Playstation Move Impressions at launch and onward...

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

...while our previous ongoing conversation fell through a space time rift, I'll summarize for the sake of anybody who wants a thread to continue to share their thoughts/opinions on the hardware.

A few DP users, myself included picked up Move hardware and Sports Champions at launch.

Thoughts on the hardware seemed to be that it was ergonomic, easy to set up and use, accurate, and while as expected it functioned similar to the Wiimote and/or Wii Motion Plus, it had some extra layers of functionality that the Wii can not at the present time achieve (spatial depth tracking, integration of on-screen camera display, augmented reality graphics mapping).

Sports Champions seems to be a standout game which similar to Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort highlights some of the best abilities of the hardware.

I also enjoy Tumble, a puzzle game in the style of Boom Blox which does a great job of showing of the spatial depth tracking of the Move Wands.

I didn't like Eye Pet Move Edition based on the fact that it was built around the PS Eye technology, not the Move, and it's more heavily reliant on the PS Eye Camera, which can be flaky at times compared to the more accurate Move hardware.

We also touched on the fact that the Navigation Controller is not used at all in many of the launch titles.

There was some debate as to whether or not the Move setup was worth the price of entry. So far I personally think it is, but I'm the kind of guy that will drop $150 on a 2 player setup for Samba De Amigo for Dreamcast knowing that I'll never be able to use those controllers for anything BUT that game. I'm sure some people have dropped a pretty coin on single-game specific peripherals (Steel Battalion, Buzz Quiz, Flight Sticks, high-end Dance Pads, etc.) that won't see half of the software support that the Move likely will.

Move looks like it's going to get some nice support for the immediate future, and if it sells well, we'll probably see it supported through the rest of the PS3's life.

The hardware works well and it's all in the hands of the developers moving forward.

-----------------

This week's PSN store update added a Move patch for the PSN game High Velocity Bowling. As a huge fan of HVB, I tried the patch out for a few hours and was very VERY frustrated with the "spin" mechanic ... while bowling the ball down the lane is essentially identical to Wii Sports Bowling - the game software appears to be overly sensitive when tracking "spin" put on the bowling ball when twisting the Move wand ... 9 out of 10 times I couldn't get the degree of spin I wanted OR the game would track the spin in the wrong direction. I would HOPE that could be patched in a future update, if not I'll keep playing that game with the DualShock3's motion sensors.

There's also a demo out for Kung Fu Rider ... which I thought while a bit wonky overall was pretty neat. Not worth $40 IMO, but I'll probably snag it when it's on the cheap.

That's all I've got for now, feel free to pick up where we left off ... hopefully this conversation doesn't get vaporized.

[kupomogli]

According to VGChartz, the Move sold an estimated 300,000 in the first 10 days. I guess you could say the sales are decent.

[NayusDante]

I'm personally waiting for something completely new before I invest in either of the new motion-gaming technologies. Give me something like .hack, where your character accurately reflects your expressions and maneurisms, not this "first-gen" stuff that we've seen on the Wii already.

At the moment, I'm still interested in hearing about how it works for an FPS. I'm still a PC purist, but I would give it a try if it's more accurate than, say, Metroid on Wii.

[megasdkirby]

Not much demand over here, at least where I work.

From what I can tell, I was the only one that sold the new PS3 combo w/Move. No others have sold the console nor have they sold the camera and/or Move.

So it's pretty "meh" around here, at least for now.

[buzz_n64]

At my work, a lot of people are looking at it, and demoing it, but it's basically not selling.

[Swamperon]

I've set to see it sell out anywhere over here in the UK and there doesn't seem to be much of a buzz about it.

Perhaps, in the eyes of mass consumers who don't care/know about technical details see it as a another Wiimote and therefore as 4 years out of date. Maybe sales will pickup as we near Christmas?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I saw a huge demo kiosk setup at The Garden State Plaza in North NJ over the weekend.

