Sony launches 'WiiMote for PS3'
PlayStation Move to debut... just as Wii begins decline
It's not Arc, it's Move, Sony revealed yesterday when it took the wraps off its Wii-style motion controller system for the PlayStation 3.
Sony had already said the controller will debut this coming Autumn, but yesterday it added that the add-on will cost less that $100 (£67) as a pack containing the controller, a "sub-controller" and the Eye webcam that tracks Move's motion.
It also said the UK release date will be "late 2010".
Sony's PlayStation Move (right) and sub-controller: instantly familiar to Wii owners
Sony said Move contains a three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer and a magnetic field sensor. A coloured globe is monitored by the Eye. It also sports an analogue joystick and buttons. There's a rumble feature for feedback.
There's even a Wii Remote-style wrist strap.
The Move sub-controller extends the main unit in much the same way that the Nunchuk extends the Wii Remote. Like the Nunchuk, it "features a sleek curved design that pairs with the motion controller and comes with an analog stick and directional buttons". Unlike, the Nunchuk, the sub-controller communicates directly with the PS3 over a Bluetooth wireless connection.
Many of the big name game publishers lined up last night to pledge support for Move, so there should be no shortage of titles that will take advantage of it.
Will it appeal to punters? The irony is that the development of Move - and of Microsoft's similar system, 'Natal' - was spurred by the success of the Wii, a console less technologically advanced than either the PS3 or the Xbox 360, yet debuts at a time when the Wii is now in decline.
The huge sales Nintendo has enjoyed took many in the gaming biz by surprise, and Move is Sony's belated attempt to take a share of the action.
The Wii's decline is undoubtedly in part due to the relative paucity of must-gave Wii games, but it's also a sign that Nintendo's target audience - families rather than boys - now has a Wii and the novelty has begun to wear off.
If it has, these buyers won't necessarily view the BD-, HD- and, soon 3D-enabled PS3 and Move as the natural upgrade path from a standard-definition Wii. ®
COMMENTS
Rumours of the Wii demise is greatly exaggerated
Hardware sales chart - http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=X360®3=All&start=39880&end=40244
The Wii is still selling 275k/week, compared to the 360 and PS3's 153k and 168k respectively.
While I fully expect Wii sales to slacken more and more, it's going to take a lot for the PS3 to catch up and then overtake the Wii on installed systems. The Wii currently accounts for just under 50% of the installed market. That's a very big lead to catch up.
Neither the 360 or PS3 show any significant trend upwards for the first part of this year. Sony are going to have to pull off something special to significantly increase their sales.
But that's "analysts" for you. I have yet to read anything by an analyst that turned out to be right.
It's a shame that Sony seem to have forgotten how to innovate. I'll be interested to see how well the new controller works, but they could have tried to leapfrog Nintendo (as MS appear to be doing with Natal) rather than just aping them.
SOCOM 4
The first FPS game using the Move tech is SOCOM 4.
Over 35 developers working on titles for the new tech, with nearly 18 months (from E3 '09 - to launch) the quality of the games and the interactions should be brilliant.
Developers have had more time to work on this than they did with the Wii. The processing power and HD resolution should make the games look and feel awesome.
The PS Eye sold pretty poorly, but you can bet the people who do own one already will be getting the new controllers to go with it.
I imagine most of the games will be PSN titles at launch with a few making it to retail (SOCOM 4, Tennis, Golf & maybe even a Sony version of Wii Sports)
Good tech, powerful system & tested playing methods, all in theory give this new controller a very good chance of succeeding. Lets hope Sony market this well.
Looking forward to being shot down for my comments.
Is it just me...
... or does the one with the blue ping-pong ball on the end look like a 'Body Cavity Insertable Pleasure Device™'?
you gotta move it, move it.
the only reason wii sales are dropping is beacuse everyone that actually wants one, has one by now.
im looking forward to these things. HD motion control gaming: yes please.
Wii vs PS3 device accuracy
I don't think we're really talking about the same things here.
The Wii has only accelerometers for placement, meaning it can't pinpoint positions of the controllers, but only estimate motion direction and speed and so forth using motion and gravity (to tell it which way is down). It doesn't even have a digital compass, which would at least help with locational awareness.
I was always somewhat disappointed by that on the Wii, you didn't truly feel like you were in control of your on-screen weapon/racket/golf club etc.
Reading about when Sonys version first came to light, I was under the belief that it COULD tell exactly where your controller is and how it was oriented. It makes sense because it involves a camera and a big glowy ball! Having this makes it all far more sophisticated and more, well, real.
Like most mickey mouse Wii sporting titles, you take a swing and you hit the ball EVERY TIME regardless of whether you have a swing technique.
With proper positional awareness on this thing, it at least introduces the possibility of a swing-and-a-miss meaning more skill can be leveraged to your advantage - games suddenly turn into proper tests of skill.
---Don't know if this is still the case tho.
