Failure-in-Motion: The PlayStation Move is a Bust
Think back to E3 2010, when all the talk was about Microsoft and Sony jumping onto the arm-waggling motion-controller bandwagon made so popular by the little Wii that could. The 360 went the way of controller-less cameras, and the PlayStation 3 decided to stick close to the Wii with the PlayStation Move. While the PlayStation Move is much more precise than the Wii, and has seemingly infinite potential, up to this point in time the Move has been a complete bust. And it’s looking like it will continue to be, at least in the near future.
We could talk sales numbers till our faces turned blue, but the sales of the PlayStation Move are not the reason for disappointment here. No, the reasons are far more simple than that: There are not enough compelling Move-only games that take advantage of its precision, and everything else is nothing more than tacked-on Move support to a game that’s played best with a DualShock 3. When the Move was first announced, it was promised legitimate support by Sony, but that support just isn’t where it needs to be, and thus, the Move isn’t an attractive addition to the PlayStation family.
Games will make or break any kind of hardware or peripheral, therefore it was odd to see the weak release lineup when the Move launched. These titles consisted of Start the Party, Sports Champions, and Kung Fu Rider. The first two games in that list were basically attempts at mimicking the Wii’s family friendly play. Kung Fu Rider… was beyond terrible. Sony is no stranger to lackluster hardware launches (say hi, PS3), but they are usually good at turning things around. With the Move, this doesn’t seem to be the case.
It Changed... Nothing.
Sorcery, the one game that left fans stunned, has gone absent since wowing crowds at E3 2010. On the flip side, Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest was announced this past E3 by Sports Champions developer Zindagi Games and it looked interesting enough. But where are the hardcore, AAA, must-own Move-only games? Yes, some AAA games do feature Move-support, but we’re talking full-fledged Move games. That’s right… there aren’t any.
Instead of creating new, exciting experiences with the Move, Sony has been content with just tacking Move support onto the back of any game in development or already released. Heavy hitters such as Killzone 3 and Resistance 3, to Heavy Rain have had Move-support added. Don’t get us wrong, it is always great to have that option, but the Move was supposed to innovate and push itself past being just an add-on. To quote Sony, the PlayStation Move launch was like launching a new console or new hardware. A console that would have failed by now if it stood on its own.
Sony may be suffering by baking way too much in the hardware oven. A year after motion controls were introduced to PS3 gamers by way of PlayStation Move, Sony is now pushing a 3DTV, and more significantly, the PlayStation Vita. All of this, and still managing to pump out the best exclusives on the market. It appears that Sony has their plate so full that the Move has become somewhat of an afterthought. If you need proof of this, just watch the E3 2011 Sony presentation where Kobe Bryant steps up to show one of the worst implementations of motion controls ever, courtesy of 2K Games. Aside from that, Move was barely even mentioned at E3.
Sony recently released a list of games with PlayStation Move support, both current and future and, while the 63 currently available Move-enabled games are indeed impressive, the future list of titles was barren, with only 16 announced titles in the works for the Move; even fewer of them using Move as the centerpiece. For something that Sony touted as the future, and said they were invested completely in, this is a depressing and discouraging list. Yes, there are always more games coming that are not yet announced (we know of a few) but any way you slice it, things aren’t looking great for the PlayStation Move.
In the end, it is hard to call anything a bust with over 9 million units sold worldwide. However, when your competition is nearly doubling that number at a higher cost, all while driving their car with an imaginary steering wheel all the way to the bank, then things start looking… bad. Until Sony and its internal studios bring something meaningful to the market with PlayStation Move as the focal point, it’s never going to be anything more than an add-on.
26 Responses to “Failure-in-Motion: The PlayStation Move is a Bust”
I love this article, Cameron. So true, we just hope in the near future move-only games are developed.
I truly don’t understand why Sony hasn’t pushed harder for better first party Move-only games. Quite honestly, almost all Move exclusive titles have been a disappointment…they couldn’t even make a decent game out of the most beloved Playstation characters in Playstation Move Heroes. My only guess as to their tactics with the Move is that they are trying to convince the nay-sayers that it is worthwhile by implementing it in all their other big games like KZ3, R3, SOCOM4, etc. It does work pretty well for first person shooters, but unless you make a compelling FPS that is Move exclusive you aren’t going to get people to spend any real amount of time learning how to play really well with the Move and convincing them to spend time away from playing with their Dualshock. If possible people will avoid anything that includes a learning curve, so when the option is there they will default to a regular controller. Make a new FPS IP in which you can only use Move, make it amazing, and the peripheral will start selling.
Honestly, I think they all were failures. None of them have killer titles that run exclusively for Move.