For those that want some hands-on time with the device, I assume it'll be set up similarly at a major shopping mall near you soon.

[kupomogli]

I know Frankie was talking about this before. Saw it while looking through Amazon.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mPunOog3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/MOVE-Champions-Pack-Playstation-3/dp/B003UF08LS/ref=sr_1_140?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1286591241&sr=1-140

[NayusDante]

Sweet, It's a bat'leth (http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Bat%27leth)! Oh wait.. you're telling me that's a bow?

Now that I think about it, I would play a Klingon hand-to-hand combat game if it used the Move.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I know Frankie was talking about this before. Saw it while looking through Amazon.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mPunOog3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/MOVE-Champions-Pack-Playstation-3/dp/B003UF08LS/ref=sr_1_140?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1286591241&sr=1-140

DEAR LORD!

I don't recall talking about that crap unless I was mentioning ridiculous plastic ... crap.

If my memory serves in the previous MOVE thread I did mention the "augmented reality" features where the Playstation Eye actually maps a sword onto your move controller on the screen which is very VERY cool, but that stuff ... come on, did anybody over the age of 5 ever buy that stuff for their Wiimotes? Who the hell do they think are going to buy it for the Move.

[kupomogli]

You mentioned how using an actual ping pong paddle would probably make it easier to play. I was mainly adding that picture because of the ping pong paddle. The rest of the stuff is retarded to even be in there. The other stuff could be given to kids to play with though.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Yeah, the ping-pong is pretty hyper accurate.

I suppose that add on would help you determine the tilt of the paddle.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

I've really been on a light gun game kick lately and was wondering if anyone has been playing Time Crisis with the Move and, if so, how's the accuracy on it....

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I've really been on a light gun game kick lately and was wondering if anyone has been playing Time Crisis with the Move and, if so, how's the accuracy on it....

I have The Shoot.

It's fun ... I don't personally love the aesthetic of the cardboard targets, reminds me a lot of the Point Blank stages that feature those, and it's a bit on the slow side.

The game is much more about racking up combos of shots landed where you don't miss from target to target.

The speed/accuracy is dead on and I haven't noticed any problems with lag.

I'd like to pick up Time Crisis, but I'm not really interested in paying full price since I've always found that Time Crisis games have little replay value ... that'll be a sale price/used purchase.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

Well, I picked up the Move along with Time Crisis and, while the games on it are great, I am having a bitch of a time getting the calibration properly set. I tried everything...camera on top...camera on bottom...closed the blinds, etc. Nothing. I mean it seems good at the calibration screen and then I see the cursor slowly drift off by itself to the left or right! *sigh*

Anybody have any similar incidents or know of any fixes?

[maxlords]

From what I've read, that's an issue with Time Crisis, not the Move....and there's no real fix.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

I am beyond pissed now. I can not get the Move to calibrate worth shit in Time Crisis so I have had enough with it and want to return what I have for it.

- First off, I bought Time Crisis and a gun attachment from Amazon...they say no full refunds on opened merch. Thanks!

-Secondly, I bought the Move from the Sony Style store in the mall and found out all Playstation products are final sale. Grrrrrrrr. I know I should have paid attention first but still...grrrr.

Now it seems I am stuck with the damn Move...and all I wanted was to play some Time Crisis :(

[kupomogli]

Does the crosshair always move or just sometimes? I've heard that it only happens occassionaly and like maxlords said I've heard it was only on Time Crisis.

Resident Evil 5 Gold is compatible with the Move so since you can't really get any Time Crisis in how about the next best thing which is arguably better? It's on sale on Amazon soon. It's on one of the later lightning video game deals of the day today.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

Does the crosshair always move or just sometimes? I've heard that it only happens occassionaly and like maxlords said I've heard it was only on Time Crisis.

Resident Evil 5 Gold is compatible with the Move so since you can't really get any Time Crisis in how about the next best thing which is arguably better? It's on sale on Amazon soon. It's on one of the later lightning video game deals of the day today.

