PlayStation Move was fully revealed at Sony's E3 2010 press conference. Now that the dust has settled and the facts are out, Game Rant is here to deliver all the news on Sony's exciting motion control system.
What is it?
The PlayStation Move is actually a combination of devices: The PlayStation Move motion controller ($49.99), The PlayStation Move navigation controller ($29.99), and the PlayStation Eye ($39.99). The motion controller and the Eye are required for all Move games. Interestingly, the Dual Shock 3 can be used in place of the navigation controller for gamers who'd like to save a couple bucks.
A few more accessories are available for Move: a Charging Station ($29.99) and a Shooting Attachment ($19.99). The Charging Station can handle two motion controllers, two navigation controllers, or one of each. The Shooting Attachment turns your motion controller into an uncanny facsimile of Earthworm Jim's blaster.
Of course, bundle packs will also be available. The PlayStation Move Bundle packs a motion controller, an Eye, the game Sports Champions, and a Move Demo Disc for $99.99. The PlayStation 3 Sports Champions Move Bundle adds a PS3 to the Move Bundle, and comes in at $399.99.
On the games front, Sony announced during its press conference that it would be pricing Move games at $39.99. Whether this price holds for both first and third party Move titles has not been divulged. Also unkown is how this pricing applies to products that feature both Move and traditional controller support.
What does it do?
PlayStation Move is Sony's entry into the motion-based games space. Move strikes a balance between the camera based motion control of Microsoft's Kinect, and the controller based solution of Nintendo's Wii.
The PlayStation Eye tracks the "dynamic color changing sphere" of the motion controller with an extremely high degree of precision. During the E3 Move presentation, Sony's Peter Dille made repeated mention of the system's “unrivaled 1 to 1 tracking.”
The motion controller itself features the traditional four Dual Shock buttons (circle, square, triangle, x), a trigger (the T-Button), and vibration feedback. Sony considers the control precision afforded by the buttons to be Move's major advantage over Kinect.
The navigation controller (or dual shock) works more or less just like Nintendo's Nunchuck, albeit with the added bonus of not being physically attatched to the motion controller. The navigation controller sports both an analog stick and digital directional pad, as well as L1 and L2 triggers, just as on the Dual Shock 3.
Up to two motion controllers and two navigation controllers can be connected to a PS3 at a single time. In this respect, the Move system lags behind Nintendo's Wii, which can support four remotes with nunchucks attatched.
Click here to continue on to a list of Move games, and Game Rant's take on the system!
The Games
Move will not want for games when it is released, with forty titles promised by March, 2011. Featuring a diverse line-up of first and third party software, take a look at some of the games on the horizon, sorted by expected release date.
- Brunswick Pro Bowling - Sept. 2010
- Echochrome 2 - Sept. 2010
- EyePet - Sept. 2010
- Kung Fu Rider - Sept. 2010
- The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest - Sept. 2010
- Resident EviL 5 Gold Edition - Sept. 2010
- RUSE - Sept. 2010
- Sports Champions - Sept. 2010
- Start The Party! - Sept. 2010
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour - Sept. 2010
- Time Crisis: Razing Storm - Sept. 2010
- Toy Story 3 - Sept. 2010
- Tumble - Sept. 2010
- The Fight: Lights Out - Oct. 2010
- Heavy Rain - Oct. 2010
- High Velocity Bowling - Oct. 2010
- Hustle Kings - Oct. 2010
- Kung Fu Live - Oct. 2010
- PAIN - Oct. 2010
- The Shoot - Oct. 2010
- TV Superstars - Oct. 2010
- Little Big Planet 2 - Nov. 2010
- SingStar Dance - Nov. 2010
- Sly Collection - Nov. 2010
- Beat Sketcher - Fall 2010
- John Daly's ProStroke Golf - Fall 2010
- Racquet Sports - Fall 2010
- SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs - Fall 2010
- Heroes On The Move - 2011
- Killzone 3 - 2011
- Sorcery - 2011
Analysis
Though they don't seem to be staking the future of their platform on it the way that Microsoft is with Kinect, Sony's Move nonetheless appears to be a solid - perhaps fantastic - entry into the field of motion gaming.
Pricing of the system is key, and Sony's strategy of breaking out the individual components makes the cost of the system seem approachable. That Move is ultimately more expensive than it first appears should be expected.
Bare-bones, just a motion controller and a PlayStation Eye, consumers are going to need to shell out $89.98 to bring home a Move. That doesn't include a game. (Of course, $10.00 more nets you the Bundle.) It's great that the Dual Shock 3 can be used in place of the navigaion controller, but I suspect that solution will ultimately prove less than elegant. For many people, the navigation controller will be concidered a required purchase.
For the maximum Move set-up, including a camera, two motion controllers, and two navigation controllers, the bill comes to $199.95. Assuming, of course, that players already own a PlayStation 3. If not, tack another $299.99 onto the price.
So, it's not cheap. But it may be good. Specifically, some of Sony's Move games seem like fully-realized games, rather than simply collections of mini-games. Heroes on the Move and, especially, Sorcery, really seem to integrate motion control into the game experience. Certainly, the rote mini-game collections will arrive (Sony's own Sports Champions springs to mind), but the inclusion of a physical controller with buttons seems to be paying the dividends Sony hoped for. Resident Evil 5 would seem to be unplayable on Kinect. It may be a lot of fun on Move.
Whether consumers (and particularly the hard-core gamers Sony seems to hope will adopt Move) have a pervasive interest in motion control is a matter that is far from settled. Though it seems unlikely, Microsoft may yet undercut Move with Kinect's pricing. In the end, only one thing is known for sure about the motion control war: it's on.
Your turn, Ranters. What are your thoughts on Move, Kinect, and the whole motion control initiative?
PlayStation Move launches in Europe September 15th, in North America on September 19th, and in Japan October 21st.
Source: PlayStation Blog, Joystiq