Please someone tell me this is not whats going to be on every Move compatible game cover....

Most I have seen look like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sports-Champions-Playstation-3/dp/B002I0K74Y/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1284498874&sr=8-13

Sony has, admittedly, been absolutely terrible with their box art / marketing material (up until Kevin Butler) this generation. Remember the Spiderman font?

The fugly banner at the top of the box art is terrible, and why the really abrupt fade to grey off to the right? Why add Playstation Network onto it? Did we forget that the PS3 had PSN? Because it certainly doesn't mean that the game is playable on PSN, as even Final Fantasy XIII has it on the box, and that game has absolutely no multiplayer or even DLC.

Now they're jamming even more up top with even worse colors. Plus there's that "Only On Playstation" crap dangling below.

IMHO, they should make a smooth top to bottom gradient (like on this subreddit), then off to the right should be a handful of icons, and keep it to a minimum. Move-enabled certainly warrants one icon, perhaps "exclusive", and maybe, just maybe, the number of players.

/rant

I am sorry to inform you that it is. There is a reason, but it's a flimsy one.

See, Move doesn't mean "The Move bundle" i.e. PSEye + One Move Controller.

Many games will utilize Two Move controllers. Some will use One controller and be Navigation controller compatible (though it's never required, this is just fine print. Since the Sixaxis/DS3 can be used to do everything the nav controller can by holding it one hand, a Navigation controller will never be listed as a 'requirement'. The requirement is, though, that you either get one, or hold the DS3 balanced in the left hand while trying to do motion controls in the right hand. Semantics.) Also, some titles will use a DS3, but also be Move COMPATIBLE.

So some games will list that they are move compatible, meaning they can be played with or without

Others will say required, the Move Exclusive games (Sly Collection is compatible; Heroes on the Move is Required) designed solely for the controller. Even further games, like The Fight: Lights Out, will be able to utilize Two Move controllers (from what I can tell, it's the preferred method of play. I think it might also be required, but logic prevails on me to think 'why would they put that out so soon after move launch, forcing purchase of a second controller and possible returns?' I haven't been able to confirm or deny either way).

Sony intends, at least from what I've read from their site, to use these images on the front to show you what Move peripherals you need to own to play certain games. Or if it's required or just compatible. This isn't aimed at gamers who would easily be able to read the back and figure this out, and know in advance what to look for. It's aimed at parents and such. If a parent see a big blue blob with 2 move controllers in it, they start to think "wait, the thing I bought them only has one colored blob thing" which will get them to read closer and look at the back etc.

It's stupid, and I've already seen covers that don't necessarily do it (any title that only requires the basic PSEye and one Move controller should, in my opinion, not show it on the front. It's not only unnecessary, since it's the bare minimum and anyone who has 'Move' has what they need, but it also blends in with other titles. If you want to distinguish games that need extra parts, make the ones that don't need them not have that on the cover as such, thus the ones that do are even more visible).

In this particular case, it's terrible because it's a Move Compatible game. I'm buying Sly 3 (my day-one PS2 died a while back, and I only ever got to play Sly 1 but loved it), but I don't think I will be buying a Move by then.

Not to mention the fact that in the case of Sly Collection, Move isn't used in the game. It's used in new, made for the collection "Move mini-games". Though maybe they support some sort of more broad Move support in the 3 games themselves, that's not what I've read so far.

Also, Sony wants the Move lineup to be more visible. There will be a decent number of Move-required games, but a lot of them won't appeal to the average gamer, and won't get them to buy a Move. However, if you have a bunch of titles that draw attention on the front to the fact that they could use the Move instead, if only you had one, this pushes sales of the device. I know if I had RE5 Gold with the new Move Compatible cover, and the same for Heavy Rain, and Sly Collection, and then I saw a Move-required title I liked, I'd be more inclined to buy a Move. I'd be able to rationalize that I'm not just buying it for that new Move-required title I like, but also for use in other games I already have or intend on buying. They want you to rationalize like this. The Move-required route is unattractive to many developers, so if they don't show the larger, Move-compatible library off as part of the Move system, consumer incentive to get the Move drops.

TLDR; Sony is attempting to force this to try to prevent confusion between compatible games, move required games, and move games that need more than what's in the Move Bundle to play, but it will probably just serve to confuse people more and ruin box art. More importantly, however, they want to show off every game that can use Move in any way (the larger number eventually being those that play with a DS3 but have Move-compatibility options). This distinguishes the Move library as larger, and helps sell the units, which (in terms of hardware) are very profitable as well as something they really want to prove and make popular moving forward (no pun intended). Brand recognition also factors in to help sell Move, and distinguish it as not some Wii knockoff, but as a full blown product.