Motion Controls
With the PS3's new motion control, the Move, trying to take over GDC headlines I started thinking about the direction motion controllers are going.
In the next year all three consoles will have a motion controller. The PS3 and the Wii have similar handheld devices while the Xbox 360 will use multiple cameras to detect the player's body.
The PS3 looks to have more accuracy than the Wii and it is also able to gauge distance, which the Wii cannot. This is important because the PS3 may be able to give gamers 1:1 control, something that has never happened before. Imagine swinging a controller and having your avatar swing a sword on-screen in exactly the same way.
The 360 is trying to go one step beyond this. Project Natal gives players motion controls without having a controller in hand. This, too, may allow gamers to experience 1:1 control. Without the necessity of a complex controller the 360 may also start to appeal to a more casual audience. These are the same people that the Wii has been attracting in droves. They are a large market waiting to be tapped.
It will be interesting to see how the industry shifts to accommodate so many motion controls. I don't think we will see the end of standard controllers on the PS3 or Xbox 360. I can't see playing games like Halo without a standard controller. There are many other "hardcore" games that use the standard controller which wouldn't translate well into motion controls.
I wonder if the Wii is going to take a major hit once competition reaches the market. With Nintendo not ready to create a new console they may be in trouble. The only reason I've played my Wii in the past year and a half is because of games with Mario in the title. I'm willing to bet that third party developers will want to stop competing with all the shovelware on Wii and start creating games for the PS3 and Xbox 360 instead.
At the very least, there should soon be new gaming experiences for us to try out. Giving the gaming industry a breath of fresh air is never a bad thing.
In the next year all three consoles will have a motion controller. The PS3 and the Wii have similar handheld devices while the Xbox 360 will use multiple cameras to detect the player's body.
The PS3 looks to have more accuracy than the Wii and it is also able to gauge distance, which the Wii cannot. This is important because the PS3 may be able to give gamers 1:1 control, something that has never happened before. Imagine swinging a controller and having your avatar swing a sword on-screen in exactly the same way.
The 360 is trying to go one step beyond this. Project Natal gives players motion controls without having a controller in hand. This, too, may allow gamers to experience 1:1 control. Without the necessity of a complex controller the 360 may also start to appeal to a more casual audience. These are the same people that the Wii has been attracting in droves. They are a large market waiting to be tapped.
It will be interesting to see how the industry shifts to accommodate so many motion controls. I don't think we will see the end of standard controllers on the PS3 or Xbox 360. I can't see playing games like Halo without a standard controller. There are many other "hardcore" games that use the standard controller which wouldn't translate well into motion controls.
I wonder if the Wii is going to take a major hit once competition reaches the market. With Nintendo not ready to create a new console they may be in trouble. The only reason I've played my Wii in the past year and a half is because of games with Mario in the title. I'm willing to bet that third party developers will want to stop competing with all the shovelware on Wii and start creating games for the PS3 and Xbox 360 instead.
At the very least, there should soon be new gaming experiences for us to try out. Giving the gaming industry a breath of fresh air is never a bad thing.
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