PlayStation Move

Last week Sony allowed us to get our first hands-on with the highly-anticipated PlayStation Move control system, as well as six of the games that have been announced for the platform so far.

A Quick Recap

PlayStation Move is Sony's new motion controller for the PS3, due to be launched at some point towards the end of the year. To a certain extent it's a direct rival to Microsoft's Project Natal, but there's a key difference between the two products: where Natal dispenses with a physical controller altogether, Move uses a wand-shaped peripheral with a large globe-like section at one end. This sphere lights up during play, allowing the controller's movements to be tracked by the PlayStation Eye camera, which sits on top of your TV. Due to this arrangement and the sensors inside the device, the PS3 is able to determine the wand's exact movements in a 360 degree radius.

A large action button is located at the upper end of the Motion Controller, just where your thumb sits naturally, and this is surrounded by miniature versions of the four PlayStation "shape" buttons. On the underside of the controller there's also a rather chunky trigger.

In addition to the Motion Controller, some Move games also involve the use of the Navigation Controller – a small handheld device with a single thumbstick, in a similar arrangement to Nintendo's Nunchuck. However, unlike the Wii's control setup, the two devices communicate wirelessly. Compared to the standard Sixaxis, both controllers feel solid and weighty in your hand. Still, let's hope that Sony comes up with a snappier name than "the Navigation Controller"; for now I'll refer to the smaller device as the NavCon.