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Fortunately, the game consoles industry has had its fair share of success in technological innovations during its long and storied history, but it is no news that some of its critical advancements were met with confusion and outright disdain; optical drives, 3D graphics accelerators, and even mice as gaming controllers all had to force their way through varying degrees of resistance before they became de facto standards.
Recently, the console space went through some growing pains with newfangled motion controls. The Wii blazed the trail in this field, of course, and it is really surprising taking into consideration that the Wii has been on sale for nearly four years, and only now are we seeing some true competition from the rivals of Nintendo. Well, that is ofcourse considering the half-cooked motion controls of Sixaxis, it is probably wise for Sony to have been designing the PlayStation Move slowly since its introduction about 16 months ago.
Design:
When it comes to design, it is hard not to see that Move has taken its concept from the remote style controller that Nintendo pioneered, but Sony has put its own twist on things. The Move controller is formed of matte-black plastic and sports a rounded, sleek design very much in keeping with the styling you will find on the newest PS3 consoles.
The Glowing Ball:
The most noticeable fact about Move’s primary controller is the glowing ball on top, well, no prizes for guessing that. That is not decorative as that is how the Move system keeps track of the motion-controller’s location. When the controller is not active, the orb is soft white, translucent, and looks like the identical twin of a ping-pong ball and it is actually about the same size as one, too. And, when the controller is in full use, the ball lights up in a range of colours that allows it to be tracked by the PlayStation Eye camera. While the ball might seem to be a weak point should the controller ever make contact with your wall or lamp or friend’s skull, it is actually squishy and just pops back into shape after an impact.
Curvy:
The rest of the Sony PlayStation Move controller has more of an organic look than the Wii remote. It is curvy and becomes slightly thinner in the middle, presumably to be more ergonomic. In the front, you will find the four familiar PlayStation face buttons. However, the fact that they are arranged in a square, rather than a diamond, makes it quite hard to remember which one is where for a while. In between those, you will find the Move button, which is a thumb sized new addition, which is clearly meant as Move’s version of the Wii remote’s big A button.
Controls and Slots:
Beneath those, there is the PS button, which offers the same functionality as it does on the DualShock 3 or SixAxis controller of bringing up the Xcross Menu Bar. Since it sits in a concave, it avoids any kind of accidental presses neatly. The underside of the controller is mostly clear, but features a trigger, which is known as the T button. This is analogue, similar to the R2/L2 on the DualShock 3 or the left and right triggers on the Xbox 360 controller, in contrast to the crisp, clicking B button on the Wii. In the left-hand side, you will find the Select button, which is quite hard to hit, but is rarely needed. On the right side, there is the Start button, which has greater chances of being pressed accidentally, depending on your hold over the controller, though it only happens occasionally. At the base of the Move Controller, you will find a microUSB port for charging, a slot for the provided wrist straps, and there are even two mystery connectors, which we imagine, could be used for accessories in the future.
Feel and Comfort:
To begin with, the Sony Playstation Move controller might feel a bit more comfortable than the Wii remote and it is not that wiimote is uncomfortable, but the roundness of Move does help the controller sit neatly in the hand. Having said that, we found that we started to feel the effects of prolonged use faster with Move, and we think that again has to do with the shape. The tapered middle means you are often gripping harder than you would have to with the Wii’s controller, especially while playing something with hard swings, like Table Tennis on Sports Champions and the discomfort in the wrist crept in earlier than it did during an equivalent session of Wii Sports Resort. To make it clear, we are not trying to say that the Move is painful, uncomfortable, bad for you, or anything like that, that is, assuming you have no joint problems to begin with. We are not even saying it is definitely less comfortable than the Wii remote, as we said, it is actually just a bit nicer just to hold, but we do think that the shape is just not ideal for long periods of the more wrist-bending games.
There are also a few other things about the design of the Move that seem a little odd to us. We were just wondering why has Sony added a new button with the Move logo which can just be a squiggly line, so does not jump out at you on-screen, when Sony could have just used X or Circle? Of course, the most contentious design decision will always be that orb. We are not going to deny the accuracy that it brings, but frankly does look silly.
The distracting globe:
As you can imagine, the tiny light globe on the controller proved to be quite distracting. For instance, if you trying to do something else in the room while someone is playing a game with two controllers, your eye will be constantly drawn. The Wii remote was designed to be inconspicuous; the shape fits in with your TV remotes, and it almost disappears into your hand when you hold it, but this can be a bit gaudy. That said, motion controlled gaming has always and will make you look a bit weird. It is not like the wild flailing was dignified before the glowing ball was added, so maybe we should just be glad with the additional accuracy and possibilities it offers.
