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Sony Unveils PS3 Motion Controller
Sony confirmed rumors at E3 yesterday by debuting their take on a motion-based input device, set to be released for use with the PS3 in the spring of 2010. The BBC has some entertaining video of the demonstration. "A sensor sits on top of the TV and detects the position, distance and movement of two controllers held in a user's hand. The device can not only measure where the controllers are in relation to each other, but also how close they are to the sensor, meaning you can create true 3D movement within a game. ... During the demonstration, the developers showed what the Sony PlayStation Controller was capable of, enabling users to wield weapons, fire a bow and arrow, write on screen and manipulate objects in a virtual environment. 'One thing that is really difficult to do in a virtual world is drawing,' said Mr Marks. 'And in particular, writing requires extreme precision. [The controller can be measured] to sub-millimetre accuracy.'"
This is so cool. I'm glad that all the vendors, and not just Nintendo, are adopting these new technologies.
I'd rather have a real bow and arrow.
Not because they're a terrible idea.... Mostly because they're all patented. If one vendor's system "wins", we all lose.
Without competition, there are no price wars.. There's no innovation.. You're lucky if there are even incremental upgrades.
Patents don't prevent competition. You're confused.
Unfair licensing practises prevent competition.
Patenting actual hardware device innovations shouldn't be up for debate, its almost always a good thing for innovation. The problem is not licensing patents to competitors at fair rates.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
Just by using the phrase "all these motion controllers" implies that there are already several different ones competing. And if systems are trying to "win" then, well - that's because they're in competition with each other.
Assuming it works as well as they claim, this already demonstrates innovation and improvement over the Wiimote, against whom they are competing.
But then isn't the easiest way to solve that to just do away with patents on input devices?
I could care less about a motion controller. The Wii is absolutely aweful. I think its almost random at times. I want NetFlix on the PS3.
Am I the only one who was glad that "waggle" games were segmented to the Wii? Don't get me wrong, the games on wii that use waggle well are fun games and all, but for every game that uses it well, there are 50 that abuse it/don't understand it.
Mouse and keyboard will STILL be better and more accurate for FPS games, and dual analogue sticks will still be better for platformers. I can see these controllers being pretty good for DS type games, using your TV like a touchscreen, even a 3d touchscreen (some sort of 3d maze game, where you have to drag a ball through a 3d maze). Otherwise, I still prefer existing control options...
Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
Both systems need accelerometers + gyros to sense the controller rotation (X & Y absolute, Z relative).
The Wii uses a camera on the remote and targets in the sensor bar to detect position and Z-rotation (absolute).
The PS3 thingy uses a camera on the TV and a target on the controller to detect position. I don't know how it detects Z-rotation (absolute); maybe it uses a magnetometer?
The PS3 can track position better because the Eye can see the controller most of the time. The Wii tracks better when the controller is pointed at the screen.
considering their competitor did this a few days ago
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/projectnatal/
The graphics are killer. The AI has me pinned down. The story is immersive. If only I could freehand draw some genitalia on the wall this game would be perfect.
The player has to inject the obligatory rootkit implant into their body upon first use.
It's a really nice controller, and it seems to be really precise! It'll be really a nice addition to the PS3... As a Ps3 owner I can't wait to try a game dedicated to this controller (not one patched to use it like so many Wii games...).
I can't call that English
This looks like it is all done with software which runs on the PS3. The cost of the controller should be no more than $5 but Sony will find a way to charge you $60 or $100 for it.
Also, expect it to be full of DRM so you can't make your own. Afterall, its probably just a specially shaped object with some IR or something, easy to duplicate.... so pack it full of DRM and pass the cost onto the customers.
Screw Sony... where is my NetFlix on PS3?
They're also competing against Microsoft, who's technology easily looks the most impressive ( even with my I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it glasses on. )
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/projectnatal/
Yes, Nintendo's patent on the Wii Remote stopped Sony from releasing a wand-shaped motion controller after all.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Wasn't their Eye peripheral supposed to do that already?
Because I remember Sony dissing the Wii controller every which way when Nintendo presented it.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
I'm not confused. Let me fix your comment.
No sane console vendor would license a patented killer feature to the competition at any price.
I'm not arguing that they shouldn't be able to patent this stuff. It wasn't an anti-patent rant... It's more of a lament of where gameplay innovation has gone to. Novel input methods aren't born in the arcade and then licensed for home use anymore. They're cooked up by the console makers as a bludgeon to kill off competition.
I can't wait...
They're cooked up by the console makers as a bludgeon to kill off competition.
Isn't trying to beat their competition precisely what corporations should be doing? This isn't a special olympics race where everyone ends up winning regardless of how you badly you do.
Microsoft and Sony's new technologies are just appearing, halfway through the product life cycle. This means they'll be, what, 3 good games using this hardware. Just look at headsets. Sony didn't include one and so many games don't support such a fundamentally important piece of online play. This'll wind up in the dumpster next to the Playstation Eye and other such technologies.
drawing with the wii controller is hard not because of accuracy but cos of the resolution, target size (i.e small TV) and lack of friction for stability like you'd get with paper.
Exactly. Without patents, Sony or Microsoft could simply sell their own Wii and be done with it.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
- Yes Wii can !
Yeah but in case you didn't notice we're talking about the rules of beating the competition, not the purpose itself. Murdering the opponent also wins the battle, but it breaks the rules (and please don't bullshit me about comparing murder to patenting, that's not the point, the point is that I have to sink so low in comparison for you to understand). 100 years ago patents nurtured the industries. Nowadays we're moving so fast in development that it's doing it nothing else than harm. There are too many versions and alternations for everything these days and by claiming one milestone you've basically killed the development it could have sprung out to, instead focusing on one or a few lines of paths that merely benefit your company. This is no secret, nor is it difficult to understand. Different rules for different eras. The internet era demands change. Change in patenting, change in copyrighting, change in "intellectual property", whatever the fuck that means, period.
I am the lawn!
100 years ago patents nurtured the industries.
And they still are.
Isn't trying to beat their competition precisely what corporations should be doing? This isn't a special olympics race where everyone ends up winning regardless of how you badly you do.
And yet the XBox 360 lives on... I suppose it helps when you don't mind blowing $1 billion to make sure little Timmy wins.
You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
It doesn't feel natural to me to use a mouse to control and fire a firearm, or a sword and besides, I sit at a chair and push a mouse around all day at work (and sometimes longer) --- it's not something I want to do for leisure.
The Wii allows for interesting, natural interfaces which minimize button mashing and allow for more immersion, which for me equates to fun.
Better still, one can use various gun shells to improve the verisimilitude --- I've even been making Wii Zapper-like pistols in my wood shop and handing them out to co-workers along w/ used copies of Link's Crossbow Training so that we can all compete for high scores.
Do yourself a favour, open your mind, get your keister out of your chair, grab a Wii Zapper or other gun shell (the Nyko Perfect Shot Pistol is excellent if you have large hands) and try an FPS on a WII, e.g.:
- ranger levels in _Link's Crossbow Training_
- Quantum of Solace --- this game is quite a bit of fun, almost as good as Goldeneye
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
- Medal of Honor
- Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
- House of the Dead: Overkill
Unfortunately Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition doesn't work well w/ a standard gun shell, though GameStop makes a 2-button one which does work w/ it.
A game which almost makes it is the prosaically named Ski and Shoot (a biathlon game) which also supports the Wii Balance Board --- I'd really like to see an FPS which did this well.
William
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Really, I'm asking in all seriousness. The things that were presented in E3 seemed as gimmicky as when they first were thought of(u-force, etc). Almost 20 years ago we had the gimmick of "multimedia" with games having FMV sequences, and it ended up being a bunch of bad Sega CD games.
Then I thought of the video game crash(no more Atari, Coleco, Intelly, etc) and what good came out of it: a revamped market that wasn't the same ol same ol. A cleansing with fire.
I remember the "pop the bubbles" game that came free with a webcam. Amusing for roughly 5 minutes. Sony's wand seems like they are just trying to catch up to the Wii, but it's too late.
