In retrospect, the PlayStation Move was an amazing device

[themistermanguy]

Motion Control was the "in" thing during the 7th generation, Nintendo's Wii put the concept on the map, and developers wanted a slice of that pie any chance they could get. Naturally with success, breeds competition, and Sony Computer Entertainment, in the process of repairing the struggling PlayStation 3, wanted in on the action. Enter PlayStation Move, PlayStation's Answer to the Wii. In concept, the Move is a hybrid of the physical wand concept from the Wii Remote, mixed with the camera based inputs of Microsoft's Kinect device for Xbox 360. The Controller's distinctive feature, was it's glowing orb on top that emitted one of several colors. This not only gives you visual feed back for actions in game, but that orb acts as a tracking point for the PlayStation Eye Camera, allowing it to detect the controller's position and distance within a 3D space, similar to the Wii Remote's pointer, except it's a spherical point, which allows for more control. Combined with a series of gyroscopes, magnetometers, and acelerometers, The Move Motion Controller was a more flexible and advanced Motion Controller, than Nintendo's Aging Wii Remote, and also gave you the precision and versatility of a physical controller, unlike Microsoft's Kinect.

For its time, the PlayStation Move was pretty great technology, and the early games really showed some of its potential. In typical Sony fashion though, they never really gave the device a whole lot of serious support, but there were some highlights. Killzone 3 included PlayStation Move Support to bring the Wii-like pointing experience to PS3 players. Child of Eden was one of the greatest Motion Control games last generation, and that was thanks to PlayStation Move, and Tumble was fun puzzle game that showcased the devices' position tracking capabilities. With Motion Control no longer being the new and shinny craze, Move isn't completely dead. Sony repurposed the Controller as the main input for PlayStation VR, and some ideas from it were also incorporated into the DualShock 4 such as the concept of a lighted tracking point for a camera.

I feel like Sony could've done a bit more with the Move before banishing it to VR. It's not ideal for every game, but an optional addition in some bigger titles and some more major games designed around it could've made it a viable Wii Remote successor.

 

[Yoshi178]

Not really. It was a Wiimote with a golf ball on top. yay.

 

[BrawlMan]

Not really. It was a Wiimote with a golf ball on top. yay.

While perfectly blunt and correct, don't sell the move too short. It did more than the Kinect ever could and Sony had the bright idea to never force it on the consumer and always made it optional for most games. Nintendo's flaw was it forced motion controls in its first party and third party games. Even when they did worked, the consumer should have options. It's why I hated the Wii version of Donkey Kong Country Returns, and why I barely picked up New Super Matio Bros Wii.

The same goes for a lot of developers and publishers too that relased games on the Wii. Microsoft had this flaw with the Kinect too; forcing people to use something they don't want. The move

 

[themistermanguy]

Nintendo's flaw was it forced motion controls in its first party and third party games. Even when they did worked, the consumer should have options. It's why I hated the Wii version of Donkey Kong Country Returns, and why I barely picked up New Super Matio Bros Wii.

That's moreso due to the Wii Remote's lack of buttons than some arbitrary policy. Games designed specifically for the device work way better than those that use waggle as a workaround for running out of buttons. The Move's more ideal button layout, ontop of being an add-on made it more digestible for PlayStation owners.

 

[BrawlMan]

Nintendo's flaw was it forced motion controls in its first party and third party games. Even when they did worked, the consumer should have options. It's why I hated the Wii version of Donkey Kong Country Returns, and why I barely picked up New Super Matio Bros Wii.

That's moreso due to the Wii Remote's lack of buttons than some arbitrary policy. Games designed specifically for the device work way better than those that use waggle as a workaround for running out of buttons. The Move's more ideal button layout, ontop of being an add-on made it more digestible for PlayStation owners.

Here the thing though, the classic controller (and later pro) were made for a reason. Not to mention, there were many Wii games Nintendo or otherwise that used the freaking GameCube controller as an option! Nothing against you, and I agree with you on the Move, but Nintendo's excuse of "lack of buttons" falls flat when you have 3 or 4 other control schemes as you options if you don't like the default. The answer to their problems were literally right in front of them, only to ignore or act oblivious about it.

 

[themistermanguy]

Here the thing though, the classic controller (and later pro) were made for a reason. Not to mention, there were many Wii games Nintendo or otherwise that used the freaking GameCube controller as an option! Nothing against you, and I agree with you on the Move, but Nintendo's excuse of "lack of buttons" falls flat when you have 3 or 4 other control schemes as you options if you don't like the default. The answer to their problems were literally right in front of them, only to ignore or act oblivious about it.

