Top gaming consoles in India

When the Nindendo Wii was launched in 2006, it took the gaming world by storm. Players waved the Wii’s wand-like Wii Remote to play interactive games on this home video game console.

When Microsoft released the Xbox 360 and Sony launched the Playstation 3, both these devices had traditional controllers. In 2010, both companies launched motion control devices to join the game.

Microsoft unveiled the Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360, which senses your actual body movements and offers a hands-free gaming experience. And Sony presented the PlayStation 3 with Move which, like the Nintendo Wii, has a wand that allows the user to play interactive games through motion.

Update: 27/11/2010: Microsoft has officially launched the Xbox 360 Kinect in India at a very affordable Rs 10,000 for the sensor unit. The full Xbox 360+Kinect sensor bundle costs Rs 23,000 – pretty much what you pay for a good smartphone these days, or for a basic desktop computer. But if a sci-fi gaming experience is what gets you going, you don’t have to look much further than the Kinect.

Now gaming enthusiasts have three big video game consoles to choose from. While it is said that the PlayStation 3 with Move focuses more on serious gamers, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 with Kinect is more physical and perceived to be perfect for family entertainment.

Presenting the three gaming consoles, now also available in India…

Sony PlayStation 3 with Move

Price: Rs. 23,490

Photo: Sony's Playstation Move Controller

The PlayStation Move is a motion-sensing game controller platform for Sony’s PS3, now available in India. What gamers get in the package is a slim PS3 console with 320GB of storage, one PlayStation Move Motion Controller and a PlayStation Eye (camera).

It also comes with a Blu-ray PlayStation Move Starter Disc with nine demo games. The built-in Blu-ray disc player (which is a basic PS3 USP) lets you play games, watch movies, enjoy music, photos and surf the Internet.

The primary component of the PlayStation Move is the motion controller which is a wand that allows the user to play interactive games through motion. It uses the PlayStation Eye camera to track the wand’s position and the inertial sensors in the wand detect motion.

Two inertial sensors inside the controller, a three-axis linear accelerometer (for speed of movement analysis), magnetometer (to read your position relative to the surface of the Earth) and a three-axis angular rate sensor (for gyroscopic measurements), track rotation as well as overall motion.

The motion controller has an orb at its head which glows in a full range of colors using RGB LEDs. Besides a tracking reference, the orb light provides visual feedback, reproducing visual effects. Using different orb colors for each controller, up to four motion controllers can be tracked at once with the PlayStation Eye.

On the controller is a large ovoid primary Move button, small action buttons and a regular PS button. On the left of the controller is the Select button and on the right is the Start button. At the base, you will find an analog trigger and at the tail end — the wrist strap, USB port, and extension port.

The motion controller and the navigation controller use Bluetooth 2.0 wireless radio communication and an internal lithium-ion battery which is charged via a USB Mini-B port on the controller. Up to four Move controllers or two Move motion controllers and two Move navigation controllers can be used at one time.

If you already own a PS3, you can upgrade the gaming console with the starter pack that comprises a motion controller, camera and a starter disc including demos of the titles ‘Sports Champions’, ‘Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11’, ‘Start the Party!’ available for Rs. 3,650 in India.

The PlayStation Move motion controller is also available separately for Rs. 2,499 and the PlayStation Move navigation controller at Rs. 1,899. Sony says, to keep costs low, all launch titles for PlayStation Move are playable with one motion controller, with enhanced options available for multiple motion controllers.

Microsoft Xbox 360 with Kinect

Price: Rs. 22,990

XBox 360 Kinect Sensor

The Xbox 360 console and Kinect bundle are for the gamer who’s looking for a hands-free gaming experience.

The Kinect is truly revolutionary, whether you like it or not. And that is what is now available for the gaming enthusiast- and families – in India. Yes, the Kinect really is wholesome family entertainment, and not just for the hardcore gamer. But stick to pure XBox 260 games, and you have your great action and racing games back.

The bundle includes the Xbox 360 console with 4GB of internal flash memory, the Kinect sensor, a black wireless controller, a composite A/V cable, a Wi-Fi extension cable, one-month Xbox Live Gold Membership, a Kinect Adventures game and a one-year limited warranty on the console.