I think the issue is that they came so late in the generation, and Wii already secured that “motion controller console” identity. Thankfully, the device sold millions of units, but the software just isn’t there to support it.
For the record, I LOVE playing a few of the games that have it as an option, such as Killzone 3, but there are no Move-exclusive games that make it a hot item.
i feel like i failed for buying one
that was what I was going to say. I bought into the hype and got 4 controllers, a base charger, a gun attachment and most of the games that came out. it was an utter waste of money so far and has taught me a valuable lesson… I wont be buying launch products anymore, no matter how cool they seem on TV and online.
I think Sony didn’t really push the move like MS is doing with kintect cause Sony doesn’t want its consumers to think that they just care about motion gaming. They put the move out to show its there in case you ever feel like playing it. Sony wants to give different possibilities to using the ps3 as it was made for a entertainment machine all in one. I got the move cause i really wanted to try it out to see how it works on the games for it. Yes there’s no big huge success exclusive for the move, but the games are there in case you ever wanted to try it out. Move in kz3, socom 4, R3 etc aren’t being forced (thank god) but it is there in case you wanted to try it.
+ Didn’t MS spent 500 million on brainwashing people in the US to buy that piece of crap Kinect? + outside the US no one even talks about Kinect.
+ SONY could easily sell LOADS of PS3′s buy dropping the price of it to $199/£199/199 euros (GOD how many times do i have to say it)
(+ SONY’s stubbornness at keeping the PS3 at $299 is not going to get them win this ‘so-called’ games console war whatever they do i.e doing MOVE & 3D stuff etc etc…) :-/
Unfortunately, Sports Champions is the ONLY game I enjoy playing with the Move.
That Arrow shooting game, love that game.
I’m baffled. People on here actually bashing a Sony product failure.
Vita is up next, you better hope they throw the required support at that product.
Remember they’re now touting you can use it as a PS3 controller
Oh the joy, practicality says hello.
All of my friends love the Move with games like Start The Party and SingStar + Dance. I loved using it in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Heavy Rain, and Playstation Move Heroes.
But I totally agree they’re not really giving it their all with it. It has a lot of potential, but it doesn’t seem to be getting used. Some of these games make great use of it, while others just tack it on for the hell of it (like Toy Story 3′s ONE mini-game add on). I hope they don’t let this just go away, cos I passed on getting an Xbox 360 for the Move stuff. I have since got one, but the Xbox system alone has proved a better buy than the Move. I hope they end up releasing Sorcery, which, like a lot of people, I really wanted too.
I wouldn’t call it a failure though, it has sold well. It just doesn’t have a great exclusive library, which really, does that matter? They have plenty of games which take it on and make the games a lot of fun. I prefer Move controls in HP over the standard controller (it’s basically a shooter, which I’m terrible at). Regardless, they do need to come out with more Move based games, especially full-length ones.
I got the move on day 1 and it’s fun to do sports champions when friends are over and I tried using it for KZ3 and it’s a bit difficult without the gun attachment. I haven’t bought a baseball or tennis game since the days of Atari but I was excited to use the move with them until 1) I found out baseball was only using it for homerun derby and 2) Tennis wasn’t even 1 for 1 with it. I think they tacked on some strange swing at the right moment feature that was impossible. So needless to say I didn’t buy either game and the move has sadly started to collect dust. I really hope Sony gives me lots of reasons to us it again.
I completely agree , the move has no software that would make me shell out $50 for a single controller that I’d hardly use .
they could do three things to make me jump on the ‘move’ bandwagon …..
1 . some compelling games or apps that ‘require’ a move controller
or 2 . lower the controllers price or even better , create a reasonably priced bundle that is for early playstation eye adopters ( the bundle buyers asked for since move was announced )
put together a move controller , navigation controller and charge base with a game like sports champions for around $79 and I’d probably buy it .
3 . I don’t know why they also don’t patch some current games to use the navigation controller in place of the ds3 . it might be fun and easier to use the navigation controller sometimes in games like pacman or in other games with simple control schemes and it would give you something you can do with one – as it is now it seems you’d buy one for a few titles but it would sit idle most of the time since most move titles don’t need it
I have the move and I agree; I am impressed by the technology but not the games.
Somewhat off topic, has anyone gotten the email for the move.me voucher? Also, has anyone tried it and what did you think?
I got my voucher back at GDC. It’s cool, but a bit beyond my programming skills at the moment. Also, I see the whole setup as cumbersome – you have to have the PS3 on when you want to use it?? So I need my computer and my PS3 on to run one application…Why not just release a driver for the Move for Windows/Linux/Unix?
