Move has "more precision" than Kinect?

While we can expect untold numbers of similar or contrary assertions as E3 rolls on, the first Sony Move vs Microsoft Kinetic judgement out the gate comes from the BBC.

"It was an enjoyable, if sweaty, half-hour, and I could certainly see the attractions of throwing away the control and just flinging yourself at the game. But I was not quite convinced that Microsoft’s technology would deliver for hard-core gamers," said the BBC's technology expert Rory Cellan-Jones of the motion controller formerly known as Natal. Cellan-Jones felt Kinetic would be better suited to Wii-like family games than to precision-requiring titles such as shooters.

He also had reservations about Sony's more traditional controller Move, but seemed cautiously more in favour of it: "This makes the whole experience less physical than with Kinect, but it also delivers a lot more precision. Sony showed us a table tennis game which seemed to mimic the real thing much more closely than I have seen elsewhere."

Though the BBC is famously an impartial witness in most matters, it's entirely possible that Cellan-Jones' criticisms will prove moot in the face of the casual, family and female audiences both console-makers hope to capture with their new hardware. Wii Sports or Guitar Hero-level word of mouth and social appeal is surely the goal here.

Whether either technology finds the success its creators hope remains to be seen, however. A recent survey suggested that only 8 per cent of consumers intend to buy Kinetic and 6 per cent move. That may well change in the face of hullabaloo surrounding Microsoft unveiling the finished Kinetic at tonight's press conference and Sony taking the last lid off Move tomorrow.

RSS feeds the world over will doubtless soon be saturated with further opinions and criticisms on the rival upgrades. Keep an eye on GamesIndustry.biz for reportage from both briefings.