Evolution of the Console Controller – Sony PlayStation Move (2010)

The PlayStation Move uses a combination of internal sensors and the PlayStation Eye camera to track the controller’s position, orientation, and distance from the camera. It has sold moderately well but has not achieved the popularity of Kinect and Wii.

From a technical perspective, the PS Move performs well. Movements are generally tracked accurately and with perceptible but low lag. In a review of the PS Move, Ben Kuchera stated that the Move controller is more accurate than the Wii Remote. Unfortunately, the device hasn’t received any “killer app” or game that drives players to use it, so it remains a tertiary part of PlayStation.

It is difficult to get players to use new controls. Which comes first – great controls, or great games that use those same controls? A proven formula is to design both in tandem and release both the controller and the game together. Nintendo did this with the N64 controller and Super Mario 64, then did it again with the Wii Remote and Wii Sports. The PS Move is well designed hardware that doesn’t have blockbuster games available. The opposite can be said of Kinect and Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, where a compelling game (in concept) has met a controller that doesn’t have the fidelity to do justice to those big ideas.

Up to Modern Era – Back to Kinect – Forward to Esoteric and Experimental Controllers

Gift of Sony Entertainment, 2012.024.001