Sorry but just because you say so it doesn't make it true. Next.
I am the lawn!
Don't underestimate the value of the original. Sony or MS would sell a "Wii", but they couldn't call it a Wii due to trademarks, and they wouldn't be able to do a lot of the same design things, due to copyright (which is way too long as it is, but still a useful concept if done right). They could have a knock-off that does the same things, but they couldn't ever have a Wii. And people wouldn't want the knock-off by and large, they'd want the original, which is guaranteed to be compatible, and is the only one that'll get the game and system updates from Nintendo.
My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
... the motion "wand" looked like a big dildo?
Seriously, when the sixaxis was unveiled I called it the PSWii... I'm calling the dildo wand the PSThwiener. I know it's a prototype, but I hope they take more thought into the final design.
I was just responding with the same level of evidence that you had: none. The many companies who use their patents to protect themselves from having their ideas stolen would beg to differ that patents don't nurture their business.
It didn't stop Sony and their army of lawyers but what about a smaller shop who comes up with a good idea that happens to involve motion control? Nintendo and/or Sony and/or Microsoft will litigate that competition out of business.
How, after deriding the Wii for the last few years, both Sony and Microsoft want to become it now....
Maybe things have changed a little bit now that people are more willing to accept buying add-on peripherals for their console now that Nintendo has made the idea more popular, but I don't think that this will help sell additional consoles for Sony or have any major content released for it.
Microsoft has much the same problem, even though I think that the technology is amazing. Their core audience probably couldn't care less about the device and generally prefer using console controls to play their games. Because it's an add-on, most companies will not target the device because it has no install base and few people will buy one because there are no killer apps for it. Notice the vicious circle here. I'm honestly surprised that the balance board for the Wii has sold even half as much as it has.
If Microsoft really wants to push this technology their next console should include this by default and there should be a stripped down version sold at a mass market price so that people outside of hardcore gamer group will buy the console. Sony really needs to do the same as well if it wants to cash in on the casual gaming crowd. However, what they've done now is too late as the casual gamer boat has already set sail. Of course, it may be another two years before either Microsoft or Sony can release a new console. Microsoft supposedly just started to break even recently and has a lot of losses to eat up whereas Sony might not even be at the break-even point from what I've heard.
"(The controller can be measured) to sub-millimeter accuracy."
Big deal. Get a good enough caliper and you can measure any old NES controller to sub-millimeter accuracy, too.
Bow-ties are cool.
Why don't you ask GameTrak, who are manufacturing and selling their own wand-shaped motion controller for the Xbox 360 and PS3?
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
In your willingness to wallow in negativity you seem to be omitting the vast, and more probable, range of opportunity between the two extremes of "all these motion controllers fail horribly" and "one vendor's system "wins""
Clearly this controller puts the PS3 in competition against the Wii in terms of motion control. Nintendo will undoubtedly respond with a higher specced Wii. Innovation. Competition. Everyone gets better hardware. Everyone wins.
Did you notice how he kept missing the ball?
He can control where the bat is in space, but he has absolutely no idea where it is relative to the ball. This may work in combination with 3D TV, but even that will have calibration problems.
Sony's controller has knows it's absolute position, and the Wii knows it's relative position. The question is, when would you need to know a controllers absolute position?
[Intentionally left blank]
It will be really interesting to see motion capture games play out between Microsoft and Sony, sony's tech seems slightly more acccurate but microsofts motion capture was said to be down to fingers, which seems accurate enough for drawing.
Microsoft's tech has no controls but Sony's may work better in real world conditions, or when used with a projector (microsoft's camera may not be able to discern the user as well with stray ir from a projector bulb backlighting a player)
Both honestly seem like sideshows to the main point of each console, some way to slow down the Wii... In the end it will all come down to games to make or break the tech on each console.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
There are a lot of games that don't get ported to the Wii because they are designed around a classic controller instead of a wiimote. With all three systems having a similar control system now, I'll bet we see more cross platform games come to the Wii that intelligently use the wiimote instead of having it tacked on or simply not made at all.
