Sony launched PlayStation Move this week, an accessory that requires you to move a little, not only to stay and play.
Is there anyone who has not dreamed of sitting in front of the TV, but also do some exercise at the same time? The first that have used this opportunity were the geniuses from Nintendo, their Wii console knowing an unprecedented success. There were sold in the 4 years since its release, no more than 73 million units, being surpassed only by its “sister”, the portable Nintendo DS. And, very important, more than double compared to PlayStation 3, produced by Sony and launched almost simultaneously.
Sony needed 4 years to bring the innovation from the Wii console on their own console; Wii being known as a Wireless controller with three-dimensional motion detector. In other words, the way you move the remote in your hand is found in the game on the TV screen, and the same movements are played there, the most obvious feeling being when you play tennis, where the controller transforms itself into a practical rocket. The people preferred the ease of use of the Wii console, the realism brought by the “teleportation” in the game, more fun in groups, but also the opportunity to do some exercise while watching the television.
There are countless stories of people who boast how they have lost weight with Wii Fit, perhaps the most successful innovative game console. The advantage of an excellent graphics, of a video performance clearly superior on the PlayStation 3 console have been offset by something less powerful, but addressing to an audience much wider. What will happen now when the console more powerful in graphics benefits also of some dynamism in the game?
So the fight between those two companies was reopened. Sony launched on September 15 an accessory that brings the innovation of Wii on the PlayStation 3 console, just like the third fighter from this market, Microsoft, which launched Xbox 360 Kinect. But Sony will be first on the market about two months before its rival. So the PS3 will be the first console having a graphics performance with Wireless control with motion detection system.
The Playstation’s new accessory is called Move. The basic package includes a video camera, game controller. The first games are adapted. There is an obvious resemblance with the Wii controller, recognized by Sony up to a point, which has officially acknowledged the achievements of competition, but says they comes with extra features.
The hardware includes two parts: the actual joystick, with a colored ball on top, and the navigation controller. Technically, the Playstation Eye camera detects the motion with the sphere on the controller. The first important thing to note is that the sphere is made of rubber and is completely empty on the inside; so you can drop it without any emotions on the floor. However, the hand clip remains as useful to the controller if you do not want to wake with the controller thrown into television.
There is an ample evidence that such occurrences are frequent; watch them on YouTube. The sphere can be coloured in 100 kinds of interior lights, at the command of the console, which automatically knows to avoid the confusion with the colour of the walls or of other controllers.
Sony solves the problem of insufficient buttons on the Wii in the case of some more complex games. If the basic controller is generally sufficient to resolve the problem, for the remaining cases the navigation remote surely solves the problem. In addition, the two are not linked by cable like it happens on Wii, leaving you more freedom. The most important thing remains the accuracy and the response time. The video camera can detect the position with an accuracy of millimeters, Sony boasts.
Besides sensors similar to those of Wii, the accelerometer and the three axis gyroscope, Move has a magnetometer as well, basically a compass to “orient” more precisely the player. All tests showed that Sony has currently the most effective controller.
The controller and camera cost 60 euros. As the Wii comes with Wii Sports, Playstation Move comes with Champions Sports. The game included in the basic package consists of six sports adapted for movement: Disc Golf, Gladiator Duel, beach volleyball, archery, table tennis and Bocce.
The superior technology feels from the first test. Move removes the frustrations caused in some cases by Wii, when the movements were misinterpreted, not at all or cumbersome. In addition, the superior HD graphics can make a difference. Among the first games adapted for Move are Pet Eye, Tumble, Heavy Rain, RUSE, SOCOM 4, Fight 3D and Tiger Woods 2011. Of course, the controller can be used in any game, but not at its maximum possibilities. The games will make ultimately the success of this console.
Finally, one important reason is the price. If you already have a PlayStation 3, then the investment for Move is much smaller than for a whole Wii system. The announced price for the package that includes the controller and the Eye camera is of 60 euros. For those who already have the camera, Sony’s recommended price for the controller is only of 40 euros. The navigation controller costs 30 euros, as the camera when sold separately. Along with a PlayStation 3 system, the price probably will get somewhere to 400 euros.
