Microsoft’sProject Nataland Sony’sMotion Controllerwere easily two of the biggest announcements to come out of this year’s E3 — so sayeth thebuzz meter. Of course, both objects being revealed within a day of each other invariably brought speculation over which one would be better. Much like thefriendly discussionsthat are popping up across the Internet to discuss this, it seems Sony and Microsoft themselves have decided to weigh in on the matter.
First up is Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg,who foundSony’s controller to be very much like the Wii’s, while Natal is clearly “leapfrogging” the both of them. “To me it looked similar to the Wii experience,” he says. “You hold a remote or a wand: it looked very derivative of that – similar to other products on the market today. I thought it was interesting and fun, just like the Wii is fun. I think it’s great that they’re sharing that space.”
“We’re trying to breakthrough,” he adds, “with a new controller in gaming and entertainment, and I think that will differentiate us, and in many ways remove another barrier to people who are intimidated by, not just controllers, but wands and having to push buttons and do things.”
Meanwhile, in the Sony camp, John Kollerasserts thatalthough Natal can pull off a full-body scan, it suffers from “depth issues on the Z axis,” which the PlayStation Eye Camera + Wand avoids. He sums this up with a simple statement: “The PlayStation Eye is more accurate and more precise.”
Koller also points out that some videogames just need buttons. “It’s not necessary for every genre,” he says. “But without it, you’re able to’t play every genre.”
And how does Nintendo feel about these two new motion controllers?According toShigeru Miyamoto, they’re “very flattered.”
