Sony's New Motion Controller
- Thread starter Arwin
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A PSP stylenub wouldn't have been too expensive I don't think, but would have added a lot of functionality.
I expect patents limit their options somewhat. And wasn't the Gametrack methoed reviewed as hideously inaccurate? Or was that something else? So far the PSMotion solution seems the fastest and most accurate, if kinda awkward at the user level.
May have been. Haven't read any reviews yet. I would have sacraficed a little accuracy for a cheaper price & less complexity. Though if it is less accurate than Wii Motion Plus, then forget about it.
Tommy McClain
Gah... the GameTrak thinggie doesn't seem to have a gyro. So it's worse than Wiimote Plus and SIXAXIS (Can't track wrist motion). The 2 sensor bar arrangement may be too "heavy weight" too. Many already have one sensor bar below/above the TV for Wii.
Ultrasonic technology is cool though. The Aibo has six ultrasonic sensors, so Sony should be rather familiar with the tech and has its own patent pool to fight a patent war.
PSEye is used probably for economical and historical reasons. At the end of the day, if it's cheaper, fast and accurate, I don't think it really matters what technology is used to the consumers.
With the PSEye combo, they can also combine awesome PSEye technologies with the new motion controller. The color light ball may look wacky today, but I think a good "lighting magic" game should be able to convince some buyers. I mean we were all making fun of Wee when Nintendo announced the name.
Overall, I believe motion sensors and controllers will take gaming outdoor. And yes, it would expand user base. Really like the DS3 + wand co-op idea so far (Not SP !
). What we see today is only the tip of the iceberg.
EDIT: Sony should not give up on controller-free control schemes though. I am really keen to see if the light ball can "shoot" IR beam. ^_^
Ultrasonic technology is cool though. The Aibo has six ultrasonic sensors, so Sony should be rather familiar with the tech and has its own patent pool to fight a patent war.
PSEye is used probably for economical and historical reasons. At the end of the day, if it's cheaper, fast and accurate, I don't think it really matters what technology is used to the consumers.
With the PSEye combo, they can also combine awesome PSEye technologies with the new motion controller. The color light ball may look wacky today, but I think a good "lighting magic" game should be able to convince some buyers. I mean we were all making fun of Wee when Nintendo announced the name.
Overall, I believe motion sensors and controllers will take gaming outdoor. And yes, it would expand user base. Really like the DS3 + wand co-op idea so far (Not SP !
). What we see today is only the tip of the iceberg.EDIT: Sony should not give up on controller-free control schemes though. I am really keen to see if the light ball can "shoot" IR beam. ^_^
Yeah, I just read this on Wikipedia...
Not sure if how that compares actually, but it sounds it does rotation, but not as good?
I don't have a Wii. So no big concern there.
Tommy McClain
The Wiimote plus and Sony wand have a 3-axes accelerometer as well as a 3-axes gyro. Gametrak Freedom seems to be able to detect tilt and rotation without the gyro, it's probably an approximation. e.g., SIXAXIS has a 1-axis gyro, and a 3-axes accelerometer to "detect" 6-axes of movements.
Here you go:
Wikipedia said:
Would need more info about its performance (e.g., compared to 1:1 mapping/tracking that Nintendo and Sony now parade on their marketing material >_<)
Well, compared to that amount of space (2 sensors on the left and right of the TV), a PSEye + wand combo can do a lot more than 3D positoning. Many activities we do are 2D or no D
(e.g., We draw on 2D paper for sketch recognition, there's color recognition, and then of course voice recognition). Not sure if Gametrak Freedom has rumble and pressure sensitive button/trigger ?EDIT: Finally found a snapshot of the sensor bars. They are very compact, hanging off the left and right edges of the TV. So there should be no space issue. Nonetheless, it is strictly a 3D positioning tool. Would not be a good idea to compare to the PS3 set up or Natal. In fact, Nintendo's family of sensors address multiple sensing needs too.
Gotcha.
It can do lot more because it's probably more expensive. It's understandable that the lower cost of the Gametrak wouldn't do as much. The only problem I have with PSEye is that it's much than just a sensor, therefore it'll cost much more than a sensor. The sensors in the Wii & Gametrak are minimal by design.
Personally I'm wanting a motion solution that's completely contained in one device: no wires, no dongles, no sensors, no cameras. I want it to have thumbsticks, triggers, 3D positional accuracy , etc & I don't want it have a funny looking light bulb on the end. Evidently there's no company coming close to that. Looks like the closest I'll get is the Wii+. Too bad it doesn't have the 360 games.
Tommy McClain
It can do lot more because it's probably more expensive. It's understandable that the lower cost of the Gametrak wouldn't do as much. The only problem I have with PSEye is that it's much than just a sensor, therefore it'll cost much more than a sensor. The sensors in the Wii & Gametrak are minimal by design.
