Molyneux: Natal is bigger step than Move

By Tom Bramwell Published 12 March, 2010

Thinks Sony wand may be "for the core".

Peter Molyneux has told Eurogamer that he doesn't think PlayStation Move is the same kind of step forward as Microsoft's Project Natal, but admits he fancies a crack on Sony's new magic wand controller.

"I have seen some of it. We're not really surprised, are we? I mean at E3 last year we saw they were having a wand, and that's kind of what I expected. It looks like they've taken a step forward but it's not as big a step as something like Natal, I don't think," Molyneux told us in an interview at GDC.

"This is purely me talking personally, but I think maybe it's slightly more a device for the core than it is for the casual market, because I think it's quite precise.

"As a designer it's another one of those things I'd love to get my hands on and to play around with. As a consumer, everyone's talking about motion control now - I mean, I'm starting to get confused. It's kind of like the arms race, with the Wii MotionPlus and now the Sony Move and now I'm getting kind of confused."

Asked what he thinks of Move relative to Natal, Molyneux said it was "down to what us poor old designers do with this stuff, because all these guys do is make the hardware".

"Whether we utilise that hardware in a real way or whether we just take shortcuts, that's really going to be where we succeed or not."

Check out the full Eurogamer interview with Peter Molyneux at GDC 2010 for details on this week's Fable III revelations and what we can expect Molyneux to be speaking about at E3.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (54) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mfnick #1 2 years ago

    "This is purely me talking personally, but I think maybe it's slightly more a device for the core than it is for the casual market, because I think it's quite precise.

    Surely thats a good thing? Take it Natal is more for ths casual then? Great.....

    But from what ive seen of the 'Move' at GDC, its pretty far from being "for the core".

  • doulema #2 2 years ago

    " Natal is bigger step than Move". He didnt say anything we dont know. Not such article specially since the interview is posted already. Give s newsssss!

  • seasidebaz #3 2 years ago

    "This is purely me talking personally, but I think maybe it's slightly more a device for the core than it is for the casual market, because I think it's quite precise.

    So casual gamers don't care about a lack of precision and controller lag, then? Fair enough...

  • Spekingur #4 2 years ago

    @seasidebaz: No they don't. Just have a look at Wii X)

  • Doctor_What #5 2 years ago

    Yes, Natal is a bigger step, but it's also completley unproven from a gameplay experience perspective and there are many difficult questions that are unresolved (such as how to make an on-screen character move, what happens when a player wants to play but be sitting down, etc). In these respects PM is right - it's a lot easier to see how the Move answers those issues for conventional games, or 'core' games.

    I guess the big question for people like us is whether we are actually interested in the experiences that Natal will offer, because I'm still unsure exactly what those experiences are.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 10:15

  • Fletche #6 2 years ago

    That interview doesn't exactly put natal in a good light, he is saying it is suited more to casual gaming and isn't not as precise as PSMove, so natal is a bigger step forward, fair enough, but for who has the step been taken for?

    Me thinks MS may have a little word in his ear

  • I\'mListening #7 2 years ago

    Still not sold on motion control. I like the possibilities they offer but not the reality of what is churned out by lazy developers. It all still smells of cash-in

  • altitude2k #8 2 years ago

    That item headline made him sound a lot more like a tool than he was actually being. That was quite a balanced few comments, Mr. Molyneux.

  • sfp_noodle #9 2 years ago

    the wii captured the imagination of the many many casual gamers who normally wudnt even invest in a console. its for this reason i believe the sony dildo will be more successful. theyve played it safe and gone with what works. how can they go wrong?

    natal on the other hand, well, nvm the lag issue, but it is true tht almost all of us need something to hold whilst playing a game. as it stands, it looks a lot like eyetoy 2.0 but unless it is incredibly precise and doesnt give make my arms ache after 5 minutes, i may consider.

  • Nazo #10 2 years ago

    "This is purely me talking personally, but I think maybe it's slightly more a device for the core than it is for the casual market, because I think it's quite precise.

    So he's saying casuals will be put off by the fact that it works well? Even by PM's high standards this is a pretty stupid comment.

    Dear Pete, please give up on being a corporate stooge and go back to designing good games. Like with John Terry, once you start producing something good again your sins will soon be forgotten.

  • BOBBYLUPO #11 2 years ago

    "This is purely me talking personally..."

