Sony aims for hard-core with Move machine gun
Sony unveils a new attachment for its PlayStation Move peripheral, called the Sharp Shooter. The machine-gun design holds the Move controller and Navigation controller.
Proving that its PlayStation Move controller won't focus only on casual games, Sony has unveiled a Sharp Shooter attachment for the peripheral.
The Sharp Shooter features a machine-gun design and holds both the Move motion controller and the separate Navigation controller. The mostly gray attachment offers "easily accessible buttons, a responsive digital trigger, adjustable shoulder stock, and convenient access to the Navigation controller," Sony said in a company blog post yesterday. To add even more realism to the Sharp Shooter, Sony has included a reload button and "pump action." To make it less realistic at the same time, it is light gray--not black or olive.
But it's the circumstances surrounding the Sharp Shooter that makes it most notable. The device will be available for $39.99 on the same day that Killzone 3 launches in February. The company said the device will also work well with SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs. Moreover, Sony said the attachment is meant to attract gamers who have avoided motion-gaming devices--many of whom are considered "hard-core" players.
"There's been a lot of talk about what shooter games will be like using motion control," Sony said in the blog post. "We know that some of you gamers might be a bit hesitant to put down the gamepad, but we believe the upcoming PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter will make motion control for shooter games quite irresistible."
When it comes to motion gaming, some hard-core gamers have felt left out. Nintendo's Wii, while wildly popular, offers mostly casual games. In fact, Sims creator Will Wright said earlier this year that he believed the Wii is "more into what I would call the toy market."
There is concern among gamers that the PlayStation Move and Microsoft's Kinect will follow suit and appeal more to the casual market than hard-core gamers would like.
Microsoft seems especially sensitive to that. Chris Lewis, vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, said earlier this year that "over the launch phase and this Christmas in particular," gamers would see Kinect appeal more to casual gamers. But over time, he said, Microsoft will deliver viable experiences to hard-core gamers.
"I'd say again, that doesn't mean we're walking away or forgetting the core--it's not about mainstream consumer or core gamer," Lewis said in the interview. "For us it's about a great experience for both."