Study shows low consumer interest for motion control

A new study by OTX GamePlan shows that videogame consumers have a very low purchase intent for Microsoft's Project Natal and Sony's Move motion controllers.

The report comes at a bad time for the format holders – both systems are due to take centre stage at E3 next week as the company's look to extend the current life-cycle of home consoles with new technology.

As reported by Gamasutra, only 8 per cent of 2000 consumers polled between May 23 and June 5 intend to buy Microsoft's Natal, while 6 per cent are prepared to pay for Sony's Move.

The poor level of interest may be a reflection of the lack of information about the systems. Only a handful of prototype games have been shown for both, and no significant third-party titles have been unveiled. Microsoft's system still goes by its codename a year after it was first revealed.

Of those intending to buy the new hardware, only 25 per cent are willing to pre-order. According to the report, only 15 per cent of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 market is aware of the devices.

"While we are still months away from launch, the current data suggests that Natal gamers are definitely Xbox 360 purists, while Move gamers have a stronger interest in other platforms," said the report.

Females make up 30 per cent of those intending to buy Move, compared to 20 per cent of those set to buy Natal.

The study also revealed the top five games across all three home consoles that those intending to buy Natal and Move are currently interested in:

Natal

• Gears of War 3 – Xbox 360 (47%)
• Fable III – Xbox 360 (42%)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops – Xbox 360 (38%)
• Halo: Reach – Xbox 360 (34%)
• Dead Space 2 – Xbox 360 (26%)

Move

• LittleBigPlanet 2 – PS3 (42%)
• Gran Turismo 5 – PS3 (32%)
• SOCOM 4: US Navy SEALs – PS3 (30%)
• The Legend of Zelda 2 – Wii (26%)
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Wii (21%)