Features:
The Technology:
Mould of PlayStation’s motion controller sticks much closer to the Wii’s than Microsoft’s Kinect, with E3’s Move tagline being “This changes everything”. Leaving the hyperbole aside, Sony is mainly aiming to take the technological high road, as it does with all things PS3, and take on the Wii in the field of precision and movement accuracy. The technology used is kind of pretty similar to that of Nintendo’s, but on steroids. If you are not aware, Wii’s sensor bar, which is placed by the TV emits out infrared lights that the camera in the wiimote (Wii Remote) identifies in order for the pointer to function. The Move actually flips this around, with a camera next to the TV picking up the glowing ball on the end of the controller. The PS3 can then measure distance from the controller using the size of the ball as a reference.
The Move controller also possess all those ‘movement sensing’ bells and whistles of the Wii remote and MotionPlus attachment, demonstrating that Sony’s thinking was obviously that they were not actually attempting to reinvent the wheel so much as make it a little rounder.
Navigation Controller:
If you are craving a little more control, Sony is also marketing a separate peripheral that connects wirelessly to the controller, called the Navigation controller. It functions in a very similar way to the Wii’s Nunchuck , providing an analogue controller, a D-pad, two analogue trigger buttons, a PS button and X and O buttons. If you do not fancy investing, a standard DualShock 3 wireless controller can be used in place of the Navigation controller. It is worth noting that if you’re using Navigation controllers with the Move controllers, you will only be able to get two controller sets going at the same time, as the Navigation controller takes up a controller slot for itself. This means that while the Wii allows for four players using both Wii Remotes and Nunchucks, Move will only fit two players in at the same time if they are both using Navigation controllers.
Gaming:
While playing a few games with the Move, that were compatible with the controller, we felt a bit limited by the way it was programmed. This has always been one of the Wii’s biggest black spots, and the biggest issue is always that games will use motion sensing in a way that really should have just been achieved with buttons. Having that in mind, we can safely say that we came away hugely impressed with what Move can do, but it still needs a careful, measured implementation. The controller’s ball offers a kind of accuracy of pointer movement that goes beyond what the Wiimote is capable of. The idea that it could be as accurate as a mouse is probably a bit ambitious, but it is quite good enough that we could see it giving some real time strategy games, and a few other genres that will do better on PCs, a new lease of life on consoles. When you navigate through Sony’s menu with the Move controller, you point it at the screen, hold trigger, and then point it up, down, left or right to move in that direction in the menu. We were surprised to find the ball dark during this time, so it seems to be using only the motion sensing capabilities, but it is so fluid and accurate that you would not notice the difference.
While the ball is used as a pointer, it often only operated in a very narrow field in comparison to the Wii, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes navigating some menus a bit more hard than what we are actually used to. On the other hand, it works just perfect at further distances than what the Wii remote is capable of. We also found a lot of games where the orb needs to be visible to the camera, even when you had thought that the control would be all motion sensing based.
The distance issue:
If you are a Wii user, you will be aware that, you will be able to walk into another room and bowl if you wished to, but the case here hardly comes close to this. In fact, leaving the camera’s field of view with the active controller stops all functions from working, including the buttons. While one of the major criticisms of Kinect that has been spotted is the space needed to use it, this is actually also an occasional problem with the Move controller. For instance, the ‘Sports Champions’ requires you to stand eight feet or, say about 2.5 meters away from your TV, and then it still expects you to be able to step backwards, and swing your arms all around. While this will not be an issue on the first case, but in most cases it means that people will have to shift a sofa back a couple of feet every time we wanted to play, and not to mention getting rid of the hefty coffee table. It is true that you will always have to make some space when playing any game for that matter, but it is nowhere near as much as this. And remember, we are talking about the living rooms here and these kind of restrictions will simply rule out playing Sports Champions in bedrooms.
The ball and camera restriction:
You might be wondering, why is this an issue for Move when it is not for the Wii, while some of the most energetic Wii games be played sitting on your sofa or standing up without too much of a penalty? It is actually the restriction of the ball and camera system. You must be able to swing your arm well out occasionally, and still be on camera. This restriction also follows through into some of the multiplayer games. You will be just fine once you have managed to make enough space if only two of you are playing, but if you were playing four-player Volleyball, where everyone has to be on camera at once, it would be absolute carnage.
You will be disappointed to know that it is not just Sport Champions that causes the distance issue, because, with the ‘Start the Party!’ game, you will find yourself far too back. This game makes use of the camera and Move controller for augmented reality WarioWare kind of party games, so each active player needs to be quite close to the camera to be the right size on-screen. This distance inconsistency is another sacrifice for the accuracy on offer, but it is simply a problem that you will not have to deal with the Wii.
The Wiimote and Move comparison:
We know that you will be really pissed off with us if we did not compare the Move and Wiimote, having both Sports Champions and Wii Sports Resort in our hands. There are several like for like games available, so let us examine how they compare.
