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So the PS3 motion controller, dubbed Arc, is now named Move. While Microsoft fights critics that say Natal will suffer from significant lag.
Both are set to be released later in the year, but analysts are undecided as to which will succeed. Gamers too.
The critics of the PS3 Move say that it is nothing than a glorified Wii controller. Critics of Natal say that it's the PS3 Eye Toy dressed up, and with lag.
There is no denying that the PS3 Move is in fact just a more accurate Wii controller. But is that a bad thing? With PS3's HD capabilities, and increased accuracy of the controller and 3D tracking, it can certainly do more than the Wii. And coupled with the Eye Toy accessory, it can also do some of the things that Natal can do. The only question remains is whether Sony, and the studios that make games for the Move, can make fun, family friendly games that Nintendo are experts at. Remember that nobody, other than Nintendo, has yet come out with a killer, must-have title for the Wii, because it isn't easy as one thinks. Can Sony do it, and they will have to since most of their third party partners have already mostly failed with the Nintendo experiment.
Natal, on the other hand, promises gaming without the need for a controller, which is certainly an interesting enough concept to at least attract some attention. The lag issue has been recently examined by MTV, and they have found, using a rather non scientific approach of using a stop watch, that lag is around 100ms. That sounds like a lot, but online gamers will be familiar with lag of this scale, even for fast action FPS titles like Modern Warfare 2. But without a controller, there are also other accuracy problems that may pop up.
But Natal also promises facial and voice recognition, and things like head tracking which you can see in the demo below (the demo uses the Wii - but the guy the video now works for Natal):
And the lack of a controller doesn't mean you can't use one. An example would be a traditional soccer/football game where you normally use the controller, but you can also use your body at the same time to do certain actions, like saving a goal, or taking a penalty. For FPS games, again you use the controller as your main controls, but how about making a throwing action to throw grenades, or duck and weave to get into cover.
But as with all these new technologies, the only thing matters is the games. A technically inferior system can still win if it has the right games, and only time will tell if the Move or Natal can succeed in toppling the dominance of the Wii.
More:
PS3 Move: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/11/cnet.sony.move/
Natal Lag: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/02/pr...0-of-a-second/
Both are set to be released later in the year, but analysts are undecided as to which will succeed. Gamers too.
The critics of the PS3 Move say that it is nothing than a glorified Wii controller. Critics of Natal say that it's the PS3 Eye Toy dressed up, and with lag.
There is no denying that the PS3 Move is in fact just a more accurate Wii controller. But is that a bad thing? With PS3's HD capabilities, and increased accuracy of the controller and 3D tracking, it can certainly do more than the Wii. And coupled with the Eye Toy accessory, it can also do some of the things that Natal can do. The only question remains is whether Sony, and the studios that make games for the Move, can make fun, family friendly games that Nintendo are experts at. Remember that nobody, other than Nintendo, has yet come out with a killer, must-have title for the Wii, because it isn't easy as one thinks. Can Sony do it, and they will have to since most of their third party partners have already mostly failed with the Nintendo experiment.
Natal, on the other hand, promises gaming without the need for a controller, which is certainly an interesting enough concept to at least attract some attention. The lag issue has been recently examined by MTV, and they have found, using a rather non scientific approach of using a stop watch, that lag is around 100ms. That sounds like a lot, but online gamers will be familiar with lag of this scale, even for fast action FPS titles like Modern Warfare 2. But without a controller, there are also other accuracy problems that may pop up.
But Natal also promises facial and voice recognition, and things like head tracking which you can see in the demo below (the demo uses the Wii - but the guy the video now works for Natal):
And the lack of a controller doesn't mean you can't use one. An example would be a traditional soccer/football game where you normally use the controller, but you can also use your body at the same time to do certain actions, like saving a goal, or taking a penalty. For FPS games, again you use the controller as your main controls, but how about making a throwing action to throw grenades, or duck and weave to get into cover.
But as with all these new technologies, the only thing matters is the games. A technically inferior system can still win if it has the right games, and only time will tell if the Move or Natal can succeed in toppling the dominance of the Wii.
More:
PS3 Move: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/11/cnet.sony.move/
Natal Lag: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/02/pr...0-of-a-second/