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[Jubenhimer]

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, as well as Sony's own Eye Toy for the PS2. 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, several third party games used the device, notably the PS3 version of Bioshock Infinite, and Tumble was fun puzzle game that showcased the devices' position tracking capabilities, and with 3D support added later, it was sort of Poto-VR experience. With Motion Control no longer being the new hot craze, Move has been phased out of the spotlight, but isn't completely dead. Sony repurposed the Controller as the main input for PlayStation VR, and some ideas from it were re-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.

 

[FranXico]

I can't remember enjoying my short time experiencing the Move I got for cheap when the waggle fad was already dying down. I can't remember much at all, in fact.

I feel like Sony could've done a bit more with the Move before banishing it to VR.

They didn't banish it to VR, what they did actually was very clever business wise.

 

[Stuart360]

Motion controls suck, all of them. I want to laze on my couch and play a game for some relaxation, not flayling my arms around like an arsehole.
There is a reason why game pads were around at the start of home gaming, and are still the no.1 most used way of controlling a game today. If it aint broke, dont fix it.

 

[Jubenhimer]

Motion controls suck, all of them. I want to laze on my couch and play a game for some relaxation, not flayling my arms around like an arsehole.
There is a reason why game pads were around at the start of home gaming, and are still the no.1 most used way of controlling a game today. If it aint broke, dont fix it.

Not all motion control is waggle or wide gesture based. Gyro aiming for example obliterates stick aiming and should be standard on ALL platforms. You don't even need to do much, just tilt the controller subtly and you have an input that's way more precise than aiming with an analog stick. Tradtional Controller designs were and are never going anywhere, but motion still has its place in gaming.

 

[Stuart360]

Not all motion control is waggle or wide gesture based. Gyro aiming for example obliterates stick aiming and should be standard on ALL platforms. You don't even need to do much, just tilt the controller subtly and you have an input that's way more precise than aiming with an analog stick. Tradtional Controller designs were and are never going anywhere, but motion still has its place in gaming.

Just leave that gimmicky crap for Nintendo. In fact even Nintendo dropped motion control, more or less, with the WiiU and Switch, even after the success they had with the Wii.

 

[nowhat]

Ehh, I dunno. It's a good-ish (much room for improvement) interface for PSVR. Come PSVR 2, I hope they come up with a better VR controller.

Come PSVR 2, I also wish there'd be a VR remaster of Dead Space Extraction (worked well with Move, Wii too). It's such an obvious idea I cannot understand why EA hasn't done it already, but I guess the franchise is dead to them.

 

[Jubenhimer]

Just leave that gimmicky crap for Nintendo. In fact even Nintendo dropped motion control, more or less, with the WiiU and Switch, even after the success they had with the Wii.

They didn't drop motion control, rather they've learned to discipline its use more. The Switch controllers all have motion sensors, that are used in most first party titles, and the Joy-Con are basically Wii Remote successors.

 

[Jubenhimer]

Ehh, I dunno. It's a good-ish (much room for improvement) interface for PSVR. Come PSVR 2, I hope they come up with a better VR controller.

Yeah, it's kind of showing its age now in the VR era, but for its time, I felt it was a solid Wii Remote alternative. You got the control scheme of the Wii, combined with the games library and AAA support of a main HD system at the time. It was a win-win for fans of the Wii like me. I say Sony arguably had a better strategy with its motion control than Microsoft, who decided to build their Wii answer around a camera with no physical inputs, thus severely gimping its applications. Then again, the Kinect conceptually had broader appeal than the Move, so it's easy to see why it outsold it.

 

[Blancka]

Just leave that gimmicky crap for Nintendo. In fact even Nintendo dropped motion control, more or less, with the WiiU and Switch, even after the success they had with the Wii.

They haven't dropped it at all, they're using gyro aiming in a lot of games, which is far better than aiming without. Aiming with a controller that has gyro stops me longing for mouse/keyboard controls in games that support it.

They're using some form of motion controls in a lot of first party games. Mario Kart, Mario Odyssey, Breath of the wild, Pokemon, Arms, splatoon, mario tennis, not to mention all the other high profile games using some form of motion on the console like Doom, Fortnite, RE: Revelations, Okami and skyrim for example, which all use them in addition to regular controls.

