Let’s start by saying that the PlayStation Move has a lot riding on its shoulders. As you know the Wii was released with motion sensing capabilities back in 2006 and Nintendo has since dominated the current-generation of consoles, arguably because of this innovation. But that looks set to change with both Sony and Microsoft entering the motion gaming arena this year. Sony’s up first with the PlayStation Move, followed by Microsoft with Kinect.
One could argue that this is the true beginning of what many are calling the motion control wars. Nintendo don’t seem to be too worried about the threat these contenders may bring, and when they’ve already secured a large portion of the console gaming market I’m not sure that they should be. Sony have a head-start on the competition threat posed by Microsoft just in terms of availability - the PlayStation Move launches in Europe tomorrow (September 15th), with South Africa and the UK following this Friday, the 17th of September, and North America on the 19th of September. Meanwhile Kinect only launches on the 4th of November in the US and on the 10th of November in Europe.
Sony are therefore likely to have an advantage over Microsoft with regards to gamers who own more than one console, ie. an Xbox 360 and a PS3, because chances are these gamers are going to purchase a Move first. Now obviously Microsoft is hoping these gamers will still have the finances available to purchase Kinect in a little under two months time. However, if these gamers don’t have the finances available to purchase both the Move and the Kinect Sony may start to win this war with Move purchases when the advertising campaigns sweep gamers away and they find themselves not wanting to wait until Kinect launches.
However, it’s the price difference between the two that will perhaps play a more significant role in who buys what. After all, if there are two new products on the market that offer relatively the same benefits, most people would opt for the cheaper one. I believe they call that human nature. The PlayStation Move Starter Pack will retail at R699.99 in South Africa and will include a PlayStation Move controller, PlayStation Eye camera as well as a starter disc with nine demos. You’ll be able to buy an additional Move controller for R399 while the Navigation Controller will retail at R399. But you obviously need to play some games with all this new equipment and there will be a couple of titles to choose from at launch, each retailing at R499. Unfortunately Sports Champions won’t be available as a pack-in in South Africa.
Kinect lies on the other end of the scale, at R1999 it’s considerably more expensive, although to be fair let’s not forget that it does come bundled with Kinect Adventures. Now Microsoft will no doubt argue that it sports a higher price tag because it offers gamers one thing more than the rest…controller free gaming. The Kinect games will actually be a little cheaper than Move titles, retailing at R399.99 each.
Let’s face it, a large chunk of each prospective market will be faithful to their chosen brand. So PS3 gamers will choose Move and Xbox 360 gamers will choose Kinect, but if you had to choose based on performance and price which one would it be?
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Comments:
No doubt the Kinect is going to win, Sony are fighting a losing battle. Seriously, the move is just a wii Clone....Zzzzz.. Any other kinect fans wanna meet up on XBL, you can find me @ xboxkinectbundle.com/forum - Kylie PM me.
Kinect? Really? You call the Move a Wii clone, but is that so bad? Core gaming with HD graphics as opposed to the shovelware party games we'll see with Kinect.
For my part, it's hard to say because I haven't experienced Kinect yet. The Move I could imagine because it's similar to Wii MotionPlus with improved positional tracking, so I can imagine playing games like Resident Evil with it, but Kinect could open up brand new gameplay ideas I haven't thought of yet. So it all comes down to compelling software, and then how well Sony and Microsoft can convey their ideas to a mass market. At those prices though, I can't see Kinect selling to that mass market in SA.
I think the Move has refined the concepts of motion control first used in the Wii Remote, it's definitely not just a clone. And I don't think it's a losing battle for Sony...it's going to be a tough fight!
You can read more about our impressions of the Move over here if you like: http://www.el33tonline.com/past_editorial/2010/9/14/el33tonlines_impressions_of_playstation_move/
Fun and affordable are important but what about gamer endurance. You have to be fairly amped to stand up in front of the camera for long gaming periods. I am thinking the success lies in the shorter party / sport gamers rather than the Gears of War , Resident Evil epic duration titles. You can stand up and do your thing for a bit then chill out whilst the next couch potato has their turn.
As with any range of comparable products (not to say that they're the same...), price will definitely come into play.
While Kinect and PlayStation Move go about their business in very different ways, I'm sure anyone would agree that if two separate products are both trying to do something with 'motion' (even though one is hands-free and the other uses a device), comparisons are still going to be drawn.
When products are compared, price is compared. At the moment, Kinect appears to be the more expensive product, simply because of the raw cost involved. As Lisa's article states, Microsoft will be able to offer gamers something its competitors don't, but what the company needs to do in addition is sufficiently distance itself from Move and differentiate itself from Sony's device so no comparisons can be made.
Then, price will become less of an issue as far as competing products go. Microsoft's Kinect will then be competing on its own for that R1999, and probably against a broader range of products not limited to videogames.
Microsoft has the tougher battle to fight with Kinect. Sony's audience 'knows' what it's getting into as Nintendo has provided ample examples. Has that audience been burned enough times with those examples?
I personally don't think this sales race can be predicted very accurately at all, but if I had to guess who will 'win' in the long term, I would be inclined to say Move at this point.
Tomorrow, I might say Kinect, though. It's tough to predict. ;)
Yeah, I am assuming that I'll be able to play RE5 lying on my couch like I can with the Wii controller. If I have to stand up for epic sessions, that's not going to work.
Couch potatoes! :)