The PlayStation Move Has Buttons On It. Turns Out They're Pretty Important.

It didn't really work out. While the EyeToy was an interesting piece of tech, it hit a brick-wall when it came to most control decisions. The lack of tactile feedback in a controller-less device severely limits the number of things that can be achieved. Hence the direction taken with the PlayStation Move.

Dr. Richard Marks - the designer of both the EyeToy and PlayStation Move - reckons buttons are a pretty important component of the PlayStation Move because they allow the device to be versatile. He told EDGE magazine:

“I think that you can do some things really well with just a camera, or just a 3D camera, but there’s just some stuff you can’t do as well. And there’s a bunch of experiences you could never do as well,” said Marks. “I think our system is really flexible because we still have a camera.

“Buttons are irreplaceable as an input device. Too many buttons are overwhelming, but one single action button is very powerful feeling. For core games you really do need a set of buttons to quickly choose things. Trying to replace buttons with gestures doesn’t work very well.”

A fourth dance game was announced for Microsoft's controller-less Kinect this morning. Perhaps you see Marks' point?