The Motion Control War - PlayStation Move, Kinect, Wii MotionPlus

Whilst many may argue the EyeToy for the PlayStation 2 was the true first motion control device, it was undoubtedly Nintendo who led the way to bringing motion control gaming into popularity with the Wii. Since then, we have seen several new devices come to the table, all hoping to get their share of goodness. Nintendo them selves launched Wii MotionPlus, Sony joined later with the PlayStation Move, and Microsoft will soon follow with their motion-camera Kinect. The question is: Which will be the victor of this motion control war?

Here are some of the facts:

Wii MotionPlus:

Manufacturer/Publisher - Nintendo
Release Date - June 8th 2009
Cost - $20/£20/€25
Games Supported (as of 17/10/10)(unreleased games also included) - 31
Units Sold (as of 17/10/10) - 22 million
Percentage of install base that have the peripheral - 29.7%

PlayStation Move:

Manufacturer/Publisher - Sony
Release Date - September 15th 2010
Cost - $50/£35/€45
Games Supported (as of 17/10/10)(unreleased games also included, only including games built specifically for the device) - 24
Units Sold (as of 17/10/10) - 1.5 million
Percentage of install base that have the peripheral - 3.9%

Kinect:

Manufacturer/Publisher - Microsoft
Release Date - November 4th 2010
Cost - $150/£130/€150
Games Supported (as of 17/10/10)(unreleased games also included) - 17
Units Sold (as of 17/10/10) - N/A (hasn't been released yet)
Percentage of install base that have the peripheral - N/A (hasn't been released yet)

To gather which will win, we must look at several different aspects:

Price:

Pricing is a very important part of these devices. Looking at this section, the price of the console and original controllers are not included (I'm assuming the user already has everything they need except the controllers). So, in this category, MotionPlus clearly wins. Microsoft's Kinect is too overpriced for the average consumer as analysts have stated. Sony's Move is in for a better fight, however it's price is still roughly double that of Wii MotionPlus's.

Winner: Wii MotionPlus

Target Audience and Software Support:

Something that must be done for every product is that a consumer target audience must be selected, and how many games actually support the device. Whilst the Wii is arguably a more 'casual' console, the release of MotionPlus has brought something for everyone: games like Wii Sports Resort, Racquet Sports and New Carnival Games, to harcore games like Red Steel 2 and the upcoming Conduit 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, to mid-way games like Grand Slam Tennis, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 and James Cameron's Avatar: The Game. MotionPlus is targated at a large audience, both of which are supported nicely.
PlayStation Move follows a similar path to MotionPlus providing games for everyone. With games like KillZone 3, SOCOM 4 and Heavy Rain for the core, to games like Start The Party for the casual, and Kung Fu Rider for the mid-way audience. Sony obviously wants to grasp as many people as possible.
Kinect takes a different route though, opting to virtually solely target the casual audience. Whilst Microsoft claims core games are coming, we have seen nothing of the kind yet. This is both a good and bad thing for Kinect. On one hand, the fact that it is saying goodbye to the core audience means that only one kind of gamer will be interested in the device, however whereas the other 2 devices provides some games for each category, Kinect offers lots of games all dedicated to one category.

Winner: Tie/Draw

Quality and Responsiveness:

Obviously the accuracy and responsiveness plays a big role as it decides hoe intuitive and enjoyable your gameplay experience will be. The Wii MotionPlus added a lot of accuracy to the original Wiimote. It brought us just that much closer to true 1:1 motion. However it did have its flaws. Pointer functionality was still a bit shaky, distance is still not perfectly judged, and calibrations were now required which weren't originally.
The PlayStation Move was Sony's take at this sort of controller. Whilst it is still not 1:1 on all games, it is still more accurate than the MotionPlus in the right conditions. Unfortunately, if the room is too bright, or too dark, the Move looses a considerable amount of it's accuracy and is then less responsive than the MotionPlus. The Move also requires even more calibrations than either of the other 2 devices, however under the right conditions is probably the most accurate.
Microsoft's Kinect, despite what Microsoft say, is not 1:1. Whilst it does an admirable job at tracking your motion, and does so much better than the EyeToy (for PS2) and the PlayStation Eye (for PS3), it is still noticeably not as accurate as some might hope. Although, neither was the original Wiimote, but that was successful anyway.

Winner: PlayStation Move

Innovation and Freshness:

Another factor that contributes to whether or not these devices will sell is whether they provide a new and fresh was of interacting with your console and playing your games. Wii MotionPlus did add more depth to games that, for example, used sword fighting or tennis, but that was about it. Aside from the actually improved accuracy it did nothing new in terms of offering different experiences.
PlayStaion Move does so slightly better than WiiMotionPlus in this category. Whilst it does'n really add loads of new stuff, the even better accuracy and the addition of the glowing light ball (which I personally don't really like) mean that several different options are available on this device which aren't on the MotionPlus.
Kinect shines a lot more in this category than it did in the previous ones. Whilst, again, it doesn't offer tons of new stuff because a lot of these things could be done with the EyeToy or PlaySation Eye, it still adds more than any other of the 3 devices. For starters, it offers voice control more accurate than anything that, for example, you see on the DSi. It is also the most accurate motion-camera, despite the fact that its still quite a margin away from being 1:1. Finally, it offers a feature where real life objects can be scanned into the games and used in-game which will add an array of new possibilities.

Winner: Kinect

Overall:

Overall, the winner is not clear, or at least not yet. Perhaps after Kinect is actually released and Move is out for a little longer then the victor will be more clear. Each device shines in a different category, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The current winner is undoubtedly the Wii MotionPlus as it has sold most units, is supported by more games, and has grasped a larger percentage of the install base. However, considering it was released roughly a year and a half earlier, that is to be expected. The overall winner will be decided once all devices are out and ready for at least a few months.

Which device do you think will dominate the motion-control market?