Gaming has entered the waggle generation. The Wii has probably changed gaming forever and Microsoft was calling the system a gimick. Sony on other hand tried to jump on the band wagon with a last minute add of the SIXAXIS to the PS3 controller. Micosoft was kind of right because the SIXAXIS became a cheap gimick. The Wii-mote was beyound a gimick to some extent. Many complained about the lack of one to one controls. Two years later that has been fixed with an add-on called the Wii Motion Plus.
Project Natal:
Project Natal is a depth sensor with a infrared projector combined with and a monochrome CMOS sensor. These sensors allow Natal to see in a 3D field under ambient light. (1)
The tech demo Ricochet was shown at E3 and made an appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon." The game itself looks fun but it looks limited to one player at a time.
Pros: I think it's really cool that Microsoft is willing to play around with new technology. Pure one to one body recognition is unheard of on the other two consoles. Microsoft has already given dev kits to over 10 developers.
Cons: Is this thing a gimick? Yeah it looks like fun but outside of Ricochet can Microsoft really plan to grab the casual gamer. In my opinion, I don't think Natal will reach casual gamer level. Out of all the tech demos I've seen on the inter-web there doesn't seem to be an all at once four player game, like Wii Tennis. Also, call me silly but I think it would feel weird to play a game without a peripheral. If my on screen character is holding a tennis racket or sword, I would feel disconnected with the game if my hands were empty.
Price point: If Microsoft doesn't sell this at the right price point this thing can go flying out the window faster than the HD-DVD drive. Yes you can get an arcade Xbox 360 at a $200 starting point but to get the needed HD drive cost about another $100. Add the cost of the unknow Project Natal and we're looking at what could possibly be a $400 price point. I can't imagine Microsoft selling this under $100.
PS3 Wand (Playstation Motion Controller):
The motion controller features an orb at the end which can glow in any of the full range of colors according to the RGB color model by an LED. The PS3 EyeToy2 then reads this orb to track the controllers position with a 3D field. (1)
A tech demo showed that the wand is one to one and quite possibly more accurate than the Wii Motion Plus. There was also a demo of RE5 being played with at TGS 2009.
Pros: A true one-to-one perpheral that's running on a HD system. There's something actually in your hand when playing games. Sword fights can possiblbly be mind blowing on the PS3.
Cons: Outside of Sony and Capcom little is known whether other developers are getting ready for Sony's motion controller movement. The thing as of right now looks the silliest of all three makers controllers. During the RE5 tech demo people were playing with the wand connected to a DS3 controller. It didn't look comfortable or natural. Hopefully there will be an option nunchuck like add on. The major con for Sony however is where are the casual games? Or are they making this for the hardcore gamer?
Pricepoint: Eye Toy 2 is listed at $40 on http://www.bestbuy.com/ . I imagine that each wand will sell at $40 a pop, too. If Sony is smart they'll sell a bundle with the Eye Toy 2 and one or two wands for $60. A good start for Sony.
All-in-All: I think each company has a good edge behind their product. Microsoft seems to have the game development side going, where as Sony has the price point going for them. I don't want to buy a Natal but I do want to try playing it. Depending on the games I may buy a PS3 wand.
What do you guys think? If you had both consoles what would you do? Who do you think will come out on top? Will Nintendo lose the market?
(1) All technical information was pulled from http://www.wikipedia.com/ . Products are still in development and can change before release. Read specs with caution.
Great write up! I follow the game industry quite closely, and there were some things in your write up that I hadn't heard.
ReplyDeleteFirst let me say, I think it's too late for M$ and $ony. So I am going to be uber-critical.
Nintendo sold a lot of hardware, and I mean A LOT of hardware, to folks who would have never considered buying a 'toy'. Seriously, that is what some in my family have called it. Not a console, or a video game system, but a toy. And yet, every one of them owns one. My parents play Wii Fit plus and Wii sports EVERY DAY. Seriously, my dad is having to buy another Wii Fit board because they have worn a crack in their board.
The Wii succeeded by reaching out to gamers of all types and age groups. For example, we are probably hard-core gamers (but for a lack of time), and we all own a Wii AND another console AND a computer. Yet we still bought the Wii. Why? Because for pure offline social gaming, nothing seems to beat it.
Now, if Sony had released motion control as a peripheral when the Wii was coming out, I would have bought the peripheral. Problem is my money for that type of gaming has already been invested. So it is too late for me. Unless a blockbuster title like a FF or Uncharted comes out and requires or seriously enhances (not gimmicky) the gameplay, I won't buy it.
As Nintendo is proving, after you saturate the market, demand drops...quickly. Now Nintendo needs to work with third-party developers to build better games. They never do that though, and become a system solely about Nintendo software. (Yet look at what's happening to Link?...it's so sad)
So Sony might sell some because they already announced that ten developers are designing games for it for the launch, so that will help. M$...no way that's going to sell. It will flop as bad as the PSP Go (which I would have bought if the price point was reasonable, and the graphics were a next-gen, etc...stupid Sony).
M$ is screwed. Natal (which I followed since two years ago before MS bought the company over in Israel) seems like a great fit for role playing. Like for military simulators, self-defense training, corporate training, etc. Think about the possibilities of spatial recognition from that perspective. Now think of it as a game. What type of game do you envision? I envision serious, RPG games. Like imagine being in a high def environment, and controlling you RPG character in FF XIII with you movements. LIke you want to run forward to fight that monster? Then run in place. When the battle engages, make the attack/Magic/item/etc menu's as being at the top, left, right, and bottom of the screen, where you have to reach for the command. Monsters swings at you? Dodge or duck. I mean, it could be amazing. But will that happen in this generation? No.
All in all, I only see Sony having a small chance at limited success IF, and it's a big IF, they can get a major developer to build a sequel to a popular game that uses or enhances the gameplay, then I think they can get some legs with it. Ultimately, though, I think it opens the door for developers to think like how I described the RPG experience for future generation consoles. So in that, I support innovation. I just won't be doing it with my dollars this time :P
Yeah, personally I think Microsoft should have waited for their next system to introduce Natal. I don't know the life time of the 360 but I can't imagine it having more than two or three more years. The lack of a Bluray, WIFI, and a large capacity HD drive is going to push them out the market soon, I think.
ReplyDeleteActually a punch out like game would be awesome with Natal. I also, like your RPG idea.
Sony is still a big if for me, too. I think KZ3 could sell the wand really well.