Ben-DutkaWith all this new technology, sports games will never be the same again.
Top Spin 4 launches next week in North America and during a conference call today with 2K Czech associate producer Michael Kelly and executive producer Francois Giuntuni, we learned about how Move will have an impact on the new tennis installment. Firstly, they addressed the reason why their game supports Move and not Kinect; it wasn't a limitation in terms of hardware, per se, but a matter of design. Said Giuntuni:
"When Move was announced and presented it felt obvious we should support that with a tennis game; given the way it feels and looks almost like a racket. It's not so much of a technical issue; more of a design question, that actually prevented us from implementing Kinect. And one key element was that we wanted to preserve the gameplay regardless of controller.
With Kinect, we were not able to conceive a way to provide the depth we needed from the gameplay. Now, if you look at Move, all the swings and mechanics are available. T he gameplay will work and feel the same [as if you were using a regular controller]. We didn't want a 'lite' or 'dumbed down' version."
One other interesting note was made concerning the shot selection with Move: while we'll be able to do just about everything, and that includes putting spin on the ball with our arm motion, they had to relegate the slice shot to a button (the trigger). Evidently, during focus testing, it became clear that when using Move, players would get a little…well, spastic, and they'd often inadvertently hit a slice. But beyond that, we should still have full control with the basic movement of our arm.
They also touched on the reason they shied away from commentary, the number of stadiums/courts (43), and their primary goal: to make the gameplay both authentic and accessible. Yeah, it's difficult to cater to both the hardcore and the casual, but they're making a go of it.
Related Game(s): Top Spin 4
I can see this working very well with Move, but I really can't see it working with Kinect.
How would you run up or down court and move left and right? Move lends itself to these tasks by allowing you to still have the thing games really need, a controller.
Kinect is a neat gimmick, it really is. You can browse and control menus with the flick of the hand, but after the novelty and gimmecky flash wear off you realise rather quickly that it's just kind of….useless really.
Last edited by coverton341 on 3/10/2011 3:42:26 PM
See the thing is, kinect is actually pretty cool, and i just feel sorry for xboxrs theres no goood gaming games.
at a party, kinect is definitely just as good as move, as at a party it just needs to be accessible, parties aren't about hardcore gaming (unless its a gaming party lol), and kinect and move are both easily accessible.
But for ACTUAL gaming, kinect is kinda just treading water…
If there is any game to show off the capabilities of the PlayStation Move, this is it.
It is sad to say that PlayStation Move has been a failure thus far. I have 2 Move controllers, Navigation and Sharpshooter package. I like the tech, but it hasn't been a hit with the public.
Hopefully 2K did a great job with this game. It has potential. If it lives up to the potential, I will add it to my collection.
It depends how you define failure? They've sold upwards of 5 million of a peripheral in around six months, they've released some games that work really well with it (RUSE and Killzone 3 are the 'core' highlights, Sports Champions, Beat Sketcher, Flight Control HD, Tumble amongst the more casual offerings), they're continuing to bring out games where Move makes a tangible difference to gameplay (this game's a prime example).
From a gamers' perspective it's all win. It hasn't been as big a hit as Kinect, but Kinect is a casual offering – it's totem-tennis to Move's deeper gameplay experience. And Kinect has been the best selling peripheral ever – there's plenty of room to sell less than Kinect and still be successful. It's important to move away from a zero-sum game here – if Move makes Sony money, and makes gamers happy (and it's doing both) then it's all good.
Just because it hasn't been a hit with the public doesn't mean it's failed. The software is very limited still. The only reason Kinect took off is because the demographic its aimed at. Casual and younger players. The dance game (whatever it's called) sold alot of Kinect units. Their marketing did as well. Move is perfect for Killzone 3 and i'm sure it'll impress with socom and sorcery. There really has been only one AAA title for the move from what i can come up with off the top of my head. A fail would be what the wii did. The motion controller only works great on a select few of games and is absolutely horrible on the rest. Honestly, neither kinect or move have failed from what i'm gathering. It is still very early in both units lives. They both have their purposes/strengths and weaknesses. i think the kinect makes a really cool webcam and the move is a lot more functional as a controller. Just my two cents i guess.
P.S. Sorry Axe99. Just saw your post
Last edited by DjEezzy on 3/10/2011 4:22:27 PM
Nobody cares about tennis around here, I know.
I joined the conference call today almost purely for personal reasons. I don't mind admitting it. 😉
I care about tennis both in the real world and the virtual world
As do I, I've been playing a lot this week due to great weather here in CO. I've discovered that you can take off the hit and timing assist on the demo and it makes it a lot harder and better. Before that I was killing Nadal. After turning all assists off, I lost 7-5 and was happy about losing because I prefer a challenge. Gamespot has some good videos or Gametrailers I don't remember and it talks about the controls. I am definitely getting this game.
really want to play this game but ive got enough backlog to last me 6 months!
these people wonder why their games dont sell too well!
hmmmmmmm………………… I WONDER!
well, actually the game is still on the easy side of things w/everything turned off but I'm sure the full game will have tougher difficulty options