Microsoft and Sony Enter the Motion Control Ring to Compete with the Nintendo Giant
Hello everyone and welcome to another term! I’m on a work term now so I can be happier about it – no homework (except PDEng) and more time for gaming! Anyway, I want to say welcome to all the new plummers within the UW Faculty of Engineering. I hope you all enjoyed Frosh Week, I had a blast – Go Pink Team!!!
So, on to the actual column. The Future of Gaming is meant to draw attention to new consoles, peripherals, technology and ideas that are affecting the world of video games. It doesn’t focus on specific games, since there are so many different genres it would be impossible to talk about something that appeals to everyone. But the consoles themselves we can agree on – or at least we can all pick our respective camps and respectively insult each other for our buying preference. I strongly believe that each system, the Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3, and the Microsoft Xbox 360 are such individual systems, with different genres of games that there can never really be a “best of the best,” it boils down to which is the best for you. So that was my spiel about my focus and style – feel free to send me your opinions, but understand that if you insult me for owning a 360 I will just delete the message. I’d buy them all if I could.
Now the meat of the article. No doubt many people have already heard about the release of Sony’s ‘Move’ controller, which was released earlier this month. The controller in its simplest form utilizes the existing Eye camera and the new Move controller for motion capture gaming. Optionally a second handheld controller, dubbed the ‘Navigation’ controller can be added, or the existing gamepad can be used. I think this new system is going to be very effective in bridging the gap between the Wii and the high definition consoles, something that Nintendo definitely should be scared about.
Microsoft will be releasing their own motion controller in November, called the Kinect (what is with these names?) which promises controller free gameplay using a motion capture camera. The system is also capable of voice and facial identification. There have been a lot of rumours about the lag and inaccuracies of the Kinect, due in part to the lack of a controller with gyroscopic systems (basically what Sony and Nintendo both use). In a recent interview it was revealed that a controller could be implemented in the future to complement Kinect and increase its capabilities. The price of Kinect has been pretty much set at $150, which seems high, but it is a onetime purchase that can accommodate multiple players without the need of buying more controllers.
I haven’t really said much about Nintendo, which I think is a bad sign. The sales of the Wii have slowed drastically in the past year – as everyone on the planet who wants a Wii has already bought it. Nintendo originally took the gaming industry by storm through the introduction of motion control game play, other than that the Wii is really just a game cube. Now that Sony and Microsoft are both entering the motion control market, with high definition graphics and much higher quality games, Nintendo needs to pull another ace out of their sleeve if they want to stay in the market.
I recently had the chance to see both Move and Kinect in action at the FanExpo Canada convention in Toronto, on August 26-28. FanExpo Canada is a combined convention of sci-fi, comics, horror, anime, gaming, and lots of stuff in between. I have to say the Steam-punk and 501st were really amazing – that is dedication.
Anyway, Xbox 360 had a whole section of the floor devoted half to Halo: Reach and half to Kinect. The Reach side was decked out like a military barracks, with about ten demo systems running amongst the camouflage. The Kinect side was set up more like a family, with multiple HD displays set up running Kinect Adventures, with a second screen back-to-back with the first so viewers could watch as well. Kinect looked really good, though I couldn’t judge the lag or accuracy that much since I didn’t try it personally. One thing I have to say is that Kinect looks like it will actually follow through on the promise the Wii made of getting people up off the couch. While Wii gamers quickly discovered that you didn’t actually have to act like you were bowling make a good shot – you just had to flick your wrist – Kinect actually makes you get up.
My first view of the Move was a little disappointing, not really showing its real potential. The Move was actually being shown off by a game studio, not Sony itself, also lessening the impact. The first demo of the Move that I saw was for a new Lord of the Rings game called Aragorn’s Quest. In this kid oriented button mashing game the Move was basically just another button to hit, just shaking the controller in mid-air caused Aragorn to execute complicated twists and turns – with absolutely no correlation to the actions you were actually doing. The second Move demo I saw was much more impressive, with the system being used in a first person shooter (FPS). The precise aiming using the Move and navigation controllers was incredible, substantially better than Wii, and still supporting beautiful high definition graphics.
Both systems look like they will have some amazing games in the next few years, and with this console generation expected to last several more years, there is time for them to mature and each find their niche. So, until next issue, listen in lecture, do the assignments, and most importantly… Keep on Gaming.
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