Sony is the future! It's so far ahead in the future that everything it does, like Trophies and motion control, kind of looks like things that were done in the past, but Sony did it so it's actually the future because of reasons! In keeping with this theme, someone from Sony has stated that the PS3 Wiimote is so advanced, it's a couple of generations ahead of the curve. This ought to be good.
"It’s another generation forward, or even a couple of generations," says R&D prez Paul Holmon. "I know in certain games or applications which are out there, people had to sort of fluff it to make it real for consumers. But this stuff is super-accurate and the impact of that is incredible.
"I think you have to play with it to realize what it will do to games ... Game developers want to know, if they’re working on a title for next year, whether they should consider it or not. We have to send some sort of message. At the end of the day, we know the track we’re taking for our technology, we know when we’re going to manufacture, but we have to make sure there’s a good catalog of games to back it up."
We'll see. So far, both Sony and Microsoft have been all bluster when it comes to how "new" their attempts to copy Nintendo have been. As for all this "Natal/Sony Wiimote will change the face of gaming," crap? If that seriously happens, I will kiss Denis Dyack on the arse and call him a naughty schoolgirl.
Contest:
11:40 AM on 07.21.2009
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Please Sony, why don't you focus your efforts on software and talk about how a Xbox 360 capable of functioning on the same level as the PS3 costs much more money than 400 dollars.
Do you guys think niche titles will die someday with the advent of full on motion saturation?
Arcade Shooters use a different technology, it's like saying the NES LightGun is Motion controller...
IsayIsay:
Well, 1:1 recognition in rotation on a local axis is one thing, but the Wii can still not read 3D Space, unlike the PS3's wand and 360's Natal. Other than that they can still improve on usability, battery usage, size and so on.
Perhaps its much more sensitive than 1:1. Motion Plus be damned. This controller is for the hardcore gamers! If you accidentally twitch your hand you'll fall off that cliff. You'll have to be so accurate you'll want to play with a wrist cast.
Cause Nintendo half-assed motion control the first time around (probably to make more money). As a 'hardcore gamer', I would have been there on day one had Nintendo actually implemented 1:1 controls. However, as it is, waggle is an extremely poor excuse for motion sensing. I think some of the things they've done with shooting games is cool, but come on.
They already did. Like 15 minutes worth of it being used at E3.
As it stands, this is the only motion controller I have ANY interest in using (and the interest isn't exactly piqued for this one either) as it has what seems to be the best accuracy out of the three, as well as the fastest response time (though this could easily change by launch) as well as tactile feedback.
I don't think it will replace my regular controllers for, well, much of anything, but I could see myself shelling out a few dollars (I already have a PSEye) to give it a spin if there's a couple of fun games for it.
100% Agreed.
@ Blog
Not interested in neither Microsoft's or Sony's Motion Controls. Only Nintendo's.
I don't like the Wii not because of the "waggle", but because the Wiimote was advertised to be able to do things that it really can't do. The wiimote (sans motionplus) really doesn't offer a very precise control scheme in comparisons to sticks/buttons. From what I've seen from the MotionPlus, they've pretty much given the Wiimote the functionality that the early Wii commercials were advertising. It's too bad it took them two years to do it and require a separate addon (i.e. more moneys for nintendo!)
Now if they can release some actual games that use the fucntionality, rather than shovelware Wii adaptations of browser-based flash games, "hardcore" gamers might appreciate it more.
Come now; do you really think that it'll take Nintendo two whole generations to catch up to Sony's thing? If they wanted to, why couldn't they do it in one?
On second thought, I guess the more important question is, would they really want to? Motion-controls are quickly becoming exactly the sort of red ocean that Nintendo has been trying to avoid, after all.
The Sony technology is better than the Wiimote, and does a similar to Natal.
Still don't want one.
Pure and simple M$ and $ony are after something that does not exist for them andmay very well screw them over, picture this, they invest a fuck ton of money on motion controls and instead of finding the casual graal, they end up with the same problems that the Wii have, a monumental amount of shovelware and games that do not use the controller scheme to it´s fullest and worse, all efforts to make core games for Glow$tick and NAtal, will end up being ported to the Wii where the user pays nothing to have motion or if one pays is 20 bucks.
BAD MOVE.
It's really quite simple. You take a previously created concept and improve upon it. Microsoft did it via the Achievement system, then Sony took their shot at it with Trophies. Maybe one day Nintendo will do the same exact thing. Is it better? Debatable. But did they take their own shot at it? Yes. Just like Microsoft did with Natal and Sony with their to-be-named device.
Does that mean it's generations ahead? Not at all. Simply a new attempt at a currently existing technology both in and out of the console arena. That's not to say that the Sony device won't be good - I haven't the slightest clue as to whether or not it will. Best I can do is try to come to a conclusion from what i've seen - and that's not enough to claim any sort of long term fact.
As for changing the face of gaming. Don't send out those notices for anyone to wash their ass anytime soon, I say. They should, but i'd imagine you'd prefer an extra clean... Alright look, all i'm saying is that I don't think "Motion Control" will ever become the primary method to play games.
You get into this gigantic argument about Then-"Modern Gamers" being the rough equivalent of Now-"Modern Athletes". And the only time that happens is when we have holodecks. Anything prior to that is a pale imitation of "motion control" that is no more than me playing "hide and seek: Commandos" in my bathroom. You're restricted, you have a shitty $1 water pistol with those damned plugs and you're lucky if you don't trip over the toilet or swing around and end up breaking a mirror.
After that comes the Parents and Politicians argument. No longer will gamers be able to use the defense of "Well it's a damn controller, not a real gun. I don't learn how to reload it or pull the trigger. It's a game pad for goodness sake!".. Motion control advances and advances, and now we're selling silly little peripherals that imitate weapons with actual triggers. Next you know it, everyone's getting their suits in a bunch over video games turning our children into trained killers. But this time it's slightly different, as "motion control" has become a one to one point and squeeze gameplay of attempted actual mimicry of the real counterpart.
What does that mean for the future? Who knows. Worldwide bans on FPS games. A ban on motion control gaming. A new license system to play games at all. The possibilities are far too numerous to list. But the overall point of these last paragraphs is simple. Motion Controlled gaming must be used cautiously. And sometimes, the concept of using 1:1 and dreaming of it being used in our violent games may not be the best idea after all.
Accelerometers and IR positioning is old news. The Wiimote is a creative way to implement these old technologies. With Wii motion sensing being a financial success, Sony and Microsoft want to get involved. They start by dumping shitloads of money into R&D for using NEW motion sensing technologies as the tech behind their "next generation" gaming peripherals.
So, if we say that the accelerometers used in the Wiimote are a design from 10 - 15 years ago, then Sony definitely has a right to tout there tech as being generations ahead (from a hardware standpoint). In terms of the idea of putting motion sensing in a wand-like device (even if it has 1:1), it becomes a 2nd (or next) generation wand-like motion sensing peripheral for use in interactive software (i.e. games).
Of course, none of this really matters unless the implementation goes well. If the games suck, then no one will give a shit.
I think any step in the direction of motion controls is a step back, but I think if anyone is going it best, it's Sony. A lesser of multiple bad evils, in this case.
I'm afraid it shreds money instead.