Old Discussion Thread for all 3 motion controllers

[Prophecy2k]

GI.biz survey doesn't look encouraging for ARC! (Note GI.biz has gone registration only, so I won't link the article direct)

There's no clarification on what the question was, so I don't know what 'backed' means, but the numbers do some pretty loud talking nonetheless.

Since it says, "while a further 4.5 per cent highlighted motion control technology in general as a significant step forward for the industry this year." I could assume the question was related to the perception of either motion control device being a "step forward" for the industry or motion control of video games in general terms.

In that regard the results would be rather expected since many see the Sony motion controller as a modest evolution of what Nintendo has already done with the Wii, while what MS is doing with Natal seems a bit more out there and revolutionary.

Since we don't know what the question was, i'm not sure we can take anything from the results of the survey though. However, if anecdotal evidence from my friends, posters on internet forums like B3D/Gaf etc and mainstream media coverage is anything to go by, i'd say that you'd most likely be right in implying that there seems to be much more "buzz" & "anticipation" for Natal than there is for ARC.

Since Sony's delayed till Autumn though, both them and MS have most of the year to start really hyping their products. We'll just have to wait and see how things pan out.

 

[obonicus]

Maybe it'll mean including a wand in the box (haha).

 

[obonicus]

If it's Natal, Wand or <x>, there's like 40% of respondents we don't know about. If it's

Natal, yea or nay?
Wand, yea or nay?

then it doesn't look terribly positive for anyone (but vastly worse for Sony).

 

[wco81]

wouldn't mind if both Sony and MS fail with this motion-control things if such failure accelerates the transition to the next gen.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

And accurately predicted Sony's schedule to boot.

Shame that we'll have to wait longer, but obviously the software support for it is going to be key. Hopefully they get it right - LBP's update looks awesome for instance, but they need to bring both a killer hardcore app and a hardcore Wii Sports Resort type game.

Aye, I always thought a spring launch for the PS3 wand was a bit rushed, I'm glad they took stock of the situation and properly moved it ahead a bit to give their devs a chance to hopefully put out some compelling content.

This years E3 is shaping up to possibly be quite interesting.

Regards,
SB

 

[Squilliam]

Hmm the only issue I can think of thats a problem for Sony with the 'Arc' in comparison is that even though they can pick up Wii ports im very unsure of many ports which would do well to even be ported from third parties, taking a game from the Wii to the PS3.

Im not sure that having a wand like the Wii's is strictly beneficial over say a camera only interface because the industry as a whole has done a pretty poor job with the Wii's system thus far.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Well, PS3's solution is more like wand++ in addition to camera--; not as capable as Natal, but more sophisticated than Wii. PS3's motion developers won't have Nintendo to compete with either, so a flop on Wii could do well on PS3. Whereas a port to Natal may not work so well (we still don't know how well the limb tracking is as to whether Natal can execute the input of Motion+, plus I don't think it can). PS3's actually in the strongest position to offer worthwhile games IMO, but I think Natal will have the wow-factor and win popular opinion. But anything can happen with the software. MS's 'casual' software like 'In The Movies' have been pretty dire, so it remains to be seen if they can create worthwhile content that'll sell Natal. Sony OTOH have a mixed record, with the success of EyeToy Play and the flops of lackluster sixaxis efforts, but at least they have some precedent to making attractive titles.

 

[Dural]

You're in the movies wasn't an MS game, it was just bundled with their camera. It will be interesting to see what Rare and BigPark (MS seems to have acquired them primarily for Natal and XBLA development) have in store for Natal.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It was commissioned and published by them though, like Gears, no? Likewise Lips. MS uses 2nd party studios instead of 1st party like Sony, but it still needs to control the quality of its software. AFAIK everything 'casual' in MS's portfolio has been pretty dire, so they'll need to pull about a complete turnaround in that respect. That said, they may have some joy from 3rd parties who support them well, and may well create an independent killer app or three.

 

[obonicus]

It was published by Codemasters, but distributed by Microsoft.

 

[scently]

Spawnpoint are also making NATAL games. I think this will be the real test for Microsoft as a content creator/provider, they do seem committed to make it a success. I am also curious to see what Sony creates with the ARC, as I have been impressed by their first party products.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It was published by Codemasters, but distributed by Microsoft.

Okay, "In The Movies" isn't quite the MS flop, but they certainly didn't offer any compelling reasons for XB360 owners to go get the camera!

 

[makattack]

Okay, "In The Movies" isn't quite the MS flop, but they certainly didn't offer any compelling reasons for XB360 owners to go get the camera!

I only got the camera because when I picked up my 360 last year, it came packaged with an XBox Live Gold 1 year subscription card. I've only used it in Burnout Paradise, which takes a photo of your face during a crash. Silly really... A wee bit more useful are the titles which map your face as a texture on a playable character. A bit eerie though.

 

[obonicus]

Okay, "In The Movies" isn't quite the MS flop, but they certainly didn't offer any compelling reasons for XB360 owners to go get the camera!

From what I hear on the internet, Uno is a pretty good reason, if you like live sex teleconferencing.

 

[Crossbar]

And herein lies my problem..... no rear USB port.

Maybe it's just me, but there's no way I am going to have Eyetoy plugged in all the time, it's just too damn messy. With so many things, such as PlayTV, Eyetoy, Rock Band/Singstar/Guitar Hero dongles, etc requiring USB, surely Sony would have seen the sense in putting one on the rear of the machine (where a hub could also be hidden)

Cables sticking out the front of my sleek PS3 (well, dead sleek PS3) is just too messy for me to put up with.

If you want to have your USB hub behind your PS3 it´s not that hard to pull a cable to the back in a discrete fashion. If you have rockband, then you are screwed anyways so no need to bother.

On topic, wasn´t really hard to see the wand delay coming. No media of any kind just a few months before launch is not how these business work. I guess we will never know whether there were hardware or software that caused the delay. My guess both.

There may also have been marketing reasons that pushed it forward as well, I expect the wand to be aimed more towards the Wii buyers attracted by motion games. This spring there are some iconic titles coming like FFXIII, GOW3 and GT5 aimed at traditional gamers that will attract new PS3 buyers. May have been hard to have an efficient marketing effort covering all bases.

 

[zRifle1z]

IMHO, there is no delay. I don't think Sony realy intended to ship the controller this spring, and only used that date for PR during E3.

 

[Crossbar]

IMHO, there is no delay. I don't think Sony realy intended to ship the controller this spring, and only used that date for PR during E3.

You may be right, but the leaked SEGA document said Sony planned to release the motion controller in Japan in March. In case they didn´t intentionally misinform their business partner March may have been their best case scenario in August last year.

But plans can change due to many reasons just like MS removed the CPU from the Natal camera.

 

[Rangers]

IMHO, there is no delay. I don't think Sony realy intended to ship the controller this spring, and only used that date for PR during E3.

I certainly didn't expect it. It was obviously too early.

 

[corduroygt]

I'm speculating an internal motherboard revision of the slim, maybe an even cheaper blu-ray drive, maybe even 45nm RSX if they can manage it, to reduce costs, so they can include the motion controller with the $299 unit, and sell a "core" unit for $249 (or less) without motion control, and they couldn't hope to make those changes in time for Spring yet, but possibly for Fall. Maybe even the elusive rear USB port (I just use a 7 port hub and tuck the cable to the rear)

 

[RobertR1]

Looking forward to E3 and see what MS has to offer for Natal. E3 will be make or break for me as to if I pick it up in Fall.