Table Tennis:
Our first comparison is with Table tennis, which is quite a tricky one. While the Wii Resort version offered a huge amount of control over the spin on your ball, you still had control over your Mii’s movement, and the accuracy of your swing did not matter as long as the timing was right. Move could not be more different. By stepping left, right, forwards and backwards, your character will do the same, enabling you to get in close for smashes, or to get back for a powerful top spin return. And you will also need to think about the height of the ball, as it is quite possible to just swing at air underneath it. We found the Serving on Sports Champions is a nightmare, though. Perhaps, adding elaborate physics to a sports game just means it can go wrong. Attempts to put slice on the ball can result in it pinging off at ridiculous angles for no discernible reason, probably in part due to the precision the game demands from you and Move. Precision that is there, but is hard to master. While the Wii Resort is the arcade version, asking for some spin on the ball, the Sports Champions is all simulation.
Frisbee and Golf:
Though there is no proper golf on Sports Champtions, which is a bit of a shame, which is not unexpected, with the Tiger Woods 11 already out, but, we do have a good old Frisbee to toss about. There is barely anything between these two, in terms of the control system. Sports Champions seems to be a tad more forgiving in that it’s slightly easier to throw the disc straight in front of you, but both games have totally convincing curves and wind effects in flight.
Archery:
To keep this fair, we compare the Wii remote-and-Nunchuck Archery game to using two motion controllers at once on Sports Champions. The Wii version was always one of the most impressive MotionPlus demos, with every twitch and sag of your arm translated to the screen. When you turn fully 90 degrees from the TY and outstretch your arm all the way, the movement is perfect. Going from target to target is smooth, though you get more of an aiming aid from Sports Champions than from Resort, and using the second controller to bring arrows into the bow yourself gives you a great Robin Hood feeling. The only thing we missed from the Wii version is a way to readjust where the centre of your aiming is, for example, you can aim slightly below the TV as your centre, so that your arm does not get in the way. This would be even more welcome on Move, due to the distraction of the glowing orb. Yes, it is less realistic, but real archers do not have lights on their bows. However, this does not take away from the accuracy of the controls.
Performance:
The biggest plus of the Sony Playstation Move Game Controller is its incredible accuracy. Augmented reality instruments move perfectly with the controller, Frisbees fly with the gentle curve you give them and you can select things with superb precision. As we had mentioned earlier, the controller is comfortable, but not for really long sessions of hard-swinging games. The glowing ball is undoubtedly ridiculous, but is the price you pay for accuracy. At the end, you will get used to having it there, even if anyone who sees it for the first time will raise an eyebrow.
Cost:
The starter pack containing one Move controller and the PlayStation Eye camera is £49.99. Yes, it is not cheap. We think Sony would have been wise to include a game with that; Wii Play made buying a second controller far more palatable for millions of Wii owners. At £35 each, the controllers alone are not that expensive, but they are all just extra cost on top of what you have got already.
Warranty:
Sony PlayStation Move comes with one year manufacturer’s warranty for parts and labour.
Conclusion:
Move has advantages and disadvantages over the Wii remote. The orb enables a higher level of accuracy than the Wii can manage even with MotionPlus in some cases, but also seems to occasionally restrict Sony’s controller. Being able to operate only within strict confines of the camera is fine for one or two people, but when there are more of you, it is handy not to have to worry about such things. We suspect future game programmers can avoid an over-reliance on the camera and the plethora of motion sensors should be able to compensate for this. Similarly, while the accurate detection of depth that Move has is fantastic for some games, the inconsistency of distance is irritating. In fact, our single biggest concern is the space required to really go at the games. It will not be an issue for games like MAG and SOCOM, but it could be the difference between whether this or a Wii is more appropriate for your space.
As a piece of technology, we heartily recommend Move to PlayStation 3 owners. The motion gaming bandwagon is growing and growing, and is not going to disappear any time soon. Move won’t be for everyone, if only because of its steep price as an optional extra, but those that do invest will find an excellent piece of gaming technology.
Sony PlayStation Move Game Controller - Technical Specification Table
Three-axis gyroscopeThree-axis accelerometer
Terrestrial magnetic field sensor
Colour-changing sphere for Playstation Eye tracking
Bluetooth® technology
Vibration feedbackBuilt-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery
Bluetooth technology
2 DUALSHOCK or SIXAXIS Wireless Controller replacement capability.Built-in four-capsule microphone array
Echo cancellation
Background noise suppression60 Hz - 640×480 pixels
120 Hz - 320×240 pixelsAccurately reads each player’s position
Head tracking for reading upper body movement
Zoom lens for close-up or full body options
Allows players to create a lifelike avatar of themselves in compatible games
Use for in-game chat and voice commands
Video chat with up to 6 people at a time
120 frames/second for pristine video quality
Sound quality is crystal clear with the built-in 4 microphone arrayBuilt-in, rechargeable lithium-ion batter1-year limited hardware warranty
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