Wii, Natal-mocking PS3 ad says PlayStation Move due by November
Latest "It Only Does Everything" TV spot blasts Wii Remote waggle, Xbox 360's controller, confirms camera-and-LED controller-based system will be out before holidays.
During the 2010 Game Developers Conference, Sony held a press event to unveil the PlayStation 3's forthcoming motion system, the PlayStation Move. During the proceedings, Sony Computer Entertainment America vice president of marketing Peter Dille surprised many by graciously admitting that rival Nintendo helped turn the public on to motion control when it released the Wii in 2006.
The public goodwill didn't last long, however. This week, Sony released a new PS3 television spot as part of its "It Only Does Everything" ad campaign. In it, fictional Sony vice president Kevin Butler (played by stage actor Jerry Lambert) shows off the functionality of the PlayStation Move system, which uses controllers topped by colored LEDs in conjunction with the already available PlayStation Eye camera.
Without mentioning names, Butler also ruthlessly mocks the functionality of both the Wii and Project Natal, Microsoft's camera-based, controller-free motion-sensing system. After dismissing a two-dimensional waggle control scheme similar to that of Wii Sports, Butler says that "real boxers don't hit like this" and then pretends to be engaged in a slap fight. No mention was made of the Wii MotionPlus, which added a third dimension and one-to-one tracking when it was introduced last year with such games as Wii Sports Resort, Grand Slam Tennis, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour.
Later Butler says, "It's also got what we in the future call 'buttons,' which turn out to be pretty important to those handfuls of millions who enjoy playing shooters, platformers, and pretty much anything that doesn't include catching a big red ball." The statement is a not-so-subtle swipe at Microsoft's demo of Project Natal at last year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, during which it showed off a dodgeball game called Ricochet.
Butler continued, "I mean, who wants to pretend their hand is a gun? What is this, third grade?" He then made "Pew! Pew! Pew!" noises while holding his finger out like a pistol. In the background, SOCOM 4 is being played with an LED-capped PlayStation Move controller and an LED-less PlayStation Move Subcontroller--a name that itself has been the butt of jokes.
Mockery aside, the PS3 ad also confirms the fairly obvious fact that the PlayStation Move will be on the market by November. (The system currently has only a "fall" release window.) The month marks the beginning of the all-important holiday season, which Microsoft is also hoping to exploit with a fall launch for Project Natal.
For more on the PlayStation Move, check out GameSpot's feature examining the device and editors' gut reactions to its unveiling.
680 comments
People actually found the ad funny? I don't know what will be better, .. the Move or Natal, but that commercial was pretty lame. Sorry, not a Xbox fanboy, just thought it was dumb.
As long as 'Move' and 'Natal' offer a greater variety of games, i dont see a problem, it'll just provide more gaming diversity than the plethora of generic FPS's that we're being swamped with.
@GavinEvans1989, Except you do have the eye toy that has a microphone, so I can see face recognition and voice stress as possibilities, though I've not read anything about that so far.
The major advantage of natal is that it can be used in CONJUCTION with a controller. this means games like fps's can be made so much better with hand signals, leaning to dodge bullets, etc. On the other hand, this Move thing, if it actually works the way they say it does, will be what the Wii should have been, allowing genuine swordfights, etc. i can still remember my disappointment as my little sister beat me on Tennis just by waving the controller about madly. As people have said before, its what developers do with the potential of both products will decide if they succeed or not.
I really don't care if everyone is "pandering" to casual gamers. It seems like a smart move marketing-wise, and its not like they're going to stop making hardcore fps because of it And motion sensing on PS3/Xbox IS a good thing. You see, these consoles have this crazy thing called "graphics that are better than a gamecube." Hell, I wouldn't mind pretending the lightup snocone I'm holding is a sword as long as I get to see some decent blood 'n guts onscreen
Two Points: 1) Only Sony could mock something that they have so blatantly ripped off and not consider themselves hypocrites, and 2) As the fighting game uses two "wands" are they to be sold in twin packs or do you have to buy two of them to play the game properly?
Fighting over motion controls is like fighting over a Wii, just dumb. If it gets me a Xbox 360 Slim and a $200 PS3 then thats the only way I'd call it a win.
@tyco-ex A pioneer is the first one to do something, not the one to make it popular or mainstream. Simple english definition there. Pioneer - n - one who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise, or progress
because real boxer didn't using "meat-ball" wand... he's very hilarious though.. @xatman911 LoL... why don't you just kick your bro!! end of problem..
My Wii almost got me electrocuted when I knocked off my ceiling light frame the day after I got Wii. My bro gave me a black eye soon after. With PS3's level of realism, a lot more things are going to be broken in the house. (I better go insure my myself and my walls...)
Nice Wii commercial... wait what!? its PlayStation commercial? My bad, its easy to get confused when the tech and functions of the two controllers are basically the same.