On Time Crisis, it's all the time that the cursor moves. When I finish calibrating and hold the gun steady, you literally see the cursor drift away on its' own! lol I tried and tried to play it and, while it goes ok for awhile, it will always drift off on its on and far away from where the gun is pointed...

When I play Sports Champions, it worked pretty damned well actually so I know its moreso the damn Time Crisis game than the Move itself. Sadly, however, I only was interested in playing Time Crisis so it's now of no use to me :( I love me some Resident Evil, however, I just did not like RE 5 at all. *sigh* Time to try and see if I can sell off the Move.....

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

If it's a software based issue there is a possibility that it could be patched.

Based on the fact that every single review I see mentions it Namco MUST know that it's an issue, and there are a bunch of other Move titles that don't have reticule float issues ... so it's certainly a possibility that there can be a fix.

Instead of rage returning the game and Move why not just put it down until a possible patch is released. Give it a bit and see if Namco gets one out there.

I've read that this version of Time Crisis is also compatible with the PS3 Guncon. You could probably pick one of those up on the cheap if you absolutely MUST have a Time Crisis fix in the meantime.


*EDIT* WAIT WAIT, JUST FOUND A POSSIBLE FIX FOR YOU:

Before you play, disable the magnetometer tracking in the XMB accessory menu by going to the first calibration screen and pressing triangle. This eliminates cursor drift.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

If it's a software based issue there is a possibility that it could be patched.

Based on the fact that every single review I see mentions it Namco MUST know that it's an issue, and there are a bunch of other Move titles that don't have reticule float issues ... so it's certainly a possibility that there can be a fix.

Instead of rage returning the game and Move why not just put it down until a possible patch is released. Give it a bit and see if Namco gets one out there.

I've read that this version of Time Crisis is also compatible with the PS3 Guncon. You could probably pick one of those up on the cheap if you absolutely MUST have a Time Crisis fix in the meantime.


*EDIT* WAIT WAIT, JUST FOUND A POSSIBLE FIX FOR YOU:

Before you play, disable the magnetometer tracking in the XMB accessory menu by going to the first calibration screen and pressing triangle. This eliminates cursor drift.

Sadly, it seems I forgot to mention, I did indeed try to disable the magnetometer and...still the same. I know now it is definitely Time Crisis as sports Champions didnt have this problem. As for the drifting, I could understand if the cursor floated back to a neutral center location but it doesn't. It literally starts walking away on its own..sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left..

As for Namco fixing it, I'm not too sure. I read on some Namco board or blog that some people asked for a simple fix of letting people reload with the Navigation controller or another controller (which COULD be a simple fix too) and the Namco rep, I guess, was kind of an ass about it and said its no big deal to them so too bad for the players...

Ah well. I'll try and sell it. If no takers, I'll just let it sit there and perhaps someone else will release some fun shooters with better controls...

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Sadly, it seems I forgot to mention, I did indeed try to disable the magnetometer and...still the same. I know now it is definitely Time Crisis as sports Champions didnt have this problem. As for the drifting, I could understand if the cursor floated back to a neutral center location but it doesn't. It literally starts walking away on its own..sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left..

As for Namco fixing it, I'm not too sure. I read on some Namco board or blog that some people asked for a simple fix of letting people reload with the Navigation controller or another controller (which COULD be a simple fix too) and the Namco rep, I guess, was kind of an ass about it and said its no big deal to them so too bad for the players...

Ah well. I'll try and sell it. If no takers, I'll just let it sit there and perhaps someone else will release some fun shooters with better controls...

Ahhh, damn. Thought that was an option you didn't check.

Oh well, that sucks. Best of luck with a patch ... who knows, the Namco rep might not have a real clue what's going on. Most broken games do typically get patched if enough people bitch about them online. Fingers crossed.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Re-visiting my Move thread to add some impressions on the Sharpshooter.

