14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation Move motion-detection peripheral won't replace the DualShock controller in a future PlayStation 4 console, at least according to Sony's Research and Development boss Dr. Richard Marks.
Sony has been pushing its new PlayStation Move motion controller since last year and, even if it hasn't experienced the record breaking success of Microsoft's Kinect sensor, it's still quite popular with PlayStation 3 users.
According to Marks, this won't mean that the next PlayStation console, presumably the PS4, will dump the classic DualShock controller for a Move-only mechanic.
"I said that pretty much from the beginning that we're not trying to get rid of the gamepad. The gamepad is a really good abstract device. It can map to so many different things. It doesn't map one-to-one to those things, but it doesn't need to for a lot of game experiences."
The current controller, however, does seem a bit intimidating, especially to those that weren't into gaming since the early days, so the Move can definitely attract them more easily because it doesn't have a lot of buttons and it is more intuitive.
"It is still intimidating to some audiences, some people. And so, those people might like Move better. So, I think having both offered to people is the right choice right now. I think the DualShock, it's just better for some experiences, but the Move is better for other ones. There's just no way to combine them and just say one is the right thing to have."
Marks also talked during his interview with GamaSutra about the Kinect and, while he does emphasize that its range of detected movements is smaller than that of the Move, he is quite pleased with some of the extra features, like the ever-improving camera of the built-in microphone.
In the end, the battle between the Move and the Kinect will be won by fidelity, according to Marks, and in that area, the Sony device has the advantage, even if it's not such a big leap forward in control paradigms as the Kinect.
As you can see, Sony is confident that it can keep the PlayStation 3 and its successor, which won't arrive anytime soon, open to all crowds, whether they are hardcore DualShock fans or new ones interested in the Move.