The console, when paired with the Kinect sensor’s body-tracking technology, lets you jump, dodge, and kick your way through games. You can also control your Xbox 360 with a single gesture. A wave of your hand activates the sensor, recognizes your body and mirrors your movements with your virtual character, in any game.

The Xbox 360 has 2 front ports, 3 rear USB ports and one Kinect port, a color VGA motion camera and a depth camera both with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels at 30 fps, four microphones supporting single speaker voice recognition.

Saying the word ‘Xbox’ reveals a series of voice commands. Users can also control high-definition (HD) movies with the sound of their voice without a remote. Wow!

The camera is fundamental to this hands-free experience. It tracks 48 skeletal points of the human body, which means even individual finger movements can be recognized. It tracks two users at one time, and includes face recognition software, which runs at 30 fps and can be used for video chats over the Internet with other Xbox users as well as those on Windows Live on their PCs too.

The console includes a built-in Wi-Fi to connect to Xbox LIVE, the online network of more than 25 million LIVE members.

The Xbox 360 comes in 3 different models to choose from, without the Kinect package— the Arcade Console priced at Rs. 11,990, the 4GB Xbox 360 going for Rs. 14,990 and the 250GB Xbox 360 at Rs. 21,990.

The Kinect sensor can be bought separately if you already own an Xbox 360. The standalone Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360 offers a Kinect Sensor, a Kinect Adventure game, Wi-Fi extension cable and is available for Rs. 9,990.

Plug the Kinect sensor plus the included accessories into the Xbox, and the Kinect camera into a wall socket, as older machines don’t have the power to supply the Kinect as well. Besides Kinect Adventures, other games that will be available to start with are Kinect Sports, Kinectimals, Dance Central, Kinect Joy Ride and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.

Nintendo Wii

Price: Approximately Rs. 13,500

The Nintendo Wii was the first motion-sensing gaming device introduced to the world of gaming.The Wii is now available in India from several retail stores and prices vary quite a bit. The Wii is perfect as a gaming console when you have a bunch of friends over, and all of you just want to have a good time. Nintendo has a great bunch of games designed purely for that. The Wii is really for groups and families, and not really for hardcore gamers.

The Nintendo Wii console has 512MB of internal flash memory and features an SD card slot (expandable up to 32GB). You will also find an illuminated slot-loading optical media drive that plays Wii Optical Discs and Nintendo GameCube Game Discs.

Two USB ports are located at its rear. The SD card lets a player back up saved game data and downloaded Virtual Console and WiiWare games.

The standout feature of the Nintendo Wii console is its wireless controller— the Wii Remote. It is a handheld device that detects movement in three dimensions.

Another USP of the console is WiiConnect24, which receives messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.The Wii’s Wi-Fi connection works with secure WEP and WPA encrypted Wi-Fi networks.

The Nintendo Wii bundle includes the console, a stand to place it vertically and a circular stabilizer for the main stand, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk attachment, one Sensor Bar, a removable stand for the bar, one external main power adapter, two AA batteries and one composite AV cable with RCA connectors.

The composite cable does not support the Nintendo Wii’s maximum resolution of 480p, so those using an HD television will have to buy a set of Wii component cables which are sold separately.

The Wii Remote uses a combination of built-in accelerometers and infrared detection to sense its position in 3D space when pointed at the LEDs within the Sensor Bar. It has two-axis motion detection and a gyroscope to pick up rotational movement.

The Wii MotionPlus, which connects to the Wii Remote, allows actions to be delivered to the screen in real-time. Users can play using gestures as well as traditional buttons. The controller connects to the console using Bluetooth and can connect to expansion devices through a proprietary port at the base of the controller.

For games without movement, the Nintendo D-pad controller extends the functionality with the Nunchuk unit, which has an accelerometer and ananalog stick with two trigger buttons and an attachable wrist strap.

This gaming device is easy to install. The back panel has five ports —for the power adapter, for the AV cable, for the sensor bar and two USB ports. The Wii can also play MP3 music files and QuickTime videos but does not play audio CDs or video DVDs.

The Nintendo Wii also comes with loads of gaming controller accessories (all sold separately) and has a multitude of games to choose from. New bundles launched include the games Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort, as well as the MotionPlus accessory.