Sony's New Motion Controller

[Iron Tiger]

Besides marketing (relationship building) and difficulty adjustment, I do see more use in kids games (e.g., EyePet) and party games. The question is whether it's accurate enough.

I've met a guy who's working on stuff for the Sony motion controllers, and though I haven't spoken to him directly about it, his bro-in-law was telling me that when they played Wii Sports Resort together, he liked it, but thought his own company's stuff works better. That's the test right there. If it's at least as good as Wii, it's good enough.

I can easily see how parts of Wii Sports Resort could be improved with the PS3 setup. The archery game doesn't have 1:1 controls for drawing back the bow string, so you don't have fine control over the speed of the arrow. Swordplay could have have a fencing foil or other type of thin blade that wouldn't easily be seen on an SD Wii with no AA. More accurate depth detection (when combined with precise collision detection) would make parries and thrusts meaningful instead of having the game degrade to a wagglefest. 3 point shooting would sense both hands and the wrist action that indicates spin and follow-through.

 

[patsu]

The problem is: Sony's and Nintendo's natural interface approach is multi-controller. In Sony's case, it includes "no controller" or "hands free controller".

So it's all too easy to confuse our topic. We are talking about different things here. I think Shifty is skeptical of the emotion recognition, which should be the predominant stand since we haven't seen it in action yet.

Personally, I am more intrigued by how the systems recognize human actions (like yawning, hi-5). If it works reasonably well, all the major vendors (Microsoft, Apple, Toshiba, Matsushita, etc.) will use it in one way or another in the future. It's not something that's exclusive to Sony.

 

[Rurouni]

I see it principally as a low-key ancillary advantage. eg. Adjusting the game difficulty when the player is clearly getting frustrated. It'd be nice if in FIFA when the ref has made yet another a moronic decision due to an AI glitch and we're shouting complaints at the screen, if there was a degree of adaptation behind the scenes that we weren't aware of (so couldn't exploit) which adjusted ref calls to be fairer (that should of course be extended to real life too!).

No no no! If the game can hear that we are shouting all the time whenever they make the wrong call and they want to implement it like in the real life, chances are that you're going to get more frustrated because the ref probably going to give you a yellow card... or probably a red card if you shout foul words. Instead of you enjoying the game, you'll become more annoyed and angry just like in real life... feel the immersion!

And add the motion detection stuff where they can detect if you do an unsportsmanlike behavior (like you're making a punching or shoving motion).. that would be perfect to test your patience.

 

[patsu]

Thanks to Titanio, the patent for Sony's robot UI is: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20090037023.pdf

... is an information processing system including a display device for displaying an image on a display screen, and a robot apparatus for performing input/output of information from/to a user. The information processing system acquires a position of the display screen in a real space, and moves the robot apparatus based on the acquired position of the display screen.

It was first mentioned by Siliconera here: http://www.siliconera.com/2009/03/18/sony-computer-entertainment-making-a-robot-accessory/ but they did not link to the patent. The invention is an interpretation of the robot's movement (from the user's perspective) mapped to a display screen.
e.g., The robot can execute movements relating to a video game controlled by the user.

The robot is designed with a camera (item 14) to detect its surroundings and a display (18) which can show images. A microphone that reacts a user’s voice and speaker allows the robot to respond to sound as well. Sony also plans to add a position detection sensor to the robot such as an acceleration sensor, gyro sensor, or possibly a GPS receiver.

 

[oramay]

The PlayStation blog has a video of the R&D representative talking about it.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009...scenes-with-scea-research-development-part-1/

 

[Arwin]

Official TGS press release about the Motion Controller:

TOKYO, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) today announced that it will release a new Motion Controller (unofficial name) for PlayStation(R)3 (PS3(R)) computer entertainment system in Spring 2010. The new controller, equipped with high-precision, highly accurate motion sensors, can deliver a whole new entertainment experience on PS3 when combined together with the PlayStation(R)Eye camera(*1). Capable of recognizing and tracking a user's face and voice as well as body motion, PlayStation Eye can also output the player's image onto the TV screen. SCE will vigorously promote the expansion of this new experience only possible on the PS3 platform.

The newly announced Motion Controller is equipped with two motion sensors, three axes gyroscope and three axes accelerometer that can detect the controller's angle and movement held in the user's hand. Together with the PlayStation Eye camera for PS3 which can accurately track the absolute position of the controller, the controller can detect the natural and intuitive movement of the hand and reflect the precise movement on to the game. The sphere placed on the top of the controller is not only used to track the absolute position but can also give visual feedback to users by changing the colors or the illuminating patterns of the sphere. Furthermore, the new controller is also equipped with a rumble feature, familiar to the PlayStation(R) DUALSHOCK(R) series controller, delivering an immersive gaming experience to users.

Further expanding the new experience on PS3, SCE Worldwide Studios will deliver many exciting software titles for the Motion Controller in 2010(*2). SCE, with strong support from software developers and publishers, will deploy various measures to enhance the software title line-up for the new Motion Controller and vigorously promote the PS3 platform.

* Motion Controller is a tentative name.

*1 Users will need to use the PlayStation Eye camera to enjoy Motion Controller on PS3.

*2 Please see below for software titles to be released in 2010.

Product Outline

Motion Controller (Tentative)

Product name Motion Controller (tentