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Sony Rumored To Be Debuting Wiimote-Like Controller At E3
Anenome writes "Previously, we saw a Microsoft patent on a Wiimote-like device, and now rumors say that Sony too has a similar device in the works. This isn't surprising, given how dominant Nintendo's Wii has proved to be in this hardware generation. However, many gaming-geeks continue to lament the move away from plain old button-pressing. What is exciting is the prospect that all three companies may incorporate Johnny Lee-style head-tracking into the next console generation, which achieves a convincing 3D illusion on a regular vid-screen, leaving us just a few steps away from true positional 3D. Both the Microsoft and Sony patents incorporate a camera looking at the user, a required setup for achieving positional head-tracking."
we went from very simple digital joysticks, to analog joysticks, to analog pressure buttons, and now to multi-axis 3D input. i love it. it's what i've been wishing for since i was a kid.
analog steering wheels probably represent the need perfectly. [well, at least in the racing games that lean to the simulation side as opposed to the arcade side....]
i hope all the next-gen continue to get more nuanced inputs!
The next logical step would be a controller that you can actually wear on your hand like a large glove. It would be so bad!
I use the Wiimote all the time with Smoothboard, which incidentally is a much MUCH better application than Johny Lee's.
But really, the Wiimote's BT implementation sucks pond water from the bottom: you need to use the BlueSoleil stack, which is $$$ and can be quirky, unless you're really lucky and your Broadcomm or Toshiba stack works as-is, and the Wiimote doesn't autoconnect.
Quite frankly, all the Wiimote needs is a small firmware fix to be perfect. No need for Microsoft to reinvent things, just make it compatible.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
or is even the camera in the diagram staring at the ladies tits
Sure it's one setup, but it's hardly "required" otherwise it wouldn't have been possible to do the same trick with the wii-mote.
The wiimote acts as an infra-red camera (the "sensor bar" is a misnomer, it only has some leds), and IIRC the head-tracking trick involves a wiimote pointing at the user and some leds in the user's head.
Isn't it weird that you can describe a device as "Wiimote-like", but you can still patent it?
Do you mean like this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_MotionPlus
Woosh! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Glove#In_popular_culture
Life is just nature's way of keeping meat fresh.
... is the added complexity proposed to operate the gaming console. At first one button was fine, then two buttons, six, twelve ... now my wireless Logitech controller has no less than 18 buttons on it, two analog sticks, and a d-pad.
The beautiful thing about the Wii is that while it's not as fast or responsive as simply pressing a button to do X, it helps alleviate the complexity of modern gaming. My dad -- who couldn't figure out how to play golf on the Xbox because of all the different button combinations -- had no problems playing golf on the Wii (he still has a hard time with, and has basically given up on, 3D gaming -- so 3D Zelda and Mario are right out for him).
But now Microsoft and Sony continue to take the elegant design of the Wii controller (relative to the other gaming controllers, mind you) and add a whole bunch of shit to it to make it "better"
Technologically, it might be better, but god damn, they are missing the point: it's not the motion controls that gave Nintendo the damn lead, it's the ease of operation that opened the console up to less than hardcore gamers.
When my dad has to strap on a helmet just to play these games, he's going to junk the console, open his laptop, and play TextTwist into the night ... and I can't blame him.
And do mammals really drink milk? This is weather at 11.
So how much money is lost per console versus how much is gained per license and per sale?
If there's any indication that the Playstation 3 is still a money sinkhole for Sony it's their continued refusal to lower the console price, despite being outsold by its last generation counterpart. It means that the PS3 still costs a lot to manufacture, Sony is still taking a loss on the console, and lowering the price would put their charts into all kinds of unpredictable hell.
The declared goal of the Playstation 3 was to shim Blu-Ray into the average consumers home. At 22m units sold worldwide, it has helped Blu-Ray ... but it accounts for almost 90% of all the BD-enabled devices in the home around the world. With DVD being the near-ubiquitous media of choice around the world -- it has market penetration of almost 99% -- BD has a long damn way to go.
Also, the Wii and Xbox 360 continue to outperform the PS3 in the market, with 50m and 30m sold, compared to PS3's 22m.
So, yes, I'd say the Playstation 3 has been a marketing and performance failure. It was supposed to ride the success of the Playstation 2 and usher in the Blu-Ray era. It has not.
the word 'wiimote' is just like the word 'fucktard' and 'sheeple'. how can you hate the former but love the latter?
sig? uhh, umm, ok