Is Anyone Else Excited for Motion Controls

Remember back in the day, running on that NES pad that looked like a twister mat. Two player games usually turned into a shoving match. They tell us that motion controls are the future of gaming, and I couldn’t be happier. In 2003 Sony first attempted their hand with motion controls with the EyeToy. It is essentially a web cam, built on the Playstation 2 interface. When you could get the lighting right it worked beautifully, and has sold over 10 million units. The EyeToy didn’t see a lot of full title support, but was used by a lot of titles to help augment the experience. The titles were more mini game collections, which had you kicking ninjas,and swatting at flies. There was an exercise title from Nike, and a dance title as well. The games were not very deep, and you looked like you were having a seizure when you played them, but my family had loads of fun. Then motion became mainstream.

In 2006 Nintendo released the Wii. It is an under powered machine, but is unique, because it released with a wireless IR remote that works on motion. They decided to give players a new experience instead of more power, and it worked. The bright graphics, mixed with familiar Nintendo franchises, has brought in gamers of all ages. Hospitals have started using the Wii as a rehab tool, and there are Will bowling leagues being set up in retirement homes, to keep the silver haired folks frisky. The big red N saw this as the future, where as Sony didn’t support the EyeToy very well and let it die. Is motion the future? I would say the sales lead Nintendo has on the HD consoles, speaks for itself. I have only played a Wii at my relatives’ homes. The times I have played have been bitter sweet. The controls were great for titles like Super Mario Galaxy and titles like that, but I found the activities I enjoy in real life, like bowling and golf a little frustrating on the Wii. Everytime I took a natural swing or roll of the ball, my arm would leave the remote sensor area and the screen would go haywire. It was kind of like the Legend of Zelda fiasco at E3 this year, but I still had fun. This fall/winter Sony and Microsoft will try to snatch a slice of the Wii’s pie, with each company implementing their own motion control platform.

When Sony released the PS3, they packaged it with a Bluetooth controller called SixAxis. It has only had a few titles built around the motion as a primary control scheme, to mixed results. There is a bowling game on the PSN, it works okay but the control scheme isn’t very deep. Then there was Lair, which had you flying a dragon using the motion, and the consumers were not pleased. Burnout Paradise lets you use it, but it is not as sensitive as it should be to give a quality experience. Heavy Rain used the Sixaxis the best, it made you interact in a natural way in your enviroment, which sucked you into the game. Mostly the SixAxis has been relegated to be used to shake off zombies, or other gimmicky things. Then in 2007 Sony released the PS Eye, an upgraded version of the EyeToy. They released it with a card game that tried to emulate the hologram chess game from Star Wars, but to me it really wasn’t enjoyable. Soon after the PS Eye was released, the PSN was loaded with some little motion games and tech demos, and those were the only titles to date built for the camera.

It has been almost 3 years without game support for the camera, thankfully Virtual Air Guitar Company is going to fix that with their title, Kung-Fu Live. For the initiated, KFL is a comic inspired side scrolling beat’em up, that uses the camera to insert you into the game. In September of this year the camera will become the receiving end of Sony’s PS Move tandem, which will include a microphone shaped remote with a glowing ball on the end. The Move uses the glowing ball to track your movement in a 3D space, but it is essentially an upgraded Wii controller with more precision.

Last year at E3 Microsoft announced they were going controller-less with Project Natal, which since has been changed to Kinect. Kinect is a high tech camera that can track a person in a 3D space, and Microsoft is building up their whole interface to interact with it. Microsoft has been touting it as a new platform and has stated that controller-less is the future. The one thing that is worrisome for me is, from what they are showing so far, it all kinda looks like upgraded EyeToy games. I truly hope they fix that. If they don’t it could be trouble, because you can buy a used Wii with games, for less than Kinect’s price tag. Enough of the history lesson. Now that we are all caught up. Lets get back to my article.

