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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.'"
Nintendo didn't pioneer it. They had the first successful implementation.
His point stands on its own merits. "Good enough for making accurate movement calculations for new games" would be a good extension of the sentence though.
Nintendo's making a better motion controller. If they're making one, there's a perceived need for one. That's all.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
There's a learning curve for developers to understand and properly use this new interface. The first FPS that used the Wiimote (Red Steel) only sorta worked, but with the Metroid game, the experience was much better. There was a rush at first to try and shove motion controls into everything, but I think that was more just because it was new and trendy and a bullet point on the back of your game box. Now that motion control novelty has started to wear off, hopefully developers won't feel that they need to force it into their games in order to get people to notice.
But anyways, the ratio of really good games to crap games has always been in the neighborhood of 50:1, particularly for whichever system is dominating the market at the time. Shovelware will always exist, and in that sense it doesn't matter whether your interface uses buttons, motion control, or sexbots.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
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.
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.
I believe that the video displayed earlier was only a tech demo, as in pre-recorded. Otherwise it has a horribly slow reaction time to movements... sometimes 2-3 seconds later, the character would move. When the 360's product comes out, or an actual demonstration occurs, I will be MUCH more interested.
I steal signatures. This one used to be yours.
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?
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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...