Now that we have had some hands on time with both of the motion control add ons coming to the market, it is now time to do a head to head comparison. But the problem is that even though they are both entering the motion control market they are so different that I don’t think they are direct rivals. (I know it’s a strange statement at the start of a head to head comparison but it is true). As they are so different we can see the two devices having their own markets for a while. I'm sure they will overlap in places such as third party sports and dance tirles but hopefully both can offer us two real alternative experiences.
The main problem or opportunity for Kinect depending on your point of view is the lack of buttons. The Move controller can jump into the first person shooter market straight away. An analogue stick and buttons means controlling an on screen character and shooting is easily programmed into the game. Kinect will struggle to implement a similar control system into a shooter with out the addition of some extra peripherals. Are they stuck on the button less controls? Or will they realise that some buttons are necessary?.
The Move, while it is cutting edge technology, it is a simple enough concept. To break it down it is not much more than a Six axis controller and a light gun taped together. In the same way as a camera phone is not much more than a camera taped to your telephone. The Kinect is a bit more complicated and this may be its downfall. I am still struggling to see how it will fit into hardcore games. The games that Microsoft have displayed for us so far do little to address this as they are all a bunch of party games i guess time will tell.
Sony also have a large amount of party games planned for launch but they also have some serious games. Lined up for release within the first few weeks are Heavy Rain, Resident evil 5 and The Fight. Also planned for early next year we have the huge release of Killzone 3 followed by Socom special forces so they are looking after there core audience.
Cost of course will be a major factor. Kinect will be released across the EU at 149.99 and will include a disk of demo games to get you started and to show off the technology. The move controller system is a bit trickier to put a final value on. To start with you need the camera that’s 29.99. You also need at least One Move controller these are 39.99 also on sale is the Navigation controller which costs 29.99. Now this is where the problems with putting a final price on it starts as each game varies. Some games require just the Move controller some require two move controllers and some require the move controller and the sub navigation controller. A starter pack containing the camera and move controller along with a demo disk will be released for 59.99. To make it more confusing you don’t need to buy the navigation controller straight away as you can use your dual shock instead. But we are looking at 90 euro to get the three main controllers. That will rise to 130 if you buy a second move controller. So that’s a starting price of between 60 and 130 euro to get a single player set up.