A quick glance over reactions concerning Sony’s new PlayStation Move would give you a pretty bleak outlook. One of the oft repeated concerns (or insults, on many boards) is just how similar it is to Nintendo’s Wii. From hailing the upcoming release of the PlayStation Move as a revolution in gaming to adding a very familiar nunchuck style sub-controller to the device, well… You can kinda see the resemblance.
One of the most interesting points to remember is that we already have the Wii; granted it doesn’t do high definition, but that hasn’t stopped it becoming one of the best selling consoles ever, as well as the console most likely to be found in homes across the world. Any attempt to add waggle by the competition will immediately suffer comparisons to Wii.
Of course the main plus points for the PlayStation Move, and Microsoft’s Natal, are greater accuracy and adaptability; a greater sense of immersion within the game you’re playing. With greater depth perception, 1:1 mapping (MotionPlus anyone?) and perhaps even features like facial recognition and microphone integration, you can see where they’re going.
The main difference in technology is the use of a camera instead of sensor bar. While this is the reason for Move’s greater capabilities, it could also be its downfall. So far we’ve seen a number of tech demos which have shown how it all works. But they’ve been carefully staged by Sony, with optimal conditions and lighting. And when you’re using a camera like the PlayStation Eye, lighting makes all the difference.
Kotaku recently spoke to Scott Rohde, vice president of Sony America Worldwide Studios, and posed this particular worry to him.
Rohde also pointed out that Sony aren’t particularly worried about upcoming games, or the need to match titles offered by the Wii.
“That was another reason we went with the colored ball as the sensor,” Rohde said. “It’s a lot easier [for that tech to work] in a darker environment than it is to create the right amount of light [for different technology],” he said. The colored-ball approach, he added, “works very well in light or dark, but it works slightly better in the dark. And, again, some other technologies don’t work well in the dark.”
“I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “Bright light is always going to be a little bit of a problem for any camera technology. But because the color of the ball is flexible, it can at least adjust and get a brighter color. If your whole room has a very white and yellow feel to it, it can go with [a different color] and you’re going to get a good response.”
It looks like Sony are really gearing up for the release of PlayStation Move and see it as an important part of the future for PS3 gamers. I’m not really that excited about Move (or Natal for that matter) but I do hope that, just maybe, it’ll spur Nintendo into action on the Wii HD. And just for fun, here’s an interesting video posted from Kevin Butler himself, from the future, telling us why Playstation Move is so great.
“I think you’ve got to give it a little time to mature,” Rohde said. “When first and third-parties have the controllers and dev-kits in their hands for a long time, those things will start to come out. I personally see that, besides just the precision, which is a key point, the colored ball on top is going to give you some twists that you haven’t seen before.”