Not everyone had a Classic Controller though. Games had to also work with the default Wii Remote because that was the controller that came with every system. Even there, developers weren't forced to use motion controls unless they wanted to. There were a lot of Wii games that actually played with the Wii Remote on its side, or at least, used the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, but no motion controls. Many also supported the Classic Controller and GameCube controller, so not every game forced you to use it either. I agree that games like NSMBWii and DKC Returns should've had the option to use classic controllers though.

 

[BrawlMan]

Here the thing though, the classic controller (and later pro) were made for a reason. Not to mention, there were many Wii games Nintendo or otherwise that used the freaking GameCube controller as an option! Nothing against you, and I agree with you on the Move, but Nintendo's excuse of "lack of buttons" falls flat when you have 3 or 4 other control schemes as you options if you don't like the default. The answer to their problems were literally right in front of them, only to ignore or act oblivious about it.

Not everyone had a Classic Controller though. Games had to also work with the default Wii Remote because that was the controller that came with every system. Even there, developers weren't forced to use motion controls unless they wanted to. There were a lot of Wii games that actually played with the Wii Remote on its side, or at least, used the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, but no motion controls. Many also supported the Classic Controller and GameCube controller, so not every game forced you to use it either.

I am aware of all that, but this is just frustration on mainly Nintendo's part and their 1st party games. With the Wiimote being the default, Nintendo should have had controls option right out of the gate for the majority of their 1st party games. The reason they chose not to most of the time was for the sake of "innovation". Because of that mentality is why motion controls got a bad name and Nintendo's habit of trying to outdo themselves and everyone around them. At least they kinda learned their lesson with the Switch.

Honestly, the only Wii games with the best motion control I've played are either Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes 1 & 2, Punch-Out Wii, Mad World, Sin and Punishment Star Successor, Red Steel 2, Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers (off all things) and most rail shooters on the system. Oh, and whatever Warioware game came out on the system.

 

[themistermanguy]

I am aware of all that, but this is just frustration on mainly Nintendo's part and their 1st party games. With the Wiimote being the default, Nintendo should have had controls option right out of the gate for the majority of their 1st party games. The reason they chose not to most of the time was for the sake of "innovation". Because of that mentality is why motion controls got a bad name and Nintendo's habit of trying to outdo themselves and everyone around them. At least they kinda learned their lesson with the Switch.

Nintendo, especially at the time, designs the control schemes for their games based around what the game needs mechanically, or because they wanted players to experience it in a certain way. NSMBWii was a 2D Mario game, so the Wii Remote on its side with some minimal motion inputs was how the game was designed to be played. Again, a Classic Controller option should've been included, but this was before Nintendo learned of the concept of software patches apparently. Even today, they only offer control options if it suits the game-play and experience. ARMS, a Fighting game designed around the Joy-Con's motion control, is a natural fit for customizable control options since that's practically a necessity for any competitive multiplayer game. Meanwhile, Super Mario Odyssey, while supports the Pro Controller, is a more mechanically featured experience with the default Joy-Con Control scheme.

Honestly, the only Wii games with the best motion control I've played are either Mario Galaxy, No More Heroes 1 & 2, Punch-Out Wii, Mad World, Sin and Punishment Star Successor, Red Steel 2, Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers (off all things) and most rail shooters on the system. Oh, and whatever Warioware game came out on the system.

Exactly my point, games designed with motion controls specifically in mind are almost always better than games that just shoehorn it in because it's there or due to lack of buttons.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Exactly my point, games designed with motion controls specifically in mind are almost always better than games that just shoehorn it in because it's there or due to lack of buttons.

Weirdly enough, some games like RE4 benefited from it. Seriously, after playing with motion controls it is VERY difficult for me to go back to regular dual sticks. You just can't replicate that precision otherwise.

 

[Catfood220]

The Wii put me off the Move. I had already been burned by poorly implemented waggle mechanics and a serious lack of quality games. Sure there were a few games that made it work, but every time the game gave me the chance to use a Gamecube controller, I would take it without hesitation because it was so much better that using the Wiimote.

I traded in my Wii for a PS3 and then Sony revealed the Move. With my interest fluttering somewhere around zero, Sony went and Sony'd it up by not supporting it with anything interesting and it died a sorry death that I don't think anyone mourned. I hear using the Move is the best way to play with the PS Virtual Reality, but seeing as I will probably never buy that as I consider that more of a novelty than a new way to play games. I will probably use the Move and I'm fine with that.

