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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Theory: PurpleWand is for next-gen

When the Natal was announced, I originally agreed with Malstrom's theory, that it could be an overglorified techdemo, for self-advertisement purposes, not a serious design plan.Now that the PS3 motion controls are announced, this theory can't be applied to it, because Sony is clearly trying to imitate the Wiimote, probably because they expect to imitate their success too, not just showing something awesome and futuristic for the crowd.

But the big question stands for both companies: Why did they announce them so late, instead of either skipping to the next generation, or hurrying for e3 2008? Even if you believe in a 2012 beginning for next-gen (I think it will be earlier), it is very, very late for starting a new kind of lineup, in the last two years.  And why there are no games for them at all, even though they are supposed to be released in early 2010, that is a few months away? 

 

I have a new idea. It sounds like a conspiracy theory, but I think it makes sense:

What if they are actually planning to release their motion controls in the next generation? They just wanted to combine the advantages of having a cool E3, advertising their current machines, and releasing the product at a perfect time. later this year, the articles will start mentioning late 2010 as a release date, and at E3 2010, they will suddenly reveal their next-gen consoles, to be released in 2011. In that orgy of news, no one will really miss the motion controls for the remaining time of this gen.

 

This year, Microsoft's presentation was obviously well-planned, very professional. Even if they plan to support Natal sometimes in the future, honestly, it was a big advertisement. With a TV ad, Spielberg and Molyneoux speeches, and polished, cool looking tech demos.

But Sony's design seemed to be unfinished, with the prototype's dildo shape, the ugly graphics of the techdemo, and the overall design of the presentation. It seemed to me, that when Sony heard about the rumors of Microsoft motion controls, or even earlier, they prepared with this techdemo as a B plan. They were dragged into announcing an early 2009 release for the PS3, hoping that Microsoft is also bluffing. 

 

(I'm not sure about Microsoft, it could be honestly what it seems to be, or vaporware, or also a next-gen device)



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If they really want to get into the "new gen" space, that would be the correct strategy to take. There's a lot more to it than just having motion controls. The console itself would have to adapt, the controller would have to be versatile and come with the console, and it would need a serious amount of software support (which isn't going to happen for a peripheral unless it's considered part of the console, even the balance board hasn't got that much support so far).



A game I'm developing with some friends:

www.xnagg.com/zombieasteroids/publish.htm

It is largely a technical exercise but feedback is appreciated.

"What if they are actually planning to release their motion controls in the next generation?"

Touche!!

Though..both the Natal and that wand thing will have to change to accomodate the traditional genres of FPS, action/adventure, etc..



you might be right. I think it was both a distraction and promotion for the 2nd half support for this current gen.

Distracting "casuals" prob. won't work at all. Promoting their brand and business viability in this Wii affected motion market, well it might have elicited slightly more investor confidence but its only been two days.



“When we make some new announcement and if there is no positive initial reaction from the market, I try to think of it as a good sign because that can be interpreted as people reacting to something groundbreaking. ...if the employees were always minding themselves to do whatever the market is requiring at any moment, and if they were always focusing on something we can sell right now for the short term, it would be very limiting. We are trying to think outside the box.” - Satoru Iwata - This is why corporate multinationals will never truly understand, or risk doing, what Nintendo does.

There are a ton of errors in your post. However, whether or not the Sony motion control is good, I cannot tell. Their demo was laughable. It looked like it might be cool but Sony will need a couple years to make good games. I'm looking forward to see what Sony gives us in 2011.



 

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megaman79 said:
you might be right. I think it was both a distraction and promotion for the 2nd half support for this current gen.

Distracting "casuals" prob. won't work at all. Promoting their brand and business viability in this Wii affected motion market, well it might have elicited slightly more investor confidence but its only been two days.

I think they intended to advertise it for the hardcore gamers.

 Natal was presented as a casual thing, with the Wii-style ad. of a families having fun together, and the Wii Sports-like ball catching game, but if you think about it, it won't make gaming much more accessible than a Wiimote (it is just more complicated to use your whole body), and it is more like an expensive, cutting edge, futuristic gadget. Hardcore.

The PurpleWand was presented in a hardcore style, with engineers on the stage (instead of celebrities), who were showing weapons, and fighting techniques in the techdemos, and mentioning things like the glowing part as a fireball in an RPG. As I remember, they even deliberately mentioned how well it will work with "hardcore experiences". 

 

I suspect, they were both aware of their weaknesses, and tried to disguise it by glorifying that aspect. Microsoft created something very nerdy, as a response to Sony, by being more "awesome" than them, and disguised it as a response to Nintendo, to promise better sales and gain investor confidence at the same time.

  Meanwhile, Sony planned a response to Nintendo, to gain investor confidence, and better sales, but they had to disguise it as a proper response to Microsoft, by presenting it as hardcore. 

 

 

Or maybe they are just making motion controls, and their marketing is messed up. That is the other possibility.



Microsoft showed a live action/CGI trailer of the potential of NATAL.

Sony actually did a live tech demo with the guy holding the controller in his hand. AND they announced it for Spring 2010.

Big difference.



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