Yes, because we all want sticky cheetos fingers on our 52inch screens.
Only things worse than waggle abuse is the need to make everything touchscreen.
I do agree with everything else about abuse/not understanding what games should incorporate some technologies.
Yeah, agreed, but until these motion controls give me a way to turn 90 or 180, or 75 in the same amount of time and accuracy like a mouse does, I'll settle for control over natural feel. This controller doesn't seem to get there either. I mean, it's closer than the Wii controller, but if you watch the videos, the kid can't hit a ball with a racket, has trouble shooting a giant sword lying on the floor with a gun, and has trouble aiming the bow when asked to shoot a specific enemy.
Motion controls will be intuitive and natural one day, but I still don't think this is it.
Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
Hahahaha their ideas!? Are you serious!? Patenting is not about whos idea it is, it's about who claims it first. You think this is fair? Not to mention all the obvious, general patents that stretch from right click menus to any other ridiculous patents. How the hell can you defend this? Is this nurturing business to you? What happens in a year in development took ages when patenting was created. Do you understand the difference? It's not about protecting your business, it's about grabbing the allowance to do even to most basic functions, leaving anybody that want to build on that idea, not even necessarily yours to fucking begin with, to improve development, forced to pay you royalties. This renders only the wealthy, such as corporations, to be able to continue such development. I don't think you quite understand what patenting has become. You're just standing there clapping your hands to this ridiculous circus.
I am the lawn!
I think that Rick Marks fellow has one of those PhDs. See EyeToy entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_Toy
s/Mr/Dr/g
Did anyone else start laughing like a 14 year old boy when they read that?
We figured out a long time ago that it's easier to elect seven judges than to elect 132 legislators.
Upon turning on my ps3 for the first time I was greeted with a "create your profile" screen.
And immediately annoyed that I had to use the controller to navigate through the onscreen keyboard.
If this mimics the Wii's ability to do that I will be happy enough.
Historically speaking, the more likely scenario is that Sony gets sued, removes the feature from the next generation system while telling everybody that it is a stupid feature anyway, and finally relents and is forced to pay overly high royalties to remain competitive.
Whoa! Mr. President, we don't use the term "special olympics" anymore.
Sure. It's what they should be doing.
Explain to me why, if they succeed, we should like it again?
Regardless, in the past console makers were competing at making home gaming affordable while keeping it as arcade-like as possible. They've transitioned into creating the best mold into which the next batch of entertainment will be poured. There's plenty of room for them to compete at giving us the most gaming power for the dollar. There's no need for us to end up having whole genres of games that can only be played on "System Y" just because there is an input device patent.
That Microsoft's presentation looks lame in comparison. That is it looks lame if you have Silverlight.
Or you look it up on YouTube.
Why does it look lame?
Because they are trying to go the controllerless path.
Aaaand... it is kinda predetermined to fail unless you can manage to capture the movement of every single unmarked finger.
Like when you want to shoot the weapon, change weapon or tool, reload, use inventory/menu or interact with the surrounding without yelling...
You know... All that stuff that makes us the cool top of the food chain.
Plus, they come of as trying to hard to just control the "beast. The painting demo looks like something painted using only your left foot while hanging upside down.
And the fact that the guy doing it is so out of shape that he is grunting while he does it does not help.
Come on! Couldn't they have found another physically active girl to do that while he talks?
And the orange guy just looks like a prick you would like to introduce to the bottom of your shoe.
Note also that even in the commercial (featuring yet nonexistent games/entertainment/communication software) all interaction is limited to very crude body gestures for moving a rag-doll on the screen, activation of very specific predetermined switches through very predetermined gestures (hitting the buzzer or changing the tire).
And yelling at the screen.
Using the camera for texture and object input is a nice feature though.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
When I asked about the Wii version of "Okami," a game that uses drawing as a magic system, a store clerk claimed that it was flawed because the drawing didn't work well compared to the PS2 version! If the Wii controller is actually inferior for that purpose to a regular controller, it seems like it doesn't do what it was meant to do, and is basically just Power Glove II. Has anyone played both versions of the game for comparison?