    Ok, Peter, you're hardly going to be a beacon of impartiality. Why don't we ask Milo what he thinks...

  • septimus #12 2 years ago

    I'll take the downside [supposed?] of having to hold a controller over having to compensate for lag... they may fix that and if the games aren't all utter family based tripe then I'll get both.

    /spelling...
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 10:36

  • JohnnyWashnGo #13 2 years ago

    'As a consumer, everyone's talking about motion control now'

    Oh really?
    You got any evidence for that sweeping generalisation?
    Because I reckon nobody gives a fig about motion control... its kinda old hat now.

  • Machiavellian #14 2 years ago

    I am very interested in Move but so far none of the games shown will make me purchase the device. I am thinking nothing real wil be shown for Move until Next E3

  • Distributor #15 2 years ago

    For the love of god, someone please shut PM up.....

  • youhavenomail #16 2 years ago

    Look at all this willy waving when 360 doesn't even have a willy to wave. Classic penis envy from Molyneux, there. Microsoft brought it on themselves.

  • ignatiusjreilly #17 2 years ago

    @JohnnyWashnGo

    Agreed. After that he also says he is getting confused with all the different motion control peripherals being talked about. Somehow, as a world famous game developer, I suspect that's not true either.

  • lunnytoon #18 2 years ago

    I hope that a lot of games that implement Natal will be extra movements, voice and such that will complement the original 360 pad.

    Natal on it's own does not appeal to me personally though, but i think it gives devs an extra level of creativity if they wish to explore it.

    Saying all that though, Sony's Move can do just the same, it's down to the devs which Molyneux quite rightly says in the article anyway.

  • tancredo #19 2 years ago

    "This is purely me talking personally, but I think maybe it's slightly more a device for the core than it is for the casual market, because I think it's quite precise."

    I kind of agree with him. Sony has mentioned they are trying to go after the casual market, but I think these "casuals" will have a hard time understanding why they need to replace their old family oriented Wii with a $500 Super Wii (PS3). These "new" gamers don't care so much about visual fidelity and 1:1 response as much as having a good time with family/kids//friends. And that is wy I think most of them will not be buying a second console.

    Sony could be shooting themselves in the foot with this one
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 10:59

  • Spydy #20 2 years ago

    Anyone notice that Microsoft's comment over Natal have progressively become less sensational since E3 '09? I really can't see how it can work in the home. It's essentially motion capture in the living room. The idea is nice, hence the 'bigger step' comments, but without dedicated hardware in the device itself, can it honestly work as well as MS have stated?

    I think you would be limited in scope with the games that could be fun. All I can visualise is waving my arms at the screen, which I've done already thanks to EyeToy / PSEye.

    I look forward to E3 2010. Natal will either be amazing and well ahead of it's competitors or an unmitigated disaster.

  • bad09 #21 2 years ago

    "As a consumer, everyone's talking about motion control now"

    No MS and Sony are trying to emulate Ninty success and ramming their bloody waggle down our throats hoping we will think it's needed and buy it. Most consumers that wanted motion control bought a Wii ages ago.

  • Beano #22 2 years ago

    "This is purely me talking personally, but I think maybe it's slightly more a device for the core than it is for the casual market, because I think it's quite precise. "

    Molyneux just validated Move :)

  • NotSoSlim #23 2 years ago

    Well he just validated the Move. Also the PsEye does voice recognition as well going by advert

  • miiiguel #24 2 years ago

    PM just validated the Move!

    yay! excited!

  • Beano #25 2 years ago

    @NotSoSlim: And pretty accurate and fast body tracking also : http://ww w.gametrailers.com/video/gdc-10...

  • drumbaby #26 2 years ago

    Looking forward to the less precise Natal, anyone?

  • TeaFiend #27 2 years ago

    News just in, Microsoft talking man likes Microsoft products better!

    Stay tuned for revelations such as F1 cars are fast, worms live in the ground and Bill Gates is rich.

  • actionfitz #28 2 years ago

    Molyneux said it was "down to what us poor old designers do with this stuff, because all these guys do is make the hardware".

    yeah, pretty much this.
    It will all depend on the software, and what the game designers out there can come up with.
    Im pretty sure its Wii Fit an Wii sports that are responsible for the majority of the casual market wii sales.
    so the same should be true for 'Move' and 'Natal'.