LOL I can’t complain! my wife loves it (we play Time Crisis, Ape Scape, Sports Champions and Start the Party) and the Sharp Shooter is the one thing that made me finally enjoy an FPS game (Killzone 3) and believe it or not Kung fu Rider is one hell of fun (I don’t understand why they say it’s not responsive I had no problems getting A and even S on ALL stages) an how can I forget The Fight Lights out?! maaan! that game is AMAZING (don’t believe me? go to Amazon and read the buyer’s reviews) it finally got me to workout and have LOTS of fun while at it! So in MY opinion the Playstation Move could use some more games but it’s a complete success!
I agree. There’s some good games that use the controller, and some more to come. It wasn’t and isn’t meant to consume the system, like the Kinect is doing with the XBOX 360.
I like The Fight and Time Crisis, as well as some others. My wife is better (read: smarter) than I at Tumble.
I’ve never seen the point of the Move outside of FPS games and Golf. There’s an add-on rifle and setting the system up to work well where a joystick on the side of the controller handles movement along with centrally levered button (two buttons in one) for side-stepping. And the Move “bubble” allows you to point anywhere on the screen. How hard is that?
The Golf part is even easier.
I like Sonys approach more than microsofts, E3 was awful and once gears 3 is beaten my 360s being sold. I don’t really know how I feel about move though.
I was excited to get my Move. Sports Champions is fun, but it’s not a AAA title. The only other title that interested me was ‘The Fight’, but for that one you need two Moves and there was no way in hell I was going out and buying a second one when I was barely using the first one.
Where the hell IS Sorcery? Why has that game gone so quiet? No updates, no release date, no nothing.
“it’s never going to be anything more than an add-on.”
I think that’s the point. It wasn’t Sony’s intention to relaunch the PS3 as THE place for motion gaming, like Microsoft did with Kinect. Move is a niche product for the few people who care about motion gaming. They’re just making sure they’ve got all the bases covered. If you don’t like what they’re selling then don’t buy it. And it’s not like they’re making you pay top dollar for the Move-only games that they do come out with. They’re all cheaper, probably because they are lower budget productions, hence their varying quality.
Owning move has been a worthwhile experience for me. Tumble alone has been worth the price of admission. It’s a great competitive party game. And Dead Space Extraction is rather good, especially with a friend. Notice I’m talking about downloadable titles here. Not “triple-A productions”. Don’t hold your breath because that money is going into games that actually matter, like Uncharted 3 and Starhawk, which will likely have Move support anyway. I really don’t understand what you naysayers expect? A killer app, perhaps. I believe that’s what you want. Then let’s name the killer apps for Sony’s motion gaming platform rivals, shall we?
hello …
i’m happy i bought a MOVE, just need to buy another one to play some games with the wify, yet don’t feel it’s that important. I will check the next article that contradicts this 1
…
(http://playstationlifestyle.net/2011/08/03/scees-move-game-is-a-large-aaa-character-action-game/)
cheers!
wait? so what is the killer app for the Wii that is motion related? Zelda TP? Wii Sports? While its cool n all to compare the sales of hardware, I think we should remember that until recently there was not really a market for motion controller gaming software. Sony had already invested in that market (EyeToy) and it went virtually nowhere so they did not upgrade their hardware much regarding the PS3Eye. What “killer app” does the Kinect have that is exclusive? a dancing title? exercise game? I think the games that are coming out are fine and show promise meanwhile the added move functionality for classics like Heavy Rain caused me to play the the game again and subsequently attain more trophy’s. I enjoy playing arcade-type shooters with the Sharpshooper peripheral. Now what would piss me off is if Sony announced they are cutting support for the Move, like they did with the PS2 Eye Toy a few years back.
I think the move changed some things, for one now games that previously couldn’t be placed on the PS3 because of their focus on wii-like controls. I remember Dead Space Extraction couldn’t be translated to the 360 because of this.
But overall I’d say for the moment not much has changed. There’s a lot of move titles but not much incentive to buy them, the biggest problem I find is that when they demonstrate these brand new motion controllers like the move and the kinect they have big wide open spaces for it and the average gamer DOSEN’T have big wide open spaces to play games in.
It’s about quality, not quantity. I’d rather have 10 games with potential than 20 lame games.
Also, these are the announced games, which means there’s probably other stuff currently in the works. I think the last time the upcoming games were announced, it was when the system just came out. Doesn’t that mean a lot of those games were still being developed past the launch?
Yes, it would be cool to have AAA games that are meant for the Move, and not just AAA that use the Move. Even though millions have been sold, though, it’s still a specific controller separate from the system, which would limit sales of a game that would probably set a publisher back a lot of money.
How about the SIXAXIS controls found in every controller? I like the subtle motion control added to or used entirely to control games, but it seems to have been neglected since the Move’s release.