Revive the Constitution.
well, hints are based on how the system is set up.
The controller has a purple lighted tip that the eye toy locks onto and tracks.
This is giving way to the system's new name: The purple-helmeted warrior.
They're using their grammar skills there.
What happened to head tracking? They demoed it a year ago http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/27/ps3-head-tracking-only-needs-camera/ - however TFA doesn't even mention it. A pity, it would have been a killer feature...
"A senior sits on top of the TV and detects the position, distance and movement of two controllers held in a user's hand..."
My first thought was to picture an elderly person sitting on top of my TV.
E3 Tech Demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXYSAcXpCnM
360 commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oACt9R9z37U
Note that the gestures are very crude - because they were trying to eliminate any kind of controller.
Now, if they had used multicolored rings (or just duct tape, stickers, whatever...) - we would have the "finger level" capture too.
This way though, it is a very limited set of games you can play.
Even something like bowling becomes a problem.
Sure you can swing the bowling ball, but how do you release it? Wave your other hand in the air? Doesn't seem like bowling to me.
You could play golf though. And tennis.
And anything else where the game sends towards you an object with which you can interact in one of the three ways. Catch, hit, pass.
Throwing? Sorry... no buttons or switches.
Shooting? That won't work either.
Gripping and/or holding? Both hands only.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
I hope all these motion controllers fail horribly.
Mostly because they're all patented. If one vendor's system "wins", we all lose.
So I'm confused...
In the subject you say you want them all to fail,
yet in the message body you say you want them all to succeed at the same time,
yet your logic for wanting both of those opposite situations is that patents are keeping competition from happening,
despite the fact you are replying to an announcement about a competing motion sensing controller!
I don't think I'd be alone in asking you... What did you want exactly again?
That's like saying the easiest way to solve high number of auto-related deaths is to do away with cars.
I watched the video (both of them), but how is Natal's more impressive or less of a tech demo than Sony's? I have GOT to be missing something.
The one thing I want to know is how much lag? There is plenty of software out there doing basically what Natal is doing, with PC webcams. None that I have seen have low latency, or a high degree of accuracy. I did not get the impression they've improved on that, but we wont know until they give a live demo.
Sony GAVE a live demo, and it had extremely low latency. Why is everyone saying Sony's was more of a tech demo. WTF did I miss? If you have more Natal videos, PLEASE send them my way, I'm really curious what the hell everyone sees in this.
We've got advanced image recognition on one hand, and that is neat, but motion capture on the other. I'd bet on motion capture. Which will be easier to develop for, and integrate into a game? How will the environment affect either solution? We have much, much more reason to be wary of image recognition failing in poor lighting than motion capture.
Patenting actual hardware device innovations shouldn't be up for debate
Well, it seems like it depends on what level those things are patented. Are you patenting the specific design of that hardware, or are you trying to apply the patent to "all hardware controllers that accomplish [x]"? Because I don't mind it so much when the patent is of a particular design or mechanism that's truly novel, leaving the door open for someone else to design their own mechanism and implementation to achieve the same results. What's troublesome is that a lot of times companies are patenting big general ideas.
The Wii was succesful not because of the technology, but because they managed to draw in a huge untapped market, the non-gamer.
A friend of mine in the game industry had always talked about the next big video game crash. With the 'gamer' market being the primary one it started to become increasingly expensive to create games and consoles. Gamers kept demanding better and better graphics and more powerful systems. Those who couldn't afford the millions to create such a game were left behind and those that could were becoming increasingly scared to try new things. With such a large cost:market ratio it was safer to release sequels or add-ons to already proven successes. Eventually the gamer crowd was destined to demand more than what was profitable. The videogame industry would have two choices, either reduce the cost of producing titles or increase the market.
Nintendo did both. (Although I would think it would be tough to do either one individually). They turned a broken business model into a smart and profitable one. The wiimote had little to do with it. It was merely just a tool to reach out to that huge untapped market.