    ---

    though tbh, if microsoft are aiming for a slice of the casual market...
    Can't see how they are gonna reconcile that with continued 'dick-moves' like charging £100+ for tiny hard drives, expensive wireless attachements and a £40 barrier to online connectivity etc.
    casual gamers will not spring for half of that shit. Some major soul searching needs to be done or they will have to just stick with the current gamer market.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 11:48

  • Moonprince #29 2 years ago

    "I mean, I'm starting to get confused. It's kind of like the arms race, with the Wii MotionPlus and now the Sony Move and now I'm getting kind of confused"

    lol Peter... lol. Trying too hard buddy!

  • Godhather08 #30 2 years ago

    "Natal, though -- the motion offering from Microsoft -- not so much. The same studio rep calls Natal a big, buggy mess. "It's sh*t," he adds, saying that it just doesn't work as promised. That it's slow and that the camera is imprecise, which he notes, is causing some major development woes. "

    "Natal's camera failed to see the person accurately because he was wearing a black trench coat. After some fiddling, he was asked to remove his trench coat and -- whoops -- wore a black shirt underneath. When it still didn't work, he was invited to take his seat again. "

    [link url=http:/ /wii.ign.com/articles/107/1077008p1.html
    ]http://wi i.ign.com/articles/107/1077008p...[/link]

    Sounds promising.

  • makeamazing #31 2 years ago

    Yeah i also believe Natal has serious issues, but MS are kinda playing the misdirection game... but then what do you expect them to do, say its rubbish and doesnt work properly? :D

  • Diomedes #32 2 years ago

    Natal will be a utter mess.They wont be able even to move a character in an open environment unless they step back and put a controller in there (so totally destroying the "no controllers" approach).
    And if it is even more casual that Champions Sports .....may God have mercy of us!!

  • zisssou #33 2 years ago

    Shut up Molyneux.

  • darren1976 #34 2 years ago

    Stop talking about Natal and show us a demo of the latest revision.

  • IronGiant #35 2 years ago

    That's exactly what we want from motion control, something that adds to the core gameplay not some casual crap, which is exactly where natal is heading. There have been murmurs from gdc that developers are struggling to get natal working at all, apparently the fable presentation was awful because the guy trying to use it was wearing a black coat so it didn't work!!

  • Retro_ #36 2 years ago

    I'm betting Natal will be a flawed gem. potentially excellent, bobbins in reality. I think Sony's move is the next logical step. One step at a time fellas

  • Vyggo #37 2 years ago

    Move is for core gamers because a casual wont buy a playstation 3 and 2 of those controllers + the extra accesory when they can buy a Wii for a fraction of the price and they can actually play with 4 players in a party setting, not just 2. What makes it rather strange is why they think they'll still have great succes with the casual games they've shown so far, SOCOM excluded.

    Natal is so unproven that I'll refrain from comments until the realistic living room impressions start pooring in.

    All in all, I think PM is pretty much on the mark with his comments. But he was basically just saying that grass is green and water is wet.

  • miiiguel #38 2 years ago

    @ Diomedes:
    The PS3 will end the gen having it all (BD playing ,DVD,media center,AAA games,free online gaming ,motion controls ,3D gaming ,etc) and this is what bothers the haters.
    in a thread about Move

    Something about haters... Paradox much?
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 15:30

  • des #39 2 years ago

    Well,Move games are Wii copycats,maybe that is the PS3 core...it could be

  • darleysam #40 2 years ago

    Honestly, reading the Move articles yesterday, it really doesn't sound like anything too far removed from what you can already get with Motion+, which is great but I see it as being a hard sell for Sony when it just brings them back to 'well we've got more processing power than Nintendo..'. Add to that the cost of setting yourself up with Move, needing two glowsticks AND a sub-controller for one person alone (and 4 glowsticks and 2 subs for a complete setup), it's going to be an expensive sell. Then take Natal, which is a one-time only cost that should work with up to 4 players, could potentially be cheaper than a single Move setup, AND is a different form of player input.
    Microsoft really have the ball in their court this year.

  • bmxbandit #41 2 years ago

    Molyneux is an ass full of undelivered promises. If this was something new, I would try something new ... but being patronised by the microsoft bitch is always a hard move.

  • tancredo #42 2 years ago

    The only negative thing about Natal right now is that they havent shown anything new yet, which makes me a little less optimistic about the tech than 6 months ago.

