In Play

PlayStation Move Starter Bundle

Sony Computer Entertainment, $99.99

It's difficult to talk about the new Move controller for PlayStation without mentioning the groundbreaking innovation in game-player interface that is the Wii Remote. Whatever faults you may find in Nintendo's motion-sensing break from the longstanding industry standard, there's no questioning the hand (if that's a pun, it's not intended) it's had in expanding the audience for video games. Now that the gaming industry's growing pains (e.g., a glut of crap Wii titles hoping to capitalize on the ignorance of new gamers) are subsiding, the hardcore platforms are throwing their hats in the motion-control ring. Round 1: PlayStation Move.

When the blinding excitement surrounding the Wiimote dimmed, the primary problem of its imprecision was evident. This lack of exactness had the effect of evening the skill divide between players. Sure, it made play more exciting at first, but for the less-casual gamer, the inability to perfect a skill due to the inherent shakiness of the Wii's controller grew frustrating. If practice doesn't allow you to crush your friends in virtual combat, why bother playing? Enter the Move.

The exhausting technical differences between the Wiimote and the Move (I'll give you a hint: One of them has magnetometers) amount to one feeling like it's actually mimicking your movements and the other merely doing an impression. The Move has solved the Wii's precision problem by using a camera to track your movements instead of registering every movement in relation to your last. This makes for real-time position-tracking capabilities.

What that translates to is a sword-fighting simulator that registers swing angles and jabs directly at your opponent. In other words, it feels good. The gladiator arena is part of Sports Champions, designed to show off the Move's moves, from table tennis to disc golf. The majority of the game's frustrations come not from lackluster interface but from one's inability to angle a Frisbee disc around a tree. That feat alone elevates the Move above novelty status and makes it a legitimate tool for gaming. Other notable releases include Echochrome II, a light-and-shadow puzzle game where your controller is the light source, and Tumble, a Jenga-style stacking game requiring a steady hand that the Wii can't offer.

You can get the Move for $100, which includes everything you need to start playing: a PlayStation Eye, Move controller, and Sports Champions. Another controller ($50) will likely need to follow, either to complete your sword and shield combo or to include a second player.

The Move may have the technical edge on the Wiimote, but it's impossible to underestimate the power that a four-year head start gives Nintendo over Sony. Will casual gamers spend $100 to use a (demonstrably) better version of something they already have? Doubtful. Will it make PlayStations a more attractive purchase to those still debating buying a gaming system? Certainly. Then again, the real battle for holiday-buying supremacy still awaits another combatant: Xbox's controllerless Kinect. We have another month before the controller wars really heat up.