PS vs. Natal

Gaming systems everywhere were revolutionized by the advent of the Wii, making games more interactive. Rather than just sitting on the couch and using only your hands you can play games and get your body moving. It takes increased skill in order to win these games; much like it does in real sports. Nintendo Wii made extensive profits off their system and individuals it continues to sell well.

Perhaps in an attempt to keep up, Sony has now released the PlayStation Move. It was launched during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The remote feels like a microphone but it has an LED embedded inside. Sony announced the motion-sensitive controller in an attempt to boost their gross sales and hopefully take some of the profits Wii is currently earning. Sony revealed their device and is planning to sell it before Microsoft enters the ring with their Project Natal controller system that some think will quickly become the key player in the industry.

The Move will be on store shelves this fall in a starter kit that can be obtained for under $100. This package contains the Move, a Playstation eye camera and one game. Clearly, it's not incredibly pricey and may do fairly well in the market unless people determine to wait to purchase the Natal instead.

Meanwhile, Sony's president for worldwide studios Shuehei Yoshida shared that Move will "show that the motion controller for PS3 will be the fix for both erratic and serious gamers alike" and the different types of games Sony can create are "exceptionally varied." Some of the games that will be available include swords, bows and arrows, guns, punching and even more.

It looks like it will be awesome but the simple fact is it looks a lot like the Wii remote except for the silly ping pong ball on top that changes color to either blue, pink, yellow, or green. It looks rather wimpy, but my chief concern is if it is as breakable as it looks. By the looks of it, a child could easily grab it and break it.

For myself I am a bit disappointed that Move is not a bit more interesting and original. It seems like they only copies Wii. Generally products get better but this doesn't appear to be that much more impressive. Especially since Microsoft is working on their Natal. Now that looks cool! The question is will it really work?

Microsoft is well-known for being behind regarding innovation but really good at improving on someone else's idea. So Natal looks awesome; the idea that participants do not have to have paddles and it can just be aware of your movements is truly cool. But how perfectly the corporation will actually be able to construct that device is a question.

As an example how far will the range go and will the system be able to distinguish the actions as well as the separate players well? It just seems like a very complex set-up and it's not apparent whether it will work as well as the commercials portray it. But even if it doesn't work too well you can always wait for the new and improved second version that will have many of the problems worked out. That will probably be what a lot of us do.