@doubleKO Ah touche! No i am not an English teacher :) And again i was just pointing out his mistake as you have mine, so thank you :) Though i would also point out that using a different vowel is still very different than making up a completely new word. Billions of people make typos each day, (i am not capitalizing my 'i's), where as George Bush looked like a proper buffoon because he made up his own words all the time. Like when Fred Durst from Limp Biscuit said "i think we are all in agree-ance", he should have used agreement, and it made him look an even bigger wanker.
Why are people so intent on believing that Natal is not viable for FPS games, as the way i see it, it is more viable than the 'Move', as you are not simply restricted to 2 devices each with a few buttons, it will simply take a developer to come up with a viable format in the same way that devs harnessed the PC mouse to move your head, whilst body movement is carried out by the keyboard or Left thumbstick = head, Right Thumbstick = Movement, ultimately it will only be a matter of time before a generalised format is developed. There are a number possibilities, Leaning, hand, arm, finger movement, leg, foot, even slight head movements could be used to move in the intended direction. Only time will tell. Both are great pieces of technology which will without doubt open new doors of possibilities and FUN.
@XUPmatoih Motion controls are bad regardless of whatever system they are on. They're just going to make the 360 and PS3 like the Wii to pander to casual idiots.
awww its so cute seein them grasping at straws. no matter what they say, its still looks like something you'd buy from a carnival
neo-luddites will still be crying about their noobsticks when consoles are like holodecks... waa waa waa
i prefer pretending my hand is a gun and going "pew! pew! pew!" than using a d***0 with a lightbulb on top as a painted-black-wii- controller....on a PS3!! :S oh and for you all wii haters, the wii has some great fps and on-rail shooters. but since the ps3 will have a wii controller too i guess they will not suck. i mean, its only the same dang thing except just on a ps3, which for you equals better!
@ penpusher because.... 1) sales dont represent quality 2) it IS a disaster for hardcore gamers. ive NEVER seen a hardcore gamer back a wii over a ps3/xbox and give atleast 1 ligit reason why..........maybe you can be the first to do so.
the ad looks cheeky but all they did was play it safe. no-one can exactly argue that wii is accurate or natal can be a good thing for hardcore gamers without any buttons. whatever natal or wii can do, the move can do better and more. @ steelmouth just accept it, natal isnt feasible for fps's.
@kavadias1981 lol your ideas for natal suck am not for the whole body motion thing i was thinking more like hand signals like how soldiers do it ,point forward move forward, point that direction move that direction, fold fist stop and it would be cool if natal could allow you to define personalized signals corresponding to buttons. this should cover all aspects of a fps except shooting and aiming accurately which i think will be the hardest thing to do i will get back to you on the shooting without holding your hands like a gun,
i have said this before and am say it again, if natal works even half as good as ms say it will then x360 is going to blow everything out the water,the x360 will surpass the wii sales. yes even in japan, the japanese love this things (the milo talking thing) remember that electronic puppy they were crazy about i just hope ms wouldn't forget about gamers and get carried away with this natal thing its bad enough that gears 3 is delayed because of natal
lol, i'd rather use my finger as a gun then been seen waving sex toys around my room! Sony is obviously scared of Natal and it's hilarious to watch!
sound like natal got sony scared, why else would they be attacking it,remember they did the same thing with the oroginal xbox, 1st they ignored it, then they attacked it, now see were the x360 is
I played the Wii and the movement controls is unrealistic, a five year old figured out a cheating move for getting combos is to use the controller in a "rude" manner, i told him off but the combo rate was very high!
FANTASTIC commercial, I love the way they blatantly rip off the nintendo wii and then claim that it is a disaster and that their mediocre sham is better than it.
@squidracerX People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I hope you aren't an English teacher, as you can't spell grammar :)
"yes the wii's a massive disaster,,,i mean its only the best selling console of this generation, I mean WHY would anyone call it a success...." Sales =/= good console. Look at what its done to gaming for crying out loud... Games so easy even Grandma can play!
Excellent ad, very funny, not as aggressive as everyone is making it out to be. Even if it is a joking around Kevin Butler doesnt imply anything about the wii and natal that isnt true. I always expect fanboys to be butthurt over this kind of stuff, but Gamespot seems to be taking it rather personally, maybe even more so than the morons that troll this place. I see alot of LOW SCORES in the ps3's immediate future....
That commercial was definitely LOLworthy. Avoiding the Cinco de Mayo flan sounds like good advice.
this advert is great, i cant stop giggling at the little digs it takes at the other competitors and it raises a valid point about the need for buttons on the other hand though i have a wii and i much prefer a standard controller over the pointer for shooting games.
yeah, as you know it wont be out on time, more delays and the re-release date will be some time in a far distant future....
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