Following in the footsteps of the hugely successful Nintendo Wii, Microsoft and Sony have released motion controllers for their HD consoles the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Called Kinect and Move, the two systems handle bringing motion controls to their respective consoled in different manners.
Move is from a user perspective very similar to the Wii’s system, it functions slightly differently technically, but as a user this matters less than the fact that you are holding a controller in much the same manner. The system basically is the pre-existing Playstation 3 eye camera, with a controller much like a Wii’s but with a coloured ball at one end. There are a number of permutations of controller, one per player, 2 per player, or one move and one navigation controller per player. The Navigation controller is like a wireless version of the Wii’s nun-chuck, but with a d-pad controller in addition to the analogue stick.
Kinect is very different, all you need is one Kinect per console and using a number of cameras and the mic it tracks the movements and motions of the players to control the console and the games. For the newer slim model Xbox 360 the Kinect can draw power from the 360 itself, using a special port, in addition to the standard USB port the device communicates with the console through. For the older model Xbox 360 the power is drawn from a supplied transformer that plugs into the mains in addition to the USB.
As a result anyone who has played on the Wii will find that using the Playstation 3’s Move system a lot more familiar to use. It also has the advantage over Kinect of buttons on the controller, so when a gesture is not suitable then there is a controller at hand to use. Theoretically this limitation should not affect Kinect as there is nothing to stop a standard controller being used, but so far developers have been going with the “you are the controller” line from Microsoft and using pure gesture.
Kinect has a number of party pieces when used as intended, it will recognize new players turning up and if they have a profile on that console and have previously used Kinect, it will automatically log them in. It also is integrated right into the console and adds gesture and voice control to most of Microsoft’s own services, including the dashboard and DVD player and to some of the third party menus. The system also appears to be not using its entire feature set at launch, with many of the tracking functions being deliberately restricted, possibly due to the limitations of the Xbox 360 itself. When attached to a PC, independent programmers have managed to produce better results and even some practical functions, a navigation system for the blind and a system for surgeons to manipulate scan pictures without leaving the sterile area.
Performance wise both systems have their high points and low points, some Kinetic games showing appreciable lag and some not. Move mainly comes across as an evolution of the Wii, it’s more accurate and it is in HD, but if you already have a Wii, most of the games currently using the system well are fairly low graphics and so the extra expense may not be worth it. Kinetics current performance is slightly behind, but it adds things that the Wii cannot do and has more of that future about it. When developers start getting to grips with it and offering more hybrid controller Kinect controls it could easily be better than Move. Right now which to get depends mainly on whether you own a Playstation 3 or an Xbox 360, neither is enough to buy the other system just for the controller. If you own both, look at the games and if it’s still equal, then Kinect will add additional features that neither the Wii nor Move has.
Furthermore it would appear Microsoft only stand to gain extra ground on Sony following the news that the Playstation Network has been recently hacked which may see a decrease in those willing to trust the Playstation 3. It is also likely to be affected, as is the Xbox 360 by 2012’s arrival of a Wii 2. The rumour mill is in overdrive regarding the follow up Nintendo Wii console, which is likely to be higher spec than both it’s Sony and Microsoft counterparts.
written by expansys.com