Come on, how hard can it be? The sequel to The Force Unleashed would rock my universe if I could actually strangle my foes.
Stop the brainwash
I suppose I meant small cost:market ratio
I don't want to troll...but strictly speaking, it is. Car-related deaths implies death by car. No car means no way to die by car. Granted, the side-effects are incredibly complicated and probably not worth getting rid of cars, but if you're only interested in minimizing car-related deaths, then get rid of the cars.
Cynical Idealist
Second for Mario Kart with the motion sensor. I started on it that way, and have stuck with it since. I can get precision turns with the complimentary intuitiveness of steering. Mario Kart seems to be the most refined implementation of a driving game for Wii using motion sensors - Nintendo did their homework very well.
Then again, I'm probably one of very few who plays Geometry Wars with the pointer. Personally, I like how it works over standard analog controls, I just feel it's more accurate.
I think many people try the motion control, get fed up after a few minutes, and revert to what they've been used to for decades. From presonal observation, it seems like they just don't want to take the time to learn it - they just want to play.
Prove it.
This controller doesn't seem to get there either. I mean, it's closer than the Wii controller, but if you watch the videos, the kid can't hit a ball with a racket, has trouble shooting a giant sword lying on the floor with a gun, and has trouble aiming the bow when asked to shoot a specific enemy
It was a tech demo. It's still close to a year away from release. Plenty of time for them to tweak it.
The Sony demo, to me, doesn't look like much of an advancement ( over Wii, and even over Adobe Flash demos around the web ), whereas the Microsoft complete lack of controller seems a large step forwards. Even if it's only basic recognition of body movement the possibilities for it seem virtually endless, to me, the magic wand is just a point and a direction vector in 3d space.
I think people are saying that Sony's is more of a tech demo based on the amount of *gloss* applied to the presentation, MS's looks finished, Sony's looks in development. ( I think in reality it's probably the other way around, MS seem to still have latency problems. )
More infos :
This is a link to Johnny Chung Lee's ( the guy who did super interesting things with the Wiimote, they're worth checking out too ) blog discussing the technology, including why light conditions aren't important. He *raves* and he's personally made some of the most impressive spacial/visual/cheap technology I've ever seen. He seems to work for Microsoft now, normal rules apply...
http://procrastineering.blogspot.com/
The biggest difference to me is that if both products reach the consumer as advertised ( as if ) then the Sony product is more of the same, and will probably result in similar mini games to the Wii and the MS one is so far ahead of what I thought was possible in real time on consumer hardware ( I work in a similar-ish field ) that it's genuinely exciting.
Also, the mom in the MS video is hot. ( :
Unlikely.
The WiiMote is based on an IR camera inside the controller, reading the IR signals from the "Sensor" Bar.
The PS3mote is based on a colored light on the controller and motion tracking through a camera.
Whilst the Microsoft Natal is based on full body motion detection, without a remote.
For once, all three companies made something different and interesting in its own way.
^_^
So you think more people have bought say Sony or Panasonic TVs and DVD players than knock-offs from Korea and China?
People buy cheap. If they could, they'd buy the knock-off Wii from some no-name company at Walmart for $15 less than a real one.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
I love how you got rated flamebait for pointing out that in a truly fair race, the 360 would never even have been made (since its predecessor lost so much money).
Fortunately for Microsoft, their pockets are very very deep and they're able to absorb huge losses to work on prototype after prototype before eventually finding something that really works or tanking the project completely.
See Windows 1 & 2, IE (most versions), etc.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
If you say "Here's a Sony for $1000, and here's a El-Knockoffo for $800", most people will buy the Sony. For almost all consumers, the brand is important, often more important than the actual quality. Or are you saying that Nike has to have gone out of business years ago since there are cheap knock-offs of their product? The exact same forces would take effect for Nintendo.
My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
The latency on Sony's input method vs what Microsoft just showed is much better. I was getting worried because a previous article showed the microsoft xbox solution had a pretty bad lag when a guy was moving his arms up and down. The microsoft video showed his arms up when they were already down. The video linked to in this article shows that there is no noticeable latency in the PS3 motion sensor. I am now excited about future games for the Sony solution.