 

[themistermanguy]

The Wii put me off the Move. I had already been burned by poorly implemented waggle mechanics and a serious lack of quality games. Sure there were a few games that made it work, but every time the game gave me the chance to use a Gamecube controller, I would take it without hesitation because it was so much better that using the Wiimote.

Those early Wii days were rough. I'd say a lot of later Wii games made much better use of the controller than the launch period, where everybody just shoehorned waggle in because of a lack of buttons. Games like No More Heroes and Most shooters are arguably better on the Wii Remote than anything else.

I traded in my Wii for a PS3 and then Sony revealed the Move. With my interest fluttering somewhere around zero, Sony went and Sony'd it up by not supporting it with anything interesting and it died a sorry death that I don't think anyone mourned. I hear using the Move is the best way to play with the PS Virtual Reality, but seeing as I will probably never buy that as I consider that more of a novelty than a new way to play games. I will probably use the Move and I'm fine with that.

I think the problem with the PS Move was that it never really got over the stigma of it being a Diet Wii. Kinect may have been an overyhped, over-marketed gimmick that destroyed Xbox, but conceptually, it had broader appeal than Sony's device that was also able to differentiate itself from the Wii by removing the controller from the equation altogether. With Move it was just "Hey, here's something that's kind of like the Wii, but it's in HD and has a glowing ball on it... Please Buy it." PS Move didn't really find an identity until PS VR came along, and that's where I think the controller is best at.

 

[Catfood220]

Those early Wii days were rough. I'd say a lot of later Wii games made much better use of the controller than the launch period, where everybody just shoehorned waggle in because of a lack of buttons. Games like No More Heroes and Most shooters are arguably better on the Wii Remote than anything else.

Like I said, there were a few games that made it work. After playing Resident Evil 4 on the Wii for example, playing it with a regular controller makes me feel like I'm playing with broken hands.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Never tried them, but they do look rather like gentle cyberpunk sex toys.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I just don't like shaking controllers.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Not really. It was a Wiimote with a golf ball on top. yay.

Of course this is first comment.

I just don't like shaking controllers.

Yeeeaaahhh... I liked the Wii a lot, and didn't mind the waggle too much. But it never really took off for me with some gameplay styles. Some worked great! The aforementioned RE4 port is my favourite way to play it, and FPS games were excellent with the control scheme. Some stuff like racing games, though... Oof. One of my fave racers, Speed Racer (The movie tie-in game. Believe me, it sounds shit just for being a tie-in game, but they did a pretty good job with it)... imagine tilt controls to steer, then add in sudden thrusts forward, to the side, or upwards for attacks. I'll take the PS2 version over that. More content there too

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Not really. It was a Wiimote with a golf ball on top. yay.

Of course this is first comment.

Of course that's the first comment.

I just don't like shaking controllers.

Yeeeaaahhh... I liked the Wii a lot, and didn't mind the waggle too much. But it never really took off for me with some gameplay styles. Some worked great! The aforementioned RE4 port is my favourite way to play it, and FPS games were excellent with the control scheme. Some stuff like racing games, though... Oof. One of my fave racers, Speed Racer (The movie tie-in game. Believe me, it sounds shit just for being a tie-in game, but they did a pretty good job with it)... imagine tilt controls to steer, then add in sudden thrusts forward, to the side, or upwards for attacks. I'll take the PS2 version over that. More content there too

The problem with motion controls (in my opinion, from my experience) is that they end up further distancing you from the game you're playing. Short from mind control nothing's ever gonna be as comfy, direct and seamless as pushing a button in order to issue a command with 1:1 responsiveness. I just don't feel very much in command when using motion controls, and I think because of that the design is boiled down to something incredibly rudimentary that doesn't require too much timing or precision in order to be effective. At the end of the day I see it as just another gimmick. Fun for a while, but when I'm done I feel like playing "properly".

 

[themistermanguy]

The problem with motion controls (in my opinion, from my experience) is that they end up further distancing you from the game you're playing. Short from mind control nothing's ever gonna be as comfy, direct and seamless as pushing a button in order to issue a command with 1:1 responsiveness. I just don't feel very much in command when using motion controls, and I think because of that the design is boiled down to something incredibly rudimentary that doesn't require too much timing or precision in order to be effective. At the end of the day I see it as just another gimmick. Fun for a while, but when I'm done I feel like playing "properly".

