Sony's Motion Controller and Microsoft's Project Natal have their own advantages and disadvantages: the PS3 device promises to be precise and familiar to developers on the Wii, while the Xbox 360 camera promises greater ease of use and a lower price point. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter thinks that Natal's advantages will give it an edge in the market.
“I think that the Sony motion controller will have some problems gaining traction, since it is not an 'in the box' solution. That will probably limit adoption to one or two million at the outset,” said Pachter to PS3 Center [thanks MCV]. “Natal is different... It’s only one piece (the camera), is likely to be cheaper, and I think it will come in the Xbox 360 package with new consoles once launched, meaning far deeper penetration.”
“Sony’s internal development is top notch, so I expect the launch titles to be fun, and likely on par with Wii Sports for quality, but ultimately, I think that the motion controller will only sell to 20 percent or less of the PS3 audience, limiting it’s appeal to third party publishers,” he added. “A year or so after launch, there will be 10 million [Project Natal units] out there, which will probably attract more third party support. Also, I think Microsoft will subsidize third party development to make it a success.”
SCEA VP of Publisher Relations Rob Dyer disagrees, of course. Dyer recently talked to IndustryGamers about how Sony's motion controller stacks up with Natal.
7 Comments
February 23, 2010
The PS3 wand seems like a quick way to cash in on the craze, whereas Natal appears to be more forward thinking.
February 24, 2010
That PS3 wand sure looks like it could penetrate. (The joke was too obvious to ignore.)
February 24, 2010
The wand is a better device in almost every way. But the PS3 is also more powerful and feature rich than the X360, and that match up hasn't worked out so well for Sony thus far.
I personally loath the notion that to succeed in business you should have a better mousetrap salesman, rather than a better mousetrap. But unfortunately the expression is not without truth. You'd think Sony would have learned this by now. If you aren't price competitive and if you don't get your message out the market, having the "best" is no assurance of success.
February 24, 2010
That is the kinkiest sounding headline of all time.
February 25, 2010
@ THE 1 2 P, knowing David I'm sure he meant it that way. Haha.
February 25, 2010
Looks like someone will need bariatric surgery themselves. What kind of work do you do anyway that your tired so much? I for one agree that a lot of times I will not want to use NATAL, or a ARC (formerly known as wand), or a wii non-chuck for that matter. That is why you can during any natal game your playing, just pick up a regular controller and continue. I think (and hope) the same will be true of the wand/ARC. I will say this most people in this country have physically easy jobs, and need a little exercise. And since very old people picked up the wii stick, and bowled, swinged with a bat, and everything else for hours straight. Therefore I think the core gamer will not fall over, and die from using the NATAL.
February 26, 2010
There's a definite quality of marketing about these devices – it's why Nintendo was able to take the motion control technology for the Wii (which had been around in one form or another for a while) and make it so successful. Apple is like this too, having struck the right marketing tone for devices like the iPod and iPhone. Arc may function better fundamentally as a game device, but Natal has a “sexiness” that's hard to define – we'll see how it measures up.
@ indysurfn Just because gamers are physically capable of using a motion controller for hours at a time doesn't mean they'd want to – it may not be strenuous but that doesn't make it relaxing. And I very much doubt your claim that most Natal titles will easily switch over to regular controls.
And yes, all the implications of using “penetrate” in the title were understood – it was just too good and opportunity to pass up.