On September 17th, PlayStation Move launched across Europe with a fairly wide range of titles: EyePet: Move Edition showed the controller's cute side, but Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition catered to core gamers too. Now we've had a month in Move's company, it's a good time to take stock of the controller's impact and its future prospects.
Software
So far 18 PlayStation Move games have been released in Europe, quite a healthy figure for a launch period on a new controller. The ease with which these games can be patched means some of them were released months before Move – step forward, Heavy Rain – which slightly skews the number of games physically released in this first month.
We've reviewed 16 games for Move so far with an average score of 7.06, suggesting the controller is off to a good but not outstanding start. Only Racket Sports and Kung Fu Rider have received below average scores, but likewise no Move-enabled game has been rated above an 8.
Sales
Sony itself claims Move has shifted around 1.5 million units in Europe in its first month, a solid achievement.
On the software side, only Sports Champions has really made any impact on the sales charts, climbing to the second spot in the UK, with other Move-exclusive titles failing to make the top 10. Toy Story 3 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 have continued to sell well but it's likely Move support has next-to nothing to do with this.
Technology
There can be few disagreements that Move is a precise and highly versatile motion controller when implemented correctly. Its high level of control in titles such as Tumble and Sports Champions shows exactly what it's capable of, easily outstripping the competition in terms of precision and variety of application.
Looking Forward
With LittleBigPlanet 2 now delayed until next year, Sony's lost its biggest Move-supporting Christmas title. Although perennial sellers Buzz! and SingStar will both incorporate Move this year, it's difficult to see them swaying many casual into purchasing the controller for either title.
In Brief
Move's first month could be summed up pretty easily: the technology is fantastic; the games are not. Although there's plenty of decent software out there for Move, its launch line-up has lacked a killer app title to show off the controller's capability in full. Of course, that's not a surprise, with developers needing time to harness Move's potential, but it does mean that there's plenty more to come in the future.
Your Thoughts
With the first thirty days of life with Move behind us, how have you been enjoying the games? Does anything in particular stand out, or have you had any major disappointments? What titles do you see yourself purchasing down the line?
Comments 7
Im really impressed with it so far. The more time Ive put into Move with Sports Championships and Tumble the more impressed with the control Ive become.
Sports Championships is a game that not only do you improve scores on with practice, but you actually develop better skills in the games with continued playtime and for me its a incredible. Curious to actually grab a game of Ping Pong and see if what Ive learned in SC actually translate into the actual game itself. Worth the price of admission alone.
Not to shabby of a first month, I think Move will be a slow trickle of great games but over time the Move catlogue will be great.
I didn't expect it to be a smash hit as far as sales goes, and I don't think I'm alone in that opinion. It sold well enough, certainly above my expectations ("If I had a dollar for every Move unit sold, I'd be one poor ********" was not nearly as accurate a prediction as I had hoped...though I am currently one poor ******** ), so I guess we can at least say it's worthy of a good pat on the back.
if i did get the move the only game i would play with it is resident evil 5
@mickey..... I'm right there with you man. Launch was way above my expectations.
@mjc.... Im sure you realize this, but throwing it out there regardless of what controller you use, Heavy Rain has many different ending and branching storylines. It would require several playing through several times over to see the entire game.
And it's a very different experience with both pads too: the fights really bring you to the edge of your seat with Move, swinging away and really amplifying that "damn, I'm actually going to die" feeling for your character.
I think the next three months will be very interesting: it doesn't have a major release until LBP 2/Killzone 3, although The Fight looks interesting. We'll see how it fares against Kinect!
So far I think the Move is so-so. I have Sports Champions and Brunswick Pro Bowling, which are cool, but lack in the fun department when compared to their Nintendo counterparts. I probably won't be buying anymore Move games, unless we get a Sports Champions 2, or MLB The Show with Move controls.
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