It's Sony vs. Microsoft vs. Nintendo

Reference : BBC's preview of PS3 Move:

Gesture recognition is not anything new, but Sony has now come up with a motion control system for the PlayStation much similar to Microsoft's Natal. The Move motion controller would probably hit the markets by the end of this year, but a preview in the BBC gives a glimpse of how similar it is to the one with Nintendo Wii.

You can't really blame the three big console makers for taking similar directions and bringing similar gaming experiences, though at least with a different set of games. However, long long ago - back in 2005 - when Microsoft came up with the Xbox, or when Sony brought the PlayStation 3 in 2007, seldom did the two realise how much of activity Wiimote might create.

Taking cue from the motion sensing movement created by Nintendo, Sony was quick to come up with their EyeToy USB camera, but now the Move is one that might more relevant in the 3-D gaming world. Microsoft launched the Natal with a bang earlier this year, welcoming us to an era of controller-free gaming – "See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak, you can jump into the fun, along with your friends." All with Xbox 360’s new game sensor - Project Natal.

It tracks your full body movement in 3-D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in your voice. It can recognise you just by looking at your face, and it doesn’t just react to key words but understands what you’re saying. Unveiled at the E3 Expo by Steven Spielberg, the Project Natal sensor is compatible with any Xbox 360 system and is the world’s first to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and a custom processor.

At the E3, Sony also gave a demo of the Move system, boasting of its ability to 'precisely' track the speed and arc of the player's movement. However, previews of Move don't quite reveal that it is an improvement over what its competitors already have. Neither do we know what kind of market the Natal might have, as against the Move and the Wiimote.

The aim of these console makers seem to get hard-core gamers to get their grips on single-player shooter games, that involve wand-style controlling.

However, the thing now is - playing virtual tennis is not anymore a thing you can do only with the Wii.



Click here to read more gadget news analysis!