Before we dive deep into the topic of cancelation, which I don’t take lightly due to the fact that many miss the ramifications behind canceled projects like the jobs of the team members, it should be noted that I’ve owned the PlayStation Move from launch. In fact, I have two PS Move controllers, two Navigators, a Shooting Attachment, and the Sharp Shooter. To say that I’m invested into the product as both a journalist and as a PlayStation fan would be putting it mildly as the entire collection has been paid for by yours truly and not provided to us. When the PlayStation Move launched, it promised to give adults a chance to experience what Wii users had been for years and by adults, I mean more adult-oriented games like Resistance 3, Heavy Rain, and Killzone 3. Games that we’d always envisioned in our minds to play with movement while replicating the gun in our hands. To be able to have an accurate arcade style experience in one’s house with the gorgeous Killzone 3 has been at the pinnacle of a gamer’s wet dreams since the original Nintendo gun.

Fast-forward two years and the PlayStation Move is doing nothing other than collecting dust on retail shelves with the occasional developer support like Sorcery, a game that was designed to recapture the audience’s imagination and, once again, push the new tech. While there are plenty of details to dive into, the eventuality of it is that Nintendo was able to sell their take on motion gaming with low prices while Microsoft was able to sell their take with a higher-priced Kinect (though a set of Move equipment will cost more than the Kinect. Also, the price has dropped considerably in the last year) and Sony was not. Readers should also note that I personally have no interest in the Nintendo Wii (though I’m not blind to the demograph that it has served) and believe that the Xbox Kinect is nothing beyond a gimmick. Still, interest or no interest, gimmick or not, both of these companies were able to convey their vision of the product to developers which have support them and more importantly to the public who have bought them in droves, in which turn, developers have decided to further support.

To further complicate things for Sony, the PlayStation 3 has, throughout its life, enjoyed a poor imagination, despite being a superior machine and has always been behind in many key sales charts. This, mixed with Sony Corp.’s troubled financials, would seem like a poor time for Sony to want to expand the PlayStation brand. This is in direct contrast to Microsoft, who ran a $500 million campaign for the Kinect in its first year, more than what Sony has probably spent on the PS3’s lifetime for advertisement. Beyond that, Microsoft has always seen the Kinect as a bridging device which has seen the company bring its compatibility to Windows where many claim the PS Move was more of a reactionary move (no pun intended) by Sony.

Its not hard to see why the PS Move has struggled in sales, with a much lower PS3 installment in 2010, higher prices (both equipment and console), and little developer support. Mix that with Sony’s already notorious little-to-no advertising capabilities (mostly due to Sony’s financial troubles but also, thanks to their horrible advertising agency), and it’s easy to see why it might be better for Sony to cancel the Move and take the money to invest it in the PlayStation 3 or the around-the-corner PlayStation 4. It just seems like common sense to have one strong platform (PS3) and build from there rather than to have a scattered range of products with marginal success. Sadly in the end, one can replace the word PlayStation Move with the PlayStation Vita or WonderBook and most of this article would still hold true, although all in their own rights are great products.

Discuss:

Is it time for Sony to end development on the PlayStation Move and instead, focus on the PlayStation 3 and PS4?