Not really. Sure, Meaningless waggle is a gimmick that's thankfully dead, but true motion control is actually better than a button or stick, since it gives you more dynamic control over in game actions. Anybody who's played Red Steel 2 or any VR game can tell you that. In the case of Shooters, Gyro or pointer aim is simply straight up better than standard control sticks because you can more precisely fine tune your aim.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The problem with motion controls (in my opinion, from my experience) is that they end up further distancing you from the game you're playing. Short from mind control nothing's ever gonna be as comfy, direct and seamless as pushing a button in order to issue a command with 1:1 responsiveness. I just don't feel very much in command when using motion controls, and I think because of that the design is boiled down to something incredibly rudimentary that doesn't require too much timing or precision in order to be effective. At the end of the day I see it as just another gimmick. Fun for a while, but when I'm done I feel like playing "properly".

Not really. Sure, Meaningless waggle is a gimmick that's thankfully dead, but true motion control is actually better than a button or stick, since it gives you more dynamic control over in game actions. Anybody who's played Red Steel 2 or any VR game can tell you that. In the case of Shooters, Gyro or pointer aim is simply straight up better than standard control sticks because you can more precisely fine tune your aim.

Motion controls may be dynamic by definition, but I don't think they're a good answer to regular controller/keyboard + mouse controls. I already said it: in gaming nothing short of mind control would require less effort than pressing a button. It's simple, it's immediate and you're not gonna convince there's anything more efficient that can test your hand-eye coordination. You're not gonna get a better effort:result ratio, especially against an alternative that hinges so much on physical exertion. I got my gall bladder removed recently and kept on gaming just fine. No way in hell I could've managed if I had to rely on motion controls.

 

[Yoshi178]

The problem with motion controls (in my opinion, from my experience) is that they end up further distancing you from the game you're playing. Short from mind control nothing's ever gonna be as comfy, direct and seamless as pushing a button in order to issue a command with 1:1 responsiveness. I just don't feel very much in command when using motion controls, and I think because of that the design is boiled down to something incredibly rudimentary that doesn't require too much timing or precision in order to be effective. At the end of the day I see it as just another gimmick. Fun for a while, but when I'm done I feel like playing "properly".

Not really. Sure, Meaningless waggle is a gimmick that's thankfully dead, but true motion control is actually better than a button or stick, since it gives you more dynamic control over in game actions. Anybody who's played Red Steel 2 or any VR game can tell you that. In the case of Shooters, Gyro or pointer aim is simply straight up better than standard control sticks because you can more precisely fine tune your aim.

Motion controls may be dynamic by definition, but I don't think they're a good answer to regular controller/keyboard + mouse controls. I already said it: in gaming nothing short of mind control would require less effort than pressing a button. It's simple, it's immediate and you're not gonna convince there's anything more efficient that can test your hand-eye coordination. You're not gonna get a better effort:result ratio, especially against an alternative that hinges so much on physical exertion. I got my gall bladder removed recently and kept on gaming just fine. No way in hell I could've managed if I had to rely on motion controls.

If stick controls are better than motion controls, explain why all of the professional competitive Splatoon players play with Gyro motion sensors turned on rather than just leaving them turned off...

 

[BrawlMan]

The problem with motion controls (in my opinion, from my experience) is that they end up further distancing you from the game you're playing. Short from mind control nothing's ever gonna be as comfy, direct and seamless as pushing a button in order to issue a command with 1:1 responsiveness. I just don't feel very much in command when using motion controls, and I think because of that the design is boiled down to something incredibly rudimentary that doesn't require too much timing or precision in order to be effective. At the end of the day I see it as just another gimmick. Fun for a while, but when I'm done I feel like playing "properly".

Not really. Sure, Meaningless waggle is a gimmick that's thankfully dead, but true motion control is actually better than a button or stick, since it gives you more dynamic control over in game actions. Anybody who's played Red Steel 2 or any VR game can tell you that. In the case of Shooters, Gyro or pointer aim is simply straight up better than standard control sticks because you can more precisely fine tune your aim.

Motion controls may be dynamic by definition, but I don't think they're a good answer to regular controller/keyboard + mouse controls. I already said it: in gaming nothing short of mind control would require less effort than pressing a button. It's simple, it's immediate and you're not gonna convince there's anything more efficient that can test your hand-eye coordination. You're not gonna get a better effort:result ratio, especially against an alternative that hinges so much on physical exertion. I got my gall bladder removed recently and kept on gaming just fine. No way in hell I could've managed if I had to rely on motion controls.

If stick controls are better than motion controls, explain why all of the professional competitive Splatoon players play with Gyro motion sensors turned on rather than just leaving them turned off...

Hate to break it to you Yoshi, but that's the exception not the rule