Old Discussion Thread for all 3 motion controllers

But you have glowsticks in both hands sometimes.

 

Uh....I strongly disagree that EyeToy games were popular.

 

??

Wii is $250

Ps3 = $400 + eyetoy + ps3mc

 

This is what you said - "Consider other possible solutions, like head tracking (turn your head to turn the camera in a FPS)". Doesn't sound like just tilting slightly. The absurdity of turning your head in front of a fixed display (your TV) remains.

 

Well, i thought you said they would pick a 360 mocon solution over a PS3 because of price. Perhaps I misunderstood you. Sorry

 

It sold over 1 million units in the first 4 months in Europe (2003), 2.5 million in 7 months. Definitely more now worldwide.
I have casual friends as far as Asia who play EyeToy too.

EDIT: Oops. wrong year !

 

Exactly.

It either has to out do the Wii at it's own game, or add something the Wii can't do. (av etc)

 

Maybe i'm not understanding you correctly, but if the Z value does not need to be accurate, you are pretty much looking at a standalone PSEye (zero Z value accuracy LOL). Why do u need Natal for that?

 

Well, I said other options.

The xb alternative is

$200 + Natal ($100-$200)

vs

$400 + eyetoy + ps3mc (+ additional waggles)

Either way it is significantly cheaper and thus more likely successful to capture the casual gamer for either MS or N.

I think Sony will have to figure out a way to make this system something that core gamers can buy into. Something that will benefit their games.

FPS' etc.

I could see this thing being awesome with GoW3.


A Wii sports type venture wouldn't go over so well with that price tag...

 

Foot tracking is real important also. Think beyond fps games, etc, and instead picture stuff that the average casual person would like. For example, a product that teaches yoga or tai chi, and uses Natal to watch your limbs to critique/comment on your form. Or maybe a Karate School product that has a virtual teacher that comments on your moves, again based on limb tracking. Maybe a product that teaches juggling, and it watches how you do it and makes suggestions to improve it. Or maybe a personal trainer program that can watch how you use free weights or doing common exercises, and comments if your form is correct. Who knows what people will think of or what is possible.

 

I must be set in my ways because outside of non gaming use or games with simplistic mechanics, I see very little use for this type of tech especially in core games.

I can't see how future titles like AC2, UC2, MGS:R, GT5, COD:MW2 or FF13 could make liberal use of either what MS or Sony has to offer with motion detecting cameras. I doubt any advantages or disadvantage of either tech will be readily noticeable because I doubt you'll see MS or Sony employ use outside of some trivial gameplay mechanics with emphasis on what either does best.

Now voice recognition is another matter, because it can literally expand beyond the limitations of current controller design without requiring much from the gamers in terms of effort like motion detection. Pausing a game, switching to secondary weapons or grenades, bringing up a menu, picking up an object or activating a device with a simple word will have more profound effect on actual core gaming than gestures or 1:1 mapping of movement.

 

I am glad MS and Sony jump into the motion sensing pool. It will help further innovation in another important area that is different from graphics.

As for differentiating from Wii, it's in the software. The drawing-come-to-life thing is one example. A more accurate, faster motion sensing is just a better mouse trap, unlikely to help.

 

Yes in which case you wouldn't be able to pick up a drink at all. But I can't imagine what would stop a person from moving his head slightly from time to time out of natural impulse.

 

For those examples, PS Eye may still be helpful.

Remember, the 3DV camera cannot see behind you. It won't be accurate for certain Yoga moves too if it's blocked by your own body. Like 3D rendering, 3D full body motion sensing is an approximation. As for Karate chop, how fast can 3DV track ? Those guys move very fast. The faster the better. At this moment, MS didn't claim one-to-one true mapping for regular movement (If it's not 1-to-1 yet, my guess is they will have to work their *ss off to make it happen somehow by year end).

EDIT:
The 3DV camera works best in poor lighting condition. So it should shine in those application areas (e.g., controlling home theater hands free)

 

I did, and ruled that out almost immediately. You might as well point with your elbow. Besides, have you ever done that warm-up excercise where you move your fully extended arms in decreasing and increasing circular motions? You wouldn't last 5 minutes.

Now, I was going to let them pass, but purely out of a fickle sense of spite at the bold(), I'd point out that your tilting the head to control the camera would never work or be allowed in a game, let alone in favour of the right stick. That'd be like trying to aim using the Sixaxis tilt. Grenades would work well I'd have thought too, and being able to look around corners by tilting your body would suit sitting in a seat as well as standing up. You're far more likely to see the game use your head movements subtly to give a sense of depth to the onscreen image.

Similarly using your feet to control a football in a serious sim would be simply awful. Fair enough for a party game or something casual, but never in FIFA or PES. At a push I'd say free throws in basketball would be better suited, but it's still hard to tell without knowing what the accuracy you can get from throwing would be like compared to real life.

That would be apply the controls to AA-AAA third party games, hopefully

 

Perhaps "tilt" would be more accurate, but I thought it'd infer tilting to the side.

Slight turning of the head to indicate which direction to turn in the game is not absurd. It's practical, it frees up a thumb and is intuitive.

 

It wasn't just originality that made the wii successful. It needed to be a good concept too, and it has proven itself thusly.

I would think a me-too is not necessarily a turn off (as the Mii-too avatars have demonstrated among xbox users). On the contrary, it is commercially safer to be based on existing technology than to introduce something different to basically achieve the same thing i.e. appealing to the casual audience.

 

I think Natal is not only about Zcam, to me a lot of it seem tied the underlying software and how the thing supposely accelerate shape recognition.
Z value is useful only once you manage to recognize the different body parts and affect them some of the meaningful Zvalue to a simplified representation of the human body.
Not too mention that they may not achive complete motion mapping neither I thing that games will be needed it that much. Little change in Z value could be lost in the noise more significant change depending range are likely to trigger pre rendred animation. If done properly the trick will work for most games.
I think that real motion mapping (/ not taht accurate) could exist but for gimmick say you can make dance your avatar in the way you really, kind of a proof that it works but for most I'm not sure it's worse it to implement something like that, the focus should detect what you want the gamer to do not what he would want to do, smoke and mirror thus the magic can work if done properly.

 

Slight turn... it would imply that you need to have your head in a brace at other times when u do not intend to turn in your FPS.

 

That's doable in PS Eye too. In the Japan tech sharing session, they demoed nodding as an interface to a quiz game.