Personally I'm wanting a motion solution that's completely contained in one device: no wires, no dongles, no sensors, no cameras. I want it to have thumbsticks, triggers, 3D positional accuracy , etc & I don't want it have a funny looking light bulb on the end. Evidently there's no company coming close to that. Looks like the closest I'll get is the Wii+. Too bad it doesn't have the 360 games.
Tommy McClain
PSEye is pretty much a sensor (for audio, video and image). The logic is in Cell.
As for pricing, Gametrak Freedom costs $70 with the bundled game, $35 standalone. PSEye cost $50 with Eye of Judgment and $40 standalone. No one knows the wand pricing yet, probably similar to Wiimote ($40 standalone ?).
Would be interesting to see who's willing to pick up the package at launch. For some of us. we already have a PS Eye. So the incremental cost should be similar to Gametrak Freedom/PSEye with a bundled game ($50 - $70 ?). For the newcomers. it would be slightly more.
If Sony has gone for a separate ultrasonic sensor bar layout, then it's just playing catch up with Nintendo. It won't make much sense. A business will always build on its strength. In this case, they build on top of their PSEye assets. In fact, we may see even more controllers from Sony (just like Nintendo).
It probably depends on what game you're playing. The application/content also answers the cost question. For some there is absolutely no need for the thumbstick. For others it's critical. The vendors will have their solutions for these varying needs.
Even for Nintendo, there are games that use Wiimote and the Wii board together, or Wiimote + Vitality sensor, or Wiimote + nunchuck.
And then, there's the thing about "no controller needed":
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/103/1030094p1.html
(See the "Break Out" video)
No company can get close to it because they have to stay far away from all the patents.
One device is not realistic period ... it's not like GPS is going to provide the necessary accuracy. You can't triangulate without reference points. In theory you can use directed signals and bounce them around the room to create virtual reference points at the bounces, but it's just not a realistic solution ... it depends too much on the placement and unobstructed paths from the console itself, which would have to be the transmitter. Small sensors or transducers such as the sensor bar or the PSEye are much more convenient than needing to have your console out in the open.
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Alucardx23
Regular
Unidentified Sony Controller Patent
I knew that Sony would not use the configuration of playing with the Dualshock in one hand and the motion controller in the other, this would probably be the equivalent of the Nunchaku on the Wii.
“A design patent application for this unannounced device was filed in the US by Sony Computer Entertainment. The document is light on details, but calls the device a “hand held game controller”
http://www.siliconera.com/2009/10/20/an-unidentified-sony-controller-patent/
I knew that Sony would not use the configuration of playing with the Dualshock in one hand and the motion controller in the other, this would probably be the equivalent of the Nunchaku on the Wii.
“A design patent application for this unannounced device was filed in the US by Sony Computer Entertainment. The document is light on details, but calls the device a “hand held game controller”
http://www.siliconera.com/2009/10/20/an-unidentified-sony-controller-patent/
Unidentified Sony Controller Patent
......
http://www.siliconera.com/2009/10/20/an-unidentified-sony-controller-patent/
Best version so far, Sony filed 3 controller patents this summer, this one was filed october 15. All of them have been designed to be held by one hand they have been symmetric so they could fit in both left and right hand.
The reason I think this is the best one is because of the simplicity, it would fit both big and small hands pretty well. It is a classy looking design that will not take a lot of space standing on the table when not in use. It is missing a regular analog stick which in my opinion would be essential if it was supposed to be a companion of the Wand, but it is hard to tell what is located between the buttons, let hope it is a analog knob similar to the knob of the PSP. Perhaps jus a pressure sensitive static knob, similar to ones once used on IBM notebooks.
Or maybe it is just a new design of the buzzers, if it was I would buy a set right away, the current buzzers are really ugly.
The patents only holds those image, pretty strange I know, but the previous three patents from this summer also only contained images of the controllers.
Easiest way to see the patents is to go to the US patent site and do a search on Sony patents and "Controller" in the patent name, it will be the patent on the top of the list as they seem to be sorted according to the date.
Edit: here you are
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...&l=50&Query=AN/SONY+AND+TTL/CONTROLLER&d=PTXT
If you cannot see the pictures just install the image viewer suggested:
http://patft.uspto.gov/help/images.htm
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Alucardx23
Regular
This surely is not the final version or maybe they don’t want to copy to closely the Nunchaku, but the motion controller has seen a lot of revisions since the patent for it were discovered.
October 31, 2008
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...-working-on-break-apart-motion-controller.ars
TGS 2009
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/09/24/tgs-2009-sony-adding-motion-to-existing-titles-new-re5-with-mo/
That was a really awkward design, I am sure it would have been hard to handle for the small hands of a child.
I am happy they they didn´t try to combine a split dualshock with the wand, it looked really ugly.
no one seems to be talking about one of the biggest parts of what sony is doing with this PS-EYE + Wand setup!
augmented reality
http://www.psu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235356
I made a thread about this on another forum with videos of augmented reality being used in video games
augmented reality
http://www.psu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=235356
I made a thread about this on another forum with videos of augmented reality being used in video games
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