It's all in the motion these days, as Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft made a big splash at the Tokyo Game Show, showing off their versions of motion tech, and although the Wii Mote's been around since 2006, the battle royal is only now commencing. Sony and Microsoft, after criticizing Nintendo's device as a gimmick years earlier, recognize the importance and potential of the technology and want in. So now the battle for who has the best "motion" is on. First to the stage is the Xbox 360 and partner, Project Natal, let's see how they dance.
With what was one of the best kept secrets in gaming this generation, (everything gets leaked these days) Microsoft dropped a bombshell at this year's E3 and stole some thunder from both Sony and Nintendo. They introduced what according to them, will be the next step in the way we play and interact with games. It can recognize your voice and face, even know when you enter in a room, and by the sound of your voice, determine what emotion you're feeling. It's Microsoft's Project Natal, there's no physical controller, just hand and body movements; No word yet on the games being developed for Natal or the cost the device, but I have to admit, it looks interesting. However even with all its capabilities, Project Natal is good as dead if there're no games to boot. Microsoft knows this, so they gathered some of the best minds in game development to support their latest effort. Verdict: Project Natal combined with the Xbox 360 have great potential together, and by fall 2010, all kinks should be ironed out, making for an even greater and more accurate motion sensing product. Next up, the PS3, the eye-toy, and the wand controller.
According to Sony, it has been in development before the Wii Mote. Its accuracy is second to none, casual and hardcore gamers alike will find the device extremely handy and appealing. It has force feedback and up to four players can be tracked at once by the eye-toy, a barrage of games that support the device have been announced, and according to the hardware giant, a lot more to come. It's the Wand Controller from Sony, (there's no name given... yet) and already developers from across the board have been taking notice, some have expressed the desire to port some of their Wii games to the PS3, hoping to find even greater success. Verdict: Might not be as exciting as Microsoft's Project Natal, but it's certainly fascinating to know soon we'll be tearing through demons in God of War III using Sony's wand? Okay, maybe I'm dreaming, alright I'm dreaming, but rest assured, Sony will once again innovate and elevate this industry come spring 2010. Now we move on to the company which started the motion craze. Let's take a look at Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus.
Say what you like about Nintendo, but none can go around the fact that they were the ones who initiated this motion revolution, when they took the 'make or break' attitude, and ordered their riskiest venture to date into production. The rest was history. Nintendo had grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, and kids alike the world over, loosing weight, and playing sports. 51 million strong in just three years, add that to the fact Nintendo has been making profits on every Wii sold since its release in 2006, and there'll be no doubt in your mind, Nintendo have a winner on their hands. After the Wii's quick Success, they followed up with an upgrade accessory for the WiiMote dubbed the Wii MotionPlus. With this accessory, the WiiMote is distinctively more accurate, and reviews across the boards have been posittive. Nintendo is promising even more innovation, and rumors abound that in 2011, they'll introduce the WiiHD. Yes, they've neglected the hardcore crowd, (which I think was a mistake) but certainly the casual market has been rewarding the Legendary company with hard cold cash sitting in the bank. Verdict: Although most hardcore games cannot operate on the system, Nintendo gets rewarded for taking a huge risk that could've left them bankrupt, and because of them, Sony and Microsoft are lesf scraping for remainders in the "motion market."
In conclusion, I believe they all are winners, but Nintendo is way ahead of the pack. Simply because they've lead the innovation front in motion sensing technology from the beginning of this consoles generation. It'll be interesting to see what, if any results Sony and Microsoft's venture yield. Share your thoughts.
09 27/09 Ernice Gilbert
What complete bollocks. Wii motion+ is a joke, not accurate at all. Certainly not 1:1 Nintendo claim.
ReplyDeleteNatal also is a joke as it had to be faked at E3, got doubts it even exists as a working prototype. Loosing the controller is dumb idea, that won't work with all game genres.
Sony Wand is the clear winner as it's claims of 1:1 accuracy, and backs up them claims with a fully working prototype and live demo. Roll on spring 2010, can't wait to get my hands on this.
I concur with the above poster. Sony has shown it works 1:1, has voice recognition and also face tracking within a 3D environment. Natal is basically a PSEye without the wand.
ReplyDeleteSony also has a patent for Emotion Recognition technology. SO Microsoft had better be able to do some fancy games if they want to compete. RE5 + PS Move = Win and not possible on Natal lol.