Not the motion controllers themselves (or lack of, in NATAL), but the fact that if both of these companies release this huge addition to their console, they risk following the same footsteps of other console makers who tried to update their consoles with an add on?

I mean think of it, if there are games that can only be played via Sony's magic wand or NATAL, that means that the sales for it aren't just limited to the user base of the console, but the add on itself. And how many games can be released for the motion controls? The big problem is a major division of not only who has and who don't have the motion control add on, but the division of the library. And the division will only mean that while Nintendo has a motion control console with an entire library dedicated to its motion controls, there is the risk of less than half of the releasing games featuring motion control.

And I can't really see games that make motion control an option succeeding that well. You can't just tack on motion control. We saw how that fails misserably with the Six Axis. Controls are an essential part of a game, and trying to work 2, radically different control schemes seems to be incredibly difficult and unrealistic.

I believe that people shouldn't be looking at NATAL or Sony's magic wand as a potential booster for this gen's cycle, but should be used for the next gen console.

Yeah but next gen won't come for a long time.

I think Natal will have a new console (basically just a rebranded, smaller 360) launched with it. Similar to the Gamecube-Wii transition except that the older console will also be compatible with Natal. Natal's problem is versatility (and possibly price), but those are addressable.

Sony is making a mistake in this, yes, it's also releasing very early. I doubt it will have a killer app or the sort of software support needed to build momentum for the peripheral.

I think Sony's strategy with the motion controls is only similiar to the Eye-Toy on PS2 anyway, it's not being hyped as a Wii killer but just something else for those interested. It should see more support then the Eye-Toy though, seeing as companies can make stuff for the PSN.

NATAL depends on pricing, until we know what I will reserve judgement on what I think will happen to that.

What they need to do is pay others companies to port some of their wii games over (like Madworld).

Yup.

Edit: So would that work in Sony's favor? Due to the extreme similarity between their motion "mote"?

i hope sony patches some off there games like KZ2 and uncharted to use the wand

PS. i hope they have a better name for it

I think NATAL fares better out of the two, seeing that it can be "patched" into current games already out...just look at the demo for Burnout Paradise using Natal Tech.

But if you're just patching into current games, you're not going to get compelling software at all. I mean, look at Wii and all the horrendous shoe-horning that went on for the first year of it's life (and still goes on, but most of what comes out seems to fit now). You're not going to convince these userbases to invest in motion controls to play the same games they already have, since much of these userbases think motion controls are inferior anyway.

I agree that the add-on mentality seems doomed to fail, but Motion Plus is catching on rather well so far, so who knows? I agree that both of them will probably end up basically re-launching the hardware (or something that qualifies as a new console) to do this, if they really care about getting motion controls off the ground (which they have to care if they ever want to hope to get controlling marketshare at this point)

Clearly both are indeed taking that risk. Quick summary of my views on each:

PS3 Plus points
Eyetoy already in place with at least some of the install base so there should be immediate install base for the wand to appeal to
Physical controllers with camera is better for gaming than Natal (IMO)
Stronger brand still than 360 with general consume

PS3 Negatives
Poor Sony history with adding peripherals like this
Visual look unknown - will they get the final wand design right?

360 Plus points
Most 'hype catching' tech
Strong presence in US, with a lot of services Natal can built on plus the games
Easy to grasp concept - place device on TV and off you go

360 Negatives
Weakest tech for games (again IMO) - if they stick to no controllers, which I doubt they will but for the moment I'll take them at face value
Unproven experience with this kind of peripheral
Weaker brand for 'casual' demographic and gamer, particularly for the types of games, experiences shown so far


I'd note I hate the 'casual' term but use it for simplicity.

All said, I think both are roughly even, with perhaps Sony having a slight edge on Brand recognition in the WW market. The real test, as you say, is the games. Both might get this right, or only one.

If they both get it right and both peripherals sell well then neither will see much advantage from them. If one messes up the games and the other doesn't... then it could get interesting.