    The reports about issues with Natal development are a little troubling so late in its development

    At least the PS Move is up and running.

  • darleysam #43 2 years ago

    touché

    edit: on their relative statuses, I think MS are just playing it cool. They know their product and they're working hard on it. E3 is back and big this year, and you bet their entire message is going to be about Natal. That and Reach, but Natal is their big play for this year. I believe they don't have a big conference at GDC, whereas Sony did and have used it to show off Move, so it would only be a case of 'ooh ooh, look at us!' if they tried to hype Natal up at the same time now. They're most likely just letting Sony have their bit now, letting interest cool in the next couple of months, then it'll be a rolling hype train from June until December.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 16:01

  • Les #44 2 years ago

    Seems so far one big step in the wrong direction... Or maybe he's referring to all the effort MS still has to take to create a workable version.

    Shouldn't come as a big surprise after the limited (and still horrible) demos last E3 and the fact that both Sony and Nintendo had snubbed camera-only solutions (in the case of Nintendo it was the exact same tech as MS later bought for Natal).

    Edited by 1 at 12/03/10 @ 16:21

  • 43n1m4 #45 2 years ago

    Somehow the same people turn up and make a negative spin on it all.. I don't mind constructive criticism, but stating one things 'right' and the other is 'wrong' is just the typical biased BS. Real life is more complex than that, as the sales figures clearly implies.

    My opinion: I see more potential for Natal, but as mentioned a hundred times before, this really depends on the games and the developers (as always) - both Sony and MS are late for the motion controller game, so they really have to show something different or vastly better, if they want to persuade the casual gamers who owns a Wii (or persuade future Wii buyers to go for the other console and controllers instead). About the technical difficulties with Natal - well, there could be some, but we are still some way from launch ...I will reserve my final opinion of either motion controller to some time after release.

  • byakuya83 #46 2 years ago

    Molyneux seems easily confused.

  • ronuds #47 2 years ago

    W/O reading these comments, let me guess... a lot of uneccessary hate directed at PM, even though he made a perfectly reasonable and humble comment, and even in some ways praised Sony?

    Amiright??? Because I couldn't possibly see people making reasonable comments whenever Molyneaux is involved.

    In other words: BO-RING!

  • messiahtj #48 2 years ago

    Thinks Sony wand may be "for the core" and Natal "for the geeks"

    Fixed :D

  • bmxbandit #49 2 years ago

    Microsoft is failing with technology these days. They should just do a Nintendo and be at peace with it, motion controls have came and gone, want a Wii? Have a Wii. Thats pretty much it.

    Applies to Sony too, they should know better by now, makan gaman is whur its at and tosh.

  • hiscore #50 2 years ago

    "This is purely me talking personally"...

    'nuff said ;-)

  • sanctusmortis #51 2 years ago

    I believe his comment was about Wii vs Move, NOT Move vs Natal.

  • orborborb #52 2 years ago

    I honestly think it's often the "core" gamers who put up with laggy imprecise controls in return for fancy graphics (Killzone 2 for example) and "casual" gamers who become more frustrated with the limitations of motion control (they tend to compare the game version to the ACTUAL sport for example). If Natal is less precise than the Wii and Move is more precise, I think Sony may come out ahead.

  • Erebu #53 2 years ago

    And he thought: Natal is also a bigger risk than Move.

  • dominalien #54 2 years ago

    "it's not as big a step as something like Natal, I don't think,"

    reverse the structure:

    "I don't think it's not as big a step as something like Natal"

    which actually means:

    "I think it's as big a step as something like Natal"

    :-P

  • Vandrius #55 2 years ago

    Why does this guy never shut up? He should just parade around with a "I HEART MICROSOFT (because they pay me lots of money)" banner.

  • Farzlepot #56 2 years ago

    The thing that terrifies me about stuff like Natal and Move is that, once implemented, we'll have a stream of Nintendo knock-offs bombarding our previously unpolluted consoles. If I wanted a Wii, I'd buy a friggin' Wii, wouldn't I? It's half the bloody price, so it's hardly a financial issue!

    Worse still, the so-called 'hardcore' games that I typically prefer may also end up being polluted by the technology. And I don't want to wave my arms around when I'm playing a video game. I go to the pub and get drunk if I want to wave my arms about.
    Edited by 1 at 16/03/10 @ 16:10