Nintendo is learning how to use them right. Not forcing them and limiting games because of limited gesture options in motion controls, but implementing them where possible to improve the overall control players have

 

[nowhat]

I say Sony arguably had a better strategy with its motion control than Microsoft, who decided to build their Wii answer around a camera with no physical inputs

I think WRT the "pointer" functionality Nintendo had the best implementation - in that it's so incredibly low-tech, yet it "just works" (better than Fallout 76 at any rate). A VGA camera with an IR filter in front of it, targeting two IR LEDs (or a pair of candles, or whatnot - the sensor bar is just two IR LEDs but it can be substituted with pretty much anything that produces consistent infrared radiation). It's really stupidly simple, but provided enough fidelity for 480p, while also keeping the costs down. Quite clever engineering IMHO, no matter what you think about the Wii in general.

(I do concede the implementation has a flaw with windows / bright light sources near the display though)

 

[BootsLoader]

There's still road ahead for motion controls to become the standard. I didn't enjoy any of them.

 

[CJY]

Quite a number of posts and not a mention of Media Molecule’s Dreams — ultimately the greatest expression of the Move controllers we’ve had so far. They seem to only be stable for me ~90% of the time, but when they work, they are really, really good and not lacking in any respect; achieving what they set out to will utmost simplicity and convenience. I personally love them. Yet, I’d also love to finally see the next iteration for PS5 and PSVR2. They desperately need to polish that remaining 10% to make them closer to perfection.

It has been a long, hard road for the venerable motion controllers, but the fact they’ll span three of the longest generations in console gaming history shows you that they were spectacularly designed and engineered. Perhaps ahead of their time actually.

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

I wish it didn't look like your aunt's sex toy.

 

[Closer]

Wiiremote and Nunchuck showed me how true lazy couch gameplay should be done, while showing me shooters can work on consoles without a crap analog stick. I'll always praise it for its advancements in gameplay, mainly the IR Pointer functionality. Some people think you need to play like Taz the Tasmanian Devil using the Wiiremote, but those people are just dumb.
The Move was a nice answer to that, but Sony needed to not half ass its own effort, bringing functionality to every single game produced, but it never happened. I've never tried using PSVR, so can't comment on how it fares in a VR Gameplay, but I have an idea. It's not ideal, but should be miles better than using a joystick, no doubt.

 

[dan76]

The Move was great purely because it allowed me to play House of the Dead 4 like a lightgun game. That alone makes it worth while, but to be honest it think the Wii was better. The Move suffered from drift. There are ways around it, but the Wii didnt have that problem. So whilst the Wii may be simpler I think it worked better.

Sony and Sega need to team up and start bringing all those lightgun games over to PSVR. Lightgun and On-rail shooters are all these devices are good for. Moving your character as well as aiming is where the move and to a lesser extent Wii fall down. Nothing beats a controller / keyboard and mouse.

 

[Hissing Sid]

I sometimes use the moves in VR. I try not to though because they suck.

 

[EverydayBeast]

The gaming market rewards alternatives for controllers, COD4 on the Wii had so many options.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

It's a very comfortable controller.

Wii heralded the future. All the modern VR sets include akimbo controllers without really compromising the standard format of shoulder buttons, face buttons, and analog sticks.

 

[Tygeezy]

Motion controls suck, all of them. I want to laze on my couch and play a game for some relaxation, not flayling my arms around like an arsehole.
There is a reason why game pads were around at the start of home gaming, and are still the no.1 most used way of controlling a game today. If it aint broke, dont fix it.

They are actually superior if we are talking about performance, and no, you don't need to flail your arms around like a spaz. I'm going to argue that console controls are absolutely broken when we consider superior input devices "cheating" and you require the game to help you aim "aim assist."

 

[stranno]

Yep. It works great for rail shooters, first person shooters and augmented reality games.

Dual Shock 4 also had the pointer feature in some games, through the gyroscope sensor, and its not that bad. I finished Blue Estate using the Dual Shock 4 as a gun and it works, though you are constantly reseting the pointer.

 

[funkygunther]

I bought the first revision but compared to the Wii the pointer was so laggy and buggy. I'm not sure if they updated the software or camera firmware (if they could) because I dont think the PS Eye was up to the task on release.