Everyone says the next-gens are just trying to cash in on the Wii’s success. That could be true, but it also the next logical step. Sony is pushing 3D as well but it will be limited this generation. They are just trying to beat it into our heads,so when the PS4, Wii3D, or XBOX720 are released the technology should be cheaper, so we will all run out and upgrade our TVs. I will gladly pay a couple of hundred dollars for motion controls and titles, but I will be damned if I am going to run out and drop 5 grand on a TV that may or may not give me seizures. When I was in high school I played a lot of sports, and i still try to be very active today. The problem is, it rains a lot in my state. The weather is very temperamental and can go from sunny to rainy and back in seconds, and doesn’t allow me to go out and play as often as I like. Motion controls, will help me fix this.

People are hesitant to the change, but how many of us played Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Like it or not, those titles are most definitely motion games. After a hour of strumming and finger tapping, my arms feel like I did about a couple hundred push-ups. I am looking forward to September 19th when the Move comes out, it about the time when the seasons start to change around here, and the rains starts. I usually start getting stir crazy, and start gaming standing up and moving around. Sony has announced that Heavy Rain will be patched for the Move and that has me excited for the new way of playing the game. I even avoided replaying the game to see the other endings, just so I could play it the new way. I wonder what other titles along the way to release date will receive Move patch announcements. I am really hoping with the announcement of the extended service of Demon’s Souls North American servers, that it will receive a patch. That game would be perfect for the control scheme.

With Socom 4 coming out with Move support, it would be great if Zipper gave it to M.A.G. They said it was a fairly easy code to implement. This is where Sony can greatly benefit, they own enough studios, that they can have the smaller ones working on patches while the big ones work on their sequels. At E3 Sony announced a Move title called Sorcery, it is a Harry Potter type game with some very cool interactive features. I have to admit, if Sony gives this title the QC they are known for, it will be a day one purchase for me. I am also very interested in EA Active, not just for the exercises, but for their light sensors for it. EA could adapt a number of their sports titles for them. You could put one of them on each wrist, and it would track your movement in the space but more importantly, you could perform physical actions without the fear of the controller strap breaking and send the controller through the television. It would be great to play Fight Night and have it and have it track your swing in real time with rag doll physics. You could also take the snap in Madden and hand of the ball or pass it and it would track your thrust, angle, and direction. These might not get the full title release, maybe a downloadable title or as a feature on disc, and maybe could be a learning tool. Which brings me to another reason I am happy for motion controls.

Everywhere across the US PE classes and school sports teams are being cut, and kids are not getting the exercise they need. On top of all that our diets lack proper nutrition. There is a reason why McDonalds is very profitable, we like to take the easy way. With motion gaming, kids will be fooled into exercising. This is one time as a parent, I won’t feel bad about tricking the kid. One benefit the sports titles interactivity may bring, it might pique the interest of kids, to try playing the sports for real. Look how many guitars were sold thanks to Guitar Hero. Maybe we will start to hear kids talking about multi-player, and they will mean basketball down at the park, instead of some Call of Duty.The exercise will benefit everyone, no matter your console of choice. It is a proven fact that exercise is one of the best anti-depressants. In this Chicken Little world we all live in, we could stand to be a bit happier. So, is there anyone else excited for the motion controls?

Wii players, what do you think about the new controls? Is there any of you going to upgrade to a HD console, or are going to wait for the next Nintendo box. What do you think about titles you got charged full price for, being thrown in as an add on for the other consoles? How about you Xboxers, are you excited for Kinect? Have any of you pre-ordered it yet? How many of you plan on adopting Kinect? What do you think of the titles they have shown and the price tag? What would you like to see from it in the future? Do you have any worries? I do, but this is a positive article. What about the PS3′ers out there, what do you think about the Move? Has anyone pre-ordered it yet, or plan on purchasing it? What titles would you like to see patched?What titles would you like to see in the future? I am excited for motion controls are you?Please let us know, we want to hear from you.