move

So much for the PlayStation Move's sales lead over the Kinect.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter released a note yesterday saying Microsoft has sold more units of its motion-control device, Kinect, than Sony has sold PlayStation Move units, even though the Move launched weeks earlier.

"The higher-priced Kinect controller appears to have overtaken the Move controller in the sales races, with sales about even notwithstanding Move's six-week head start in the marketplace," Pachter wrote in a research note to clients.

Pachter came to that conclusion by analyzing information offered up recently by both Sony and Microsoft.

Earlier … Read more

Happy Hanukkah! Tonight is the first of the eight-day holiday, so tune in to the first half of the show as Wilson and I try our best to explain to Jeff what that means.

On today's show we take a look at Dance Central for the Microsoft Kinect, and offer our sincerest opinions on the best printers, scary PC games, and books! Yes, we're actually learning how to read.

Verizon announced its 4G data plans, but it's not going to come cheap. The "Gs" refer to the speed a mobile device can receive and send data, so 4G will enable Web pages, videos, and e-mails to load faster. Carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile already have 4G data infrastructure in place, but don't expect the same speeds on every carrier.

Starting December 5, Verizon's 4G service will cost $50 for just 5GB a day, $80 nets you 10GB of data, and it's $10 per gigabyte if you go over the limit. The company claims that 70 percent of its 38 markets will gain access to 4G on Sunday, and users can connect with a laptop through a USB modem.

Microsoft's Kinect motion controller accessory is already boasting bigger sales than than the Sony PlayStation Move, having reached 4.1 million dollars in sales worldwide since launching three months ago.

Jeff and Wilson were skeptics when they first saw the controller in action, but Dance Central changed it around for the Bakalar house and now they're hooked. And if all goes right with a hack we're working on, keep a lookout for a YouTube video of that on the show. In the meantime, check out this Kinect joyride fail video and let us know what you think!

Sony's entry into the motion-gaming space is enjoying strong sales, the company announced today.

Sony said it has sold 4.1 million PlayStation Move units worldwide since the controller's launch in September. In a statement announcing the sales, Sony said the figure "not only shows clear success of the launch of the new motion-sensing controller, but also indicates positive momentum going into the holiday season and to the year 2011."

However, Sony confirmed to CNET in a separate e-mail today that the 4.1 million units were sold to retailers, and not to consumers. The company wouldn't disclose how many units were actually sold to customers.

"While we don't disclose our exact sell-through number, the key is that our retailers continue to ask for more Move units and are taking every unit we can supply them with based on their sales," a Sony Computer Entertainment spokesperson told CNET.… Read more

If there's one thing that I recall more than any other from "Zero Hour," the 30-hour Xbox 360 launch event on November 20 and 21, 2005, it was the sight of dozens of gamers literally passed out on beanbags, their controllers still in their hands.

Despite absolutely frigid conditions, more than 2,000 gamers showed up in Palmdale, an aerospace town about an hour northeast of Los Angeles, for the chance to be among the first ever to play and buy an Xbox 360.

And after those 30 hours, their patience was rewarded: a fleet of Best … Read more

GameStop isn't pulling any punches with its expectations of product supply this holiday season.

Speaking to investors during an earnings call yesterday, GameStop president Tony Bartel said that customers shouldn't wait to get their hands on Kinect, Microsoft's motion-gaming peripheral that allows users to control on-screen action with only body movement.

"[Kinect] will be a hot item through the holiday season and the key opportunity will be just to continue to keep them in stock," Bartel said during the call, according to a transcript provided by SeekingAlpha. "So, whenever consumers do see Kinect and … Read more

Microsoft's Kinect platform will rule the 2010 holiday season in motion-control gaming, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter told CNET in an interview today.

Pachter, who covers the video game industry, said he expects Kinect to hit the 5 million unit sales mark that Microsoft last week said it expects by the end of the year. But Sony won't be so lucky with the PlayStation Move, its new entrant in motion controllers.

"I think that Move will pick up to a respectable level, probably around 3 million by year end globally, so roughly 2 million in U.S. and Europe and 1 million rest of the world," Pachter said. "It's possible that Sony could see a tad more, but we will have to see a pickup in advertising, maybe 3.5 million."

Sony seems to be feeling that pressure.… Read more

So now you can get a Kinect for the Xbox 360. Or a Move package for the PlayStation 3. Or maybe you already have a Wii. The point is, this holiday season, gaming is going to be all about moving. There's a three-front motion-tracking war going on and it may be a while before there's a clear winner.

Nintendo's Wii has been around for a few years now, so movement-based gaming isn't as novel as it used to be. Sony's Move is fun, but along with Microsoft's Kinect, it may have to play catch-up. … Read more

Microsoft's Kinect motion-gaming peripheral, which launched yesterday, has already been torn apart by the folks over at iFixit, who have revealed some rather interesting components inside the device.

iFixit, a DIY repair site, was apparently quite surprised by what is packed into the relatively small Kinect. The site said the device boasts so many built-in sensors, that only the Pleo dinosaur robot comes close to matching it. And due to how "mechanically complex" the device is, iFixit believes it was "clearly designed by a team accustomed to designing large hardware, like the Xbox."

Aside from … Read more

Clearly Nintendo did something right: years after incorporating motion controls into the Wii, the competition is finally following suit. With the Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect, Sony PlayStation Move, and even the Nintendo Wii Remote Plus controller all landing during the same holiday season, it's only natural to compare and contrast these three similar-yet-different systems.

Does evolution equal fun? Motion control might be the future, but the present three options all have their ups and downs. Check out our debate below and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.

Dan: Breaking it down into cliches of which audience goes for each console, the PlayStation Move feels like it's aimed at self-identified gamers--those who are into shooting, racing, and, well, more shooting. You get that vibe through everything from the Kevin Butler TV commercials to the console's information design, which at times seems almost joyfully counterintuitive.

The Xbox 360 Kinect is courting in equal parts the home theater enthusiast and the novelty seeker. Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus, at the same time, has quietly caught up by incorporating its ill-conceived external dongle into a regular-size Wiimote, but will the casual Wii audience go back and buy new control sticks?

Scott: The Move is for "hard-core gamers," according to Sony, and the button-covered design may come off as a bit intimidating for the Wii crowd. The Kinect is controller-free, and the motion-heavy gaming is perfect for fitness nuts, families, and casual players with luxurious living rooms. The Wii is still for nearly anyone, but mainly kids, casual gamers, and those without HDTVs.

Dan: Finding a place to stick a Wii sensor bar used to seem like such a hassle; if we only knew how good we had things back then. The simplicity of that nearly passive Wii sensor bar seems positively nostalgic now; not only do the Kinect and PlayStation Move require bulky external Webcams, but both cameras are hard-wired and sure to drive the cord-conscious crazy.

The PlayStation Move is actually fairly forgiving in its space requirements, at least compared with the Kinect. Maybe the tens of millions of people living in New York aren't Microsoft's target market, because we have yet to speak to an NYC apartment dweller who has not had to clamber over their sofa to set up the Kinect (and you can forget about playing many of the multiplayer games). Not to overemphasize this point, but the rigid space requirements for setting up and using the Kinect are incredibly annoying. … Read more