PlayStation Move Hands-On Impressions

It’s almost four years since Nintendo showed the world the magic of motion controls. This new technology, or rather, new way to play videogames was scorned during its earlier days. However, soon the masses gobbled up this new toy, much to the dismay of Sony and Microsoft. It wasn’t long before these two companies realized the potential of capturing the largely untapped “casual” market to which the ease of motion controls was a proper gateway into videogames. And so it came to be that the PlayStation move was announced at E3 2009, and today we finally got the retail product in our hands.

In theory, the PlayStation Move has similar design philosophies to the Nintendo Wiimote, in that the user handles one motion controller and basically points it towards the desired location on the TV screen.  The idea for both controllers is to have a 1:1 movement replication from the controller onto the screen for a smooth gameplay experience. While this was certainly not the case with the original Wiimote, it did get closer to the mark with the Wiimote Plus attachment released last year, but the PlayStation Move is actually a 1:1 achievement from what we could see and feel.

Physically the PlayStation move looks just like a mic, thanks to the long round handle and the multi-coloured ball at the top. Using it is also a natural experience thanks to the “Move” and “T” button conveniently placed near the thumb and the forefinger the way you would normally hold it. But the thoughtful design doesn’t stop there, thanks to the rubber ball at the top which lights up during gameplay, people should avoid getting smacked in the face during one of your more intense gaming sessions at night.

Going back to the accuracy of the Move controller, while it is pretty much 1:1 in terms of capturing even the slightest bit of movement, there is still a matter of lag. Thankfully lag, once properly calibrated, is almost a non-issue, with delays from hand movement to onscreen action being delayed by less than a quarter of a second. Let’s take a look at some our preview games to see how good (and bad) the PlayStation Move controller really is.