Wii Copy Cats - PlayStation RealPlay

During the 2007 Christmas Wii shortage, when a single console could fetch more than $1,000 USD, PlayStation revealed a new line of games made for motion-controlled play. To date, PlayStation’s RealPlay line includes a golf game with corresponding club, pool with its own wireless cue stick, racing with a small steering wheel, bowling with a lightweight ball and puzzlesphere, which came with an orb-shaped controller.

The games were obviously meant to complete with the similar Wii Sports package, which offered multi-party play (as does the RealPlay line). However, reviews of the games mocked the motion-controlled feature, saying the timing was often off. The graphics were said to be rough, the sounds out-of-whack with gameplay and the controllers superfluous to gaming in some cases (the pool stick, for instance, contains a D-pad where you do most of the gaming work).

At their debut, each one of these games was sold for $34.99 each. No gaming package of the five is currently available.

A Word on Xbox

There have been multiple rumors that the Xbox console will soon feature motion-controlled games on par with the Wii. Microsoft assures the public that these stories are not true, and the company denies any plans to introduce motion-controlled games or devices anytime soon.

Comparing the Copies

At the moment, there is no full-service, motion-controlled video gaming console on the market right now that is made with a wide variety of games for both children and adults…with the obvious exception of the Nintendo Wii. Other systems might offer motion-controlled games (there are even some which can be played on standard PCs), but only one system boasts all motion, all the time for all audiences -- the Wii. There are copy cats which can help you get close to that gaming experience, but there is no system that’s truly comparable to Nintendo’s on the motion-controlled gaming level.