Motion control wars
If you haven’t been living under a rock, you probably know that the raging console wars are now being fought with new ammunition — motion controllers. Now, some people seem to think that this is a revolutionary step in gaming. Truth be told, it’s been around for quite some time, but only now have they been made more accurate, cheaper, easier to mass produce and more sensitive with almost 1:1 movement ratio.
In this article, I’ll give you the low down on your three current mainstream consoles and what they bring to the motion control table. Let this serve as your guide when deciding on which console to get your kids this holiday season or if you should buy motion controls at all for any console you may already own.
Now, to aide you in this informed decision, I will talk about the pros and cons of each motion controller out in the market today. Let’s start off the defending champion of motion controls — Nintendo.
Nintendo’s Wiimote
This is the only console whose native control scheme is motion-based. The Wii enjoyed the advantage in the motion control front because they were the first salvo. Nintendo started the whole thing. The console comes packaged with a Wiimote, which is basically an infrared sensor that constantly tracks its position in relation to a series of LEDs in the sensor bar, making its location on an X and Y plane known to the console. The Wiimote has a built-in accelerometer to measure tilts, swings and thrusts in an X, Y and Z axis. Communication between the Wiimote and the console is facilitated through Bluetooth. Yes, the same Bluetooth that lets you walk around talking into your cellphone without having to pull it out of your pocket.
The Wiimote is often partnered with the Nunchuck. The Nunchuck has no sensor except for a built in accelerometer, though it does have an analog stick and trigger buttons.
Nintendo eventually launched what they call the Wii Motion+, which further increases accuracy. Basically, it’s a gadget with two gyro sensors that should mimic human movement even better and it connects to your Wiimote.
PROS:
- Perfect for rail and first person shooters. Because of the accuracy on the X-Y axis, given enough skill, you’ll be pulling off headshots with relative ease.
- Most games to pick from. Since they were the first, people have been able to develop a plethora of games for the Wii
- For fitness nuts, you can buy the WiiFit add-on. It’s basically a platform that measures your weight and can detect slight shifts in weight. Fitness games were developed specifically for this system.
- Great for kids and family fun. The Wii is primarily aimed towards casual gamers and kids and has a small niche market for hardcore gamers.
- Acts as a steering wheel. Mario Kart is one of the best games on the Wii.
- Most affordable. The motion controls come with the console.
CONS:
- Is not truly 1:1, even with the Wii Motion + or even the Wiimote +. The technology doesn’t allow for that. You could win a game of table tennis by wildly swinging the Wiimote around.
- The experience isn’t that deep. Like previously stated, it’s for kids so don’t expect a super immersive/ hyper realistic game.
Sony’s Playstation Move
Because the Move is a wand-like peripheral and is detected by a camera, a lot of naysayers immediately dismiss it as a Wiimote clone. This is unfair because the technology is different. The Playstation Move is completely dependent on the Playstation Eye — a webcam that connects to your Playstation 3, instead of having fixed sensors.
The Playstation Move has a ball on top that brightly lights up with different colors, depending on your background. If your background is primarily blue, then expect your Move to glow a bright pink or purple color. This lit ball is what the Eye tracks. And because that ball is a fixed size, the Eye can tell whether it comes closer or moves farther away, tracking the Z axis. That light ball also tells the camera its position in the X and Y planes.
The Move also has a gyro sensor and accelerometer so it can tell the direction at which you’re holding it.
Another similarity it has to the Wii is that it also comes with a Navigation controller that not only looks like the Nunchuck, it performs practically the same function. It’s for games that require directional controls. Good thing about the Move Navigation controller is that it isn’t tethered to your Move so you can move around freely. Another advantage to the additional Nav controller is that you don’t need to buy it; you can just as easily and efficiently use your PS3 controller.
PROS:
- True 1:1 movement. In pingpong, when you slice a ball, you spin the ball. When you hit it downwards, the ball goes down.
- Buttons! This really is an advantage over the Kinect alone and not the Wii. Buttons are important.
- Dual wielding. You can use two Playstation Move units for even more realism.
- Good for hardcore gamers. While the Kinect and Wii actively push the fact that you can use their systems for exercise, part of the marketing for the move is that you can play it while sitting on a couch. If gamers wanted to be fit, they wouldn’t have become gamers.
- Considerably cheap — P4995.00 for the Playstation Move bundle, which comes with the motion controller, the Playstation Eye and a game.
CONS:
- Light bulb gets annoying and distracting sometimes.
- Webcam is crappy for taking images. See?
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Kinect
Instead of being merely evolutionary, the Kinect truly is revolutionary. It takes away the need for controllers and it makes your body the controller. In theory, it’s total freedom. So how does it work? Well, the Kinect is composed of three cameras. One camera is a standard web camera, and it’s just used for taking pictures, videos for augmented reality and facial recognition (more on that in a bit.)
The two other cameras track you in three dimensions. Think about it the same way your eyes work. Depth perception (Z axis) is possible because of two eyes. If you close one eye, you only lose about 30% of your vision but you lose most, if not all, depth perception. The cameras use infrared light so they aren’t dependent on ambient light; even if you’re playing in relative total darkness (your TV will still emit light), the Kinect can still see you perfectly.
Because the body is of a predictable shape — two arms, a head, a torso and two legs — the Kinect can read you like a full 3D skeletal rig. However, people have different sizes and shapes; how can it be accurate? Kinect’s got you covered for that, too. You can have separate profiles per user, so the Kinect knows what shape to expect. The Kinect will make it easier for you to manage your profiles by using facial recognition. Kinect knows who you are.
PROS:
- You are the controller. Now if that’s not immersive, I don’t know what is.
- Facial recognition.
- Voice commands. Just make sure you don’t have a jerk brother who’ll shout out “PAUSE” every four seconds.
- Games are very fun party games, great for the whole family
- Detects the whole body, not just arms and face.
- The potential for this system is immense. It is limited only by the imaginations of game developers the world around.
- Good for the fit. There are multiple fitness games that are out and there will be more for sure. If you want to play and exercise at the same time, this is right up your alley.
CONS:
- You need a huge room to play.
- A bit expensive at $150.
- Very noticeable lag between movement and capture, though further developments in software might solve that.
Personally, I’m a bit biased since I’ve always been a Sony fanboy. Besides, I like that I can sit on my butt and still use motion controls.
It ultimately boils down to what you want out of it. If it’s for family fun time, get the Wii or the Kinect if you have the budget and the space. For exercise, you can get any of the three. If you’re a hardcore gamer who wants the option to use motion controls for both casual and mainstream games, then check out the Playstation Move. No matter what system you pick, make sure you’ll have a blast! Fun, after all, is what it’s all about.
