PlayStation Move, Project Natal to Attract 'PS2 Type' Consumers, says Sega

With E3 less than two months away now, most video game publishers are preparing to unveil their software lineups for the upcoming motion platforms, PlayStation Move and Project Natal. It'll certainly be interesting to see how the support is divided or if the third parties look to Move and Natal equally as they plan their motion strategies. For its part, Sega seems quite excited about both and Mike Hayes, President of Sega West, told IndustryGamers this week that his company has big plans for Move and Natal. 

"We're very supportive of both [PlayStation Move and Project Natal]. It's too early to give out details on that, but we'll provide that at E3. The thing we like about these [motion control] applications is that they tend to suit the traditional Sega genre," Hayes said. "Look at the phenomenal success we've had with games like Mario & Sonic, which effectively is a whole variety of party games that happen to be based on the Olympics. And we've done very well recently with Sega All-Star Racing. So we actually like the fact that Move and Natal will bring in more of what I'd call the PS2 type of consumer for those platforms (Xbox 360, PS3), which then suits very much the IP that Sega has. So I'd say we're fully supportive of both equally, because they're both very important partners for us as we try and sell more software."

Of course, both Natal and Move are technically peripherals and historically peripherals haven't always sold gangbusters, but Hayes is confident that the respective installed bases will be there for these motion platforms. He seemed encouraged by what the first parties have show so far.

“It's essential that first parties, Sony and Microsoft, do as much as they can to drive the installed base of these peripherals obviously, since that's what we're going to base our numbers on. What we've heard from both Sony and Microsoft... the investment these two are making in [their products], if you're a betting man, you've got to believe that's a very good route to follow in terms of developing software. My other point would be, and this might be more Euro-centric, but let's not forget that Sony has had phenomenal success with peripherals in the past – with the EyeToy they produced and sold several million, and back in the day we produced a game called Sega Superstars, which was an EyeToy game that did very well. And then you see what Sony has done successfully with SingStar, and it's clear that the consumer definitely likes to buy peripherals in very large numbers," Hayes noted.

He added, "And the other thing is that the consumer has seen via the Wii how much fun motion-based games are, and for us they've been commercially very successful. So I just think the whole idea and concept of what Microsoft and Sony are trying to do is [great]... because the market has changed where it's become a far more acceptable way of consuming games. So it's something new, which is always a risk, but I think it's a very well managed risk, and certainly something we think is worth us spending development dollars on to make sure we're part of that. We think both are going to be successful.”