For those of you who don't know but are mildly interested in video games [big surprise, coming from me], here's something you might take interest in: Motion detection is the new big thing.
Now, Nintendo's Wii has been doing this for a little while now. Though many consoles have experimented with motion technology, the Wii was the first "mandatory" setup, with a remote that is detected by a single sensor bar and acts as a medium to translate physical movement to interaction on the screen. Sony quickly added motion support in very limited fashion with the Dualshock 3, née Sixaxis, but it isn't until this holiday season that we see full aping of the ground Nintendo's broken: The Playstation Move setup, and the XBox 360 Kinect, née Project Natal.
First, let's get into how they work, because they're actually two pretty interesting ways of answering the same question.
Sony's answer to motion controls is not a huge departure from the Wii. In fact, at first glance, you may look at the Move's "wand" as an off-brand Wiimote, and the analog stick controller as a Wii nunchuck. The few key differences are in the number of buttons on any given controller [featuring nearly every single button normally present on a Dualshock 3] and a big, glowing, rubbery ball at the end of the "wand." Also, rather than a sensor bar you place carefully below or above your TV, you instead deal with a camera not unlike a webcam in both size and function, and this is what detects the position of the wand. Though there are a number of extra features, the core experience is almost directly translatable to the Wiimote and its addon Wii Motion Plus, which adds in far more precise range of movement, creating a near 1:1 experience.
Microsoft's Kinect, on the other hand, provides what is arguably a more "immersive" experience: Rather than using any form of held device, all that's given is a long two-point camera which is utilized to capture an image in a 3D space. The idea is to completely remove the controller from the experience, and is especially evident by a motion-controlled dashboard or main menu, which can be navigated by swipes of the hand.
Plenty of developers are jumping into the motion sensor pool of development, an especially confusing concept when third party support is short-changed in terms of the Wii. With big names like Rare and Harmonix taking the initial charge, on the surface, it looks as if it's a much stronger contender for motion controls over the Wii. However, recall during the Wii's inaugural year and the years that followed, and you become aware of a frightening term: shovelware. Games made on the cheap which utilized the controls in the basest of ways, in entirely uncreative ways which do not separate from more traditional "controller" experiences except for the fact that you "waggle" the controller a lot. This frightening word is recalled very quickly when the realization hits that a majority of the first wave of games being released for the Move and Kinect feature the same level of creative thought: experiences that do not depart from more analog approaches, and possibly only make things more difficult. There are notable exceptions, of course, such as with Harmonix' Dance Central, a game which utilizes actual dance moves and techniques and assembles them together to perform both well known and unique routines to an entire library of songs, but these are very few and far between.
Of course, one experience may be easier on your wallet than another: The Kinect is expected to release at an eye-popping $150, quite a price when you're considering how gung-ho Microsoft is about pushing this supposed new generation of gameplay forward. The Playstation Move, however, is instead something cheaper for smaller parts: The wand controller and camera is closer to $50-60, and the entirely optional analog controller adapter is in the range of $30-40 [the Dualshock 3 can be used as a clunkier alternative to this additional controller]. Even getting the "full" single player experience with the Move, we're already featuring a cheaper initial investment to test the waters. Microsoft claims the Kinect's price is a far better deal as you're buying a controller for every single person who wants to get involved, which presents two problems, one of which is this: If the games aren't good, wouldn't it be better to spend $50-60 to try it out than $150? It's a considerable risk, considering it still isn't a quantifiable success yet.
There's an additional problem with Kinect, though, one which those outside the gaming community aren't aware of: Microsoft isn't technically done building the Kinect. There are quite a few problems with its detection technology. For one, it has trouble recognizing people sitting down. For those who don't have the energy to play a game standing up for long periods of time, this is a bit of an issue. We also don't know how many people can be detected at once for a game. While the Kinect's detection handling is fairly sophisticated [the aforementioned Dance Central can detect a total of three unique dancers, for instance], it doesn't seem to be able to handle people who are curled up or trying to be casual.
That isn't to say the Playstation Move is altogether a better alternative; For one, those who have the Wii will likely feel a disturbing sense of deja vu. The Wii still has the notorious history of poor third party support, and if the Playstation Move is merely updating what's already available, how are we expected to believe the software experience will be that much better? How willing are we to risk entering the same experience and expecting a different result? Isn't that the very definition of insanity? Kinect at least offers an experience not seen in any significant fashion, and may actually prove to be a very interesting novelty to show off to friends, more so because perhaps awkward pantomiming may be less demeaning than waving around a wand with a glowing orb on the end of it.
The fact of the matter is, the industry is very driven to make motion sensing the next big thing. For the most part, consumers have a verbal interest in seeing some very interesting stuff coming out of this, but aren't very willing to show interest with their own money. Sure, the Wii has one of the most alarmingly grown and installed base of consumers, meaning more consoles in more homes far more quickly than the 360 or the PS3, thanks largely to its cheaper price and more accessibility to those new to gaming, but software sales pale in comparison. Even games geared toward hardcore players, more mature themes and higher difficulties, even when showcasing a high critical success, are completely passed up due to the "gimmicky" tag the Wii ended up with thanks to the new style of control -- not to demean the impact of Nintendo's "kiddy" schtick it got stuck with since back on the Gamecube.
I'm personally excited for how developers will handle this hardware. New forms of experiences means a load of creative possibilities, a new canvas for some of our more creative development studios to take up. However, a canvas is only a clean slate: it takes a skilled artist to make something beautiful and unique from it. Naturally, we're going to see a majority of uncreative and stupid to a minority of truly exceptional games, but the disparity between the two may be pushed to a similar extreme to the Wii, where there are too few actual "good" experiences to even warrant the price of admission.
Though, if nothing else, maybe it'll help shave off a few pounds.
