Cage: Move needs core games for long-term success
"If it's only about casual entertainment I don't think it's going to play a big role in the life of the console," says Quantic Dream founder
Heavy Rain director David Cage has said that Sony's motion controller Move needs to have the support of all software genres for it to add any significant length to the lifecycle of the PlayStation 3.
"It really depends on the software because the hardware works really well," Cage told GamesIndustry.biz.
"If it's only about casual entertainment and casual games I don't think it's going to play a big role in the life of the console. If it can get more support from triple-A titles then that will be interesting."
Sony's first-party studios are incorporating the Move tech in titles such as Killzone 3 and Gran Turismo 5, and Cage's team at Quantic Dreams is currently adding Move functionality to hit core title Heavy Rain - a process that the studio has dedicated significant resources to.
The Move peripheral launches next week in the UK, and is part of Sony's ten year plan for the PlayStation 3.
Cage's comments follow those of Ubisoft's Alain Corre, who suggested that both Sony's Move and Microsoft's Kinect won't be able to extend the cycle of the current home consoles in the long-term, although they can provide short term boosts for the system.
"It's a good extension of the lifecycle for a certain length of time and it's also a good way to capture some consumers they didn't have on the casual side," said Corre.
"Now, will it prevent them from releasing brand new technology in the next five years? I don't think so."
Cage himself is an advocate of mature games created for adults, and believes mature entertainment is underrepresented in videogames.
He expects Heavy Rain to benefit from a modest increase in sales when the Move compatible version is released later this year, and was pleased that Sony is making a patch available to owners of the game for free.
"I think we're going to get some sales of the game by releasing this version, which is of course why Sony asked us to do it. Is it going to sell zillions of copies? I don't know, I think people who were already interested in the game have already bought it.
"I'm also glad that those people have access to a free patch for the new version of Heavy Rain. For some the (DualShock) controller was maybe a barrier, and hopefully they'll pick up the game with Move."
The full interview with David Cage can be read here.
I broadly agree with him; I think if people want an onus on 'casual' mini-game style compilations, they would rather buy or will already have picked up a Wii. I think Sony needs to make sure that Move supports a mixture of genres, and features some of the genres that don't appeal solely to one demographic (i.e. such as platformers, racers or adventure games), as well as building some of their more 'core' games around it the tech.
I think to really invigorate sales they need some excellent Move exclusives, but I appreciate that at the moment most games seem to offer either controller option, as it's a safer strategy as far as the software sales go.
Anyway, I think it will be interesting, and I look forward to seeing what developers like Quantic Dream or thatgamecompany can do with the hardware.
Posted:2 years ago