Three kids slapped I think, one guy smacking his head on a metal pole, someone accidentally spiking a hanging chain into his large HD TV and a grandpa elbowing his grandson in the face.)
Ultimately though, it’ll probably just be a dent. And after it’s initial burst of sales, it might just dry up afterewards if it doesn’t provide any better reasons in the long run.
In both cases though, the same rule applies: The winner will be determined by the support it receives. Bad games means no purchases after all.
Hmm… Though, there IS one thing that’s helping it out a lot.
Piracy… It’s actually helping Microsoft here, as the sales of these items are thrice the price they’re made, so by hardware alone, they’ll make a lot of pretty pennies off of the pirates who figure they’re being so bright, buying something that’ll have moderate usage for them.
I think I’ve made my thoughts known previous, but I like the idea of this discussion thread.
I too have been pretty excited about Kinect.
But now the proper reviews are coming out, it’s all looking a bit sad. Movements not being tracked properly, input lag, all of that. Microsoft also seem like they’ll run into the problem that Nintendo ran into with Wii Remotes 4 years ago.
People are getting really hurt using Kinect. Sure, this was a problem with flying Wii Remotes – but Nintendo released the Wiimote jacket which helped a lot… A straightforward answer will be a lot more difficult with Kinect. I know the majority of the people who visit this site won’t end up injuring themselves jumping around the house. But it’s still an issue.
I think the big question for developers working on Kinect is.. how do we get games with any amount of depth to work without using any buttons?
They still have time to figure this out, as the casual crowd is well pleased by the dancing game they have. Most of the other launch games seem – to some extent – broken.
The Playstation Move is not revolutionary, by any means. Supposably it is more accurate than Wii MotionPlus, but I can’t verify that myself. On a personal level, I’m looking forward to it, because for multiplatform games, previously I had to choose between the Wii version with motion control, or the PS3/360 version with better visuals. PS Move now lets me have both. PS Move is not the innovative path, but it is the safe path. And it works.
The reality: Kinect is going to have a very, very difficult time grabbing any genre except Dance games. Expect them. Expect lots and lots of them.
It’ll eventually die out, but Kinect has found a cash cow to milk here… and they’ll be milking it for a long time.