I know I'm late to the party, but I was holding out and hoping that Sony would bundle Killzone 3 with a Move Sharpshooter controller ...

... and since that didn't ever seem to happen (yet anyway) and Joe had a few of the stand-alone Sharpshooters at the store yesterday while we were filming the latest episode of the podcast I decided to take the plunge.

Where compatible software is concerned I have The Shoot (which doesn't need the navigation controller) and M.A.G., and I downloaded the Killzone 3 demo to see if there was anything to be excited about.

Holy crap.

HOLY. CRAP.

I'm going to resonate what some of the reviews that I had read back in March or April (whenever the Sharpshooter dropped) said, where motion-controlled FPS games are concerned it is simply AMAZING what they've done with this bit of kit.

Even in the face of really good motion control FPS games on the Wii like Metroid Prime 3 this thing brings a layer of "done right" that I've never seen before.

With a tiny bit of tweaking of the dead-zone and turn sensitivity options I was controlling it like a champ, and also like I've never controlled an FPS before.

Between the natural weight/heft of the Sharpshooter, the amazing ergonomic buttons and their layout (I especially like the reload button where you slam the magazine into the bottom of the gun) this thing makes Killzone a friggin immersive experience. I was actually feeling pretty intense and breathing pretty heavy as I rushed for cover and popped out to cap some bad guys.

Being late to the party aside, I need to actually pop out and pick up a copy of Killzone 3 because I've played through the demo using the Sharpshooter about 3 times which I don't think I'd even CONSIDER doing if I was just using the Dual Shock controller.

Also, I finally feel good about buying that MOVE Navigation controller.

Anybody else have one of these things or am I the first on the forums?

http://www.gamerwok.com/storage/post-images/sharpshooter-diagram.jpg

[substantial_snake]

*stuff*

I picked up the SOCOM Full Deployment Edition at its launch. The pack came with the PS Eye, Move Controller, Nav Controller, Sharpshooter, and game for 150 bucks I think. I didn't have any of the move equipment so it seemed like a good deal, and was good timing with the release of Killzone 3 a short while before. (so I got it before you :p)

I gotta agree with you on all counts, I really love the Move and especially with the Sharpshooter. :D

I think that sony went the smart route with it and instead of making just a piece of shaped plastic, integrating the controls in intuitive ways.

Instead of just being a cradle for the move controller, it actually plugs into the sharpshooter and all the controls are mapped onto the corresponding buttons on the move. You shouldn't ever have to worry about an internal mechanism wearing out over time and their is no input lag. I really love the reload button and the reload pump action in the controller, things like that really get you into the game.

My only complaint about the Sharpshooter is that the stock is a bit flimsy and feels like it would easily bend or break if stepped on or mishandled.

I'm not sure about other games (SOCOM is sitting unopened at the moment) but Killzone was filled with options and I usually ran with my deadzone pretty small just incase I had to turn around quickly.

It takes time switching from the dual shock to the move+sharpshooter but its a run alternative way to play. There was actually a group of players on the Killzone forums who were complaining that move users had a competitive advantage to dual shock players for a while.

Overall I really like Sony's handling of the whole move idea. Its much more accurate out of the box then I thought it would be and they seem to be actively supporting without throwing it in your face constantly.

Edit:

And now that I'm aware that RE5 Gold Edition has Move Support I might pick it up. Anyone have any experience with it?

[substantial_snake]

Double Post

(What is with the constant 505 errors lately? It double posts me then fails to bump the thread regardless of my post going thought?)

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Double Post

(What is with the constant 505 errors lately? It double posts me then fails to bump the thread regardless of my post going thought?)

Some unknown factors that admins have been trying to diagnose. Annoying, but overall better than the complete site outages that we suffered with the old forum host a few months back.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

GREAT ... now this is one of those threads that you can't get to the 2nd page of responses?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Hopefully merging this with my old MOVE thread will fix the page structure error.

Either that or the universe will collapse in on itself.

Here goes nothing!