So, this Move. I’m pretty sure it brings nothing new to the party. That’s too bad, because the PS3 is starting to take off (after three lackluster years) and it would have helped push units if they had an innovative motion control system. I mean, not everyone is into the motion controllers, but… seriously, Sony. It’s a Wiimote. Don’t even try to tell me it’s different. The only real difference I can see is that the camera is on the TV rather than in the remote. But that’s not really important. What’s important is that this controller does absolutely nothing new.
I mean, it’s used in the exact same way as a Wiimote. It lends itself to the same control schemes as the Wiimote. It’s the same size and shape as the Wiimote. Its method of determining motion and position is similar to the Wiimote’s. Tell me what is possible with the Move that is not possible with the Wiimote?
There are two points I’ll gladly yield. The motion sensors in the Move are almost certainly a bit better than Nintendo’s (though the MotionPlus negates some of those gains). And the PS3 is of course far superior in graphics and we might, for example, get an adult-themed sword-based game where enemies don’t shoot sparks and disappear when you cut them. I don’t want to sound ghoulish, but come on. It’s a sword.
Gizmodo notes that multiplayer is a little gimped. Yeah, a bit, but no more than the Wii, I think. I’d say that the “sweet spot” that exists for the Move is more limiting to multiplayer than anything else. I’m not sure of the Eye’s field of view, but can four people really fit in it comfortably while flailing around? The benefit of the Wii method is that the “eye” is in the controller, meaning as long as you’re pointing at the TV, you’re good.
I was pumped for the Move until I figured out (a couple months ago) that it wasn’t going to actually offer anything new to developers. Maybe there will be a few cool hardcore games that wouldn’t fit graphically or tonewise on the Wii, but they’re not opening up any new horizons. Let’s hope Natal doesn’t disappoint. I understand Microsoft is going to be leaning on it as a whole new control method for its whole lineup, so we can probably expect some pretty good stuff. And of course there’s Razer and Sixense’s sweet-looking magnet thing. Until then I’ll be sticking with my SNES.