Microsoft Kinect and Playstation Move
A little bit over three years later and both Microsoft and Sony have finally caught up with the Nintendo Wii. But have they surpassed it?
I'll start with Sony's Move system. This is in no way similar to the Wii's own controlling system. Nintendo's system has a gyroscopic Wiimote and a separate nunchuck as an added extra control. Sony's Move has a control and a gyroscopic control that has a big glowing bulb on the end. See totally different.
Chuckles aside, the way it functions does differ. The Wiimote has an infrared sensor that detects the light coming from the stationary sensor bar and reports its position to the console. The Playstation Move works in the reverse way. The stationary camera determines the position of the controller via the glowing ball.
In theory this means you can pack in more precise gyroscopic sensors into the remote by putting the light detectors into the camera. That and other functions such mean the Playstation Move sensor should be more precise than the Nintendo Wii controllers.
Onto the Microsoft Kinect system which used to be called Project Natal (Nat-al). The first thing to note is that Microsoft seem to be eschewing the lucrative controller market by making Kinect controller free. Kinect is simply a camera and and emitter that uses motion detection to determine where and what the player is doing. At last boys the world over can legitimately point a finger at the television and make little pew-pew noises to shoot the figures on the screen.
So applications for both. The Playstation Move system allows the controller to function in a variety of ways, we've seen swords, guns and hairbrushes. But it's restrictive in that it's always the tool that you're using.
In theory the Kinect system is more versatile aptly demonstrated by the Child of Eden E3 trailer. Each game can come with its own controller layout, or in theory you should be able to set your own. Switch to a pistol by tapping your right hip, tap your left hip for the knife, reach over your back for the machine-gun; or perhaps just clap your hands to cycle between them.
Except that comes with it's own problems. I've complained during game reviews that it's sometimes difficult to switch between games because they use their own fixed controller configuration. Now either Kinect games will allow you to set your own (which increases set-up times for multiplayer), or they'll use an unchangeable 'default'; which makes you wonder why they bothered taking the controller away.
Away from the gaming Kinect creates a whole new batch of problems added no doubt due to someone on the development team saying "Hey wouldn't it be cool if..." So Kinect comes with motion and voice control for doing other things on the Xbox such as watching videos. Need to pause things just say "XBox: Pause" and it will. Need to rewind to a particular section; put your hand in the air and the movie will pause and you can then slide your hand left to rewind and right to fast-forward.
So everyone except the Kinect team spotted the problems? No distinction. So someone asks who wants a beer and up goes a sea of hands and the XBox goes mad.
With the voice controls Younger Brother 1 wants to watch channel 1, Older Brother 2 wants to watch channel 2; an age-old rivalry solved by the larger of the two sitting on the smaller and keeping a hold of the remote-control. Now it'll be:
"XBox: Channel 1",
"XBox: Channel 2",
"XBox: Channel 1",
"XBox: Channel 2",
"XBox: Channel 1",
"Muuuum!"
You can't pluck a remote-control from a hand, but you can clamp a hand over the smaller siblings mouth with all the extra potential injury there. Also worth a mention those techy type shows such as The Big Bang Theory where the characters play on-screen with an XBox
Character: "Xbox: Channel 1"
Viewer: "... hey what just happened? I was watching that."
Sadly both control systems also suffer the flaw that the people designing think people will use it in the way they themselves market it. So for Move people will be ducking and diving, and punching out; with the Kinect they'll be running on the spot and waving their arms about. This assumes that people have the space to do so and that they'll actually do it instead of being stuck in a small room crashed out on the sofa. In this Move has the edge because it's still a controller; and the rumour mill is already grounding out that Kinect won't work with anyone who's sat down... so that's three-quarters of their market lost already.
4 comments:
Yeah, on the subject of using the thing the way they want, I'm always amused by adverts for multiplayer Wii games. They always get the players to stand right on top of each other - almost as if they were playing Twister - rather than keeping a foot or two apart as you do even with your close friends. The actors are always slim twentysomethings with trendy hair, or middle-class families whose kids look like they overachieve at school. The twentysomethings talk about how great a laugh it is playing whatever game. The families say (essentially) how much closer together it's brought them, being something they can do as a family.
Sony and MS adverts, in contrast, are just cool. They have nice graphics, or in-game shots, and well-produced music. They make the game look wonderful. But they don't offer to bring you closer to your mates (the physical proximity being a proxy for emotional intimacy and shared experience, of course), and they don't offer parents and kids a way to connect through a shared interest. How can they possibly compete?
What I find strange is motion detection has taken so long to get to our homes. The technology was around in 1969 when the camera on the moon followed the lunar module as it jettisoned away from the lunar surface.
One might argue that without a 3D graphics system which can present visual information from any angle, a motion detection system isn't very useful as a game concept.
I myself, of course, would argue that motion detection still isn't useful as a game concept. ;-)
From what I've seen of the Wii, it's mildly amusing for about 5 minutes, and then that's basically it.
Ever tried to play air guitar? Well, let me put this another way: ever tried to play air keyboard? I can actually play a real keyboard. But I find it almost impossible to mime to air — even when I'm miming to my own recordings! And that means that if somebody made Rock Band XL so that I can be the keyboardist in the band using a motion controller, I'd be rubbish. And I can actually play!
I'm sure there are lots of other activities that don't make sense without tactile feedback. And I don't see them fixing that anytime soon.
NB. “XL” is the Roman numeral for 40.
@Dan - Too true. Of course if they showed the gapping properly it would just emphasise how much room you need for multiplayer. On the generational front I think they're pretty mixed , although I'm sure they always show the children with an adult beaming away in the background so as to not associate TV+console = babysitter.
The Sony and Microsoft do concentrate on the games an attitude that might change with their new controllers. Though with the shots they use you do have to watch out for the little white text "No actual in-game footage" that appears on occasion.
@Tav - I suppose cost was a problem as well as 'what can we use it for' it's just this point in time we have household processing+ image sensors that mean its viable.
@Orphi - Well 3D television is a reality which allows some depth. As for being a useful concept I didn't even touch the degree of lag that's been mentioned in reports.
I agree certain things won't be suitable for full motion control and will still need controllers, which is why I think the PS Move system has the slight edge in terms of how people play and want to play.
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