Heh, well at least someone appreciated it! The Zune seems to fit your description as well.
:-/
Apparently someone gave the xbox / msft fanbois mod points today. Not much you can do about that.
You are using English. Please learn the difference between loose and lose; they're, there, and their; your and you're.
I remember playing an EyeToy-game using a "wand controller" just before Wii came out...?
This is blinging
It doesn't feel natural to me to use a mouse to control and fire a firearm, or a sword and besides, I sit at a chair and push a mouse around all day at work (and sometimes longer) --- it's not something I want to do for leisure.
And there we have it. The control mechanism needs to be suited to the game you're playing - so generally FPS games are most accurate with mouse & keyboard. Generally platformers work best with a joypad. I'd argue arcade driving games also work best with joypad. Driving simulators work best with a steering wheel with force-feedback.
Waggling some nintendo remote in mid-air doesn't feel natural to control a steering wheel either, and it's not accurate, nor realistic.
The problem isn't the controller, it's the game. Boom Blocks would be stupid with a keyboard or joypad, for example. A new control scheme requires the game producers to see it's value and design the game accordingly.
The pre-recorded trailer was indeed totally made-up - as it said in the beginning, that represented only MS' "vision" of what it would be like.
The stage show was real and live. I could see noticeable lag, around 200-500ms, but it was kinda hard to judge from that setup. I'd put more weight on an independent hands-on impression - and those guys certainly liked it. "Ever so slight control delay" sounds more encouraging, as does "Holy shit" and "it worked remarkably, incredibly well". If an experienced Burnout player liked Burnout Natal-style that much, it bodes well. And I do like the face- and voice-recognition too, adds a new dimension.
I liked the Sony demo too - plenty of gaming potential there, no question. Very precise-looking (a standard-sized glowing ball makes tracking with depth nice & easy), though I rather doubt their "sub-millimetre precision" tracking claims from a 720p camera. Gamers get an accurate free-form control method, Sony gets to sell plenty of ball-on-a-stick controllers, everyone's happy.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
Motion control is all about simulating and capturing human motion. Your FPS style trick jumping and 180 degree turns don't fall into that category, so I have some serious doubt that it will ever happen with motion controls. Or to say it another way: Quake-style FPS gameplay is in large part an artifact of the mouse controls, so its natural that the mouse works best with it.
I can't wait for this to come, gets hacked and then we can use it as an interface on our pc's :)
I beg to differ in some points.
It's still costy to develop for videogames. Nintendo is overly conservative in relation to new developers - actually they require you to have a proven background on other platforms to even START talking about giving you the sdk...
The indie developer always had to choose between the pc and not releasing a game at all (they COULD do for the Mac, but you know how's the gaming situation on Mac). You couldn't and you can't release your own game and then grow bigger for any tv console.
Well, the turning guy on this matter is, interestingly, apple. With the ipod touch and the iphone and the app store.
I don't know if that many indie devs are making money on it. But I'm sure apple is and amazon is doing a hell of money selling objective-c books.
yeah I don't see the point of Microsoft and Sony even trying.
The casual gaming market has been won by the Wii. The reason for this is that the Wii is cheaper.
There are other consideration of how the Wii has advantages over the PS3 and the 360, for example the Wii has the rights to the recognizable faces of the Nintendo franchises (Mario etc.).
But Sony and Microsoft can close the gap in some ways to court the casual gaming market. They have the chance to create killer apps for their motion sensor controllers.
But the one thing they can't change is their price.
And that is going to kill them, because a casual gamer wants a low-cost system.
On the other hand, the 360 has the best online play and content distribution out of any next-gen console.
I'm pretty sure that no-one can disagree with this.
That could be a huge advantage in courting the casual gaming market.
This is a battle that Microsoft and Sony are trying to fight, these motion sensor controllers can only be realisticly be used for casual gaming purposes. It will be interesting to see how things turn out.
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." - Pablo Picasso