PS3 Informer

PlayStation Move: A Genius Move or a Stroke of Stupidity?

By now you have read all about Sony PlayStation's new waggle-stick -- the PlayStation "Move." What you're probably wondering is -- Is this the best, the most innovative thing Sony has created? Or is it just too little, too late now to play catch-up with Nintendo's Wii-mote.

Sony calls it their next big thing in video gaming. Can we call this Move genius, or should we really call it idiot-savant (minus the savant)?

What We Know So Far:

The Move works in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye camera. The Move is an advanced motion-sensing device that allows unprecedented levels of precise motion-control on the PlayStation 3.

The Move, when paired with a "Sub-controller", will give gamers an analog stick and d-pad, a function that's similar to the Big N's nunchuk add-on device.

The Move will be powered by on-board lithium ion battery, which charges itself via PS3 when connected to your DualShock 3 controller. All these peripherals are wireless and sync using Bluetooth.

The Games:

Certian "regular" PlayStation 3 titles will support the Move out of the gate, which includes SOCOM 4, EyePet, and LittleBigPlanet. In addition, Sony is releasing a number of Move-centric games (20 plus titles in 2010) such as:

- Motion Fighter
- Move Party
- Sports Champions
- TV Superstars
- The Shoot
- Slider

The real issue we have with the Move is the lack of exciting titles. Even the game names lack any creativity. These are serious reflections of the dearth of commitment and excitement that developers have for the device. In a market where the quality of the game sells the peripheral, it seems awfully unlikely the Move will catch the imagination of the general public, especially when a similar yet more recognizable device has already been on the market for so long, namely the Wii.

The general public will not understand or care to understand the differences that set the two platforms apart. Regardless if the Move really has the superior technology or not, the zeitgeist of the mass market has already adopted the Wii into their homes, which comes bundled with Wii-motes, and therefore will be less motivated to buy a separate peripheral (the Move) in order to duplicate what they perceive as a similar experience on the Wii. Whether or not the two experiences are in fact the same depend solely on the quality and innovation of the forthcoming games. With time we will be able to decide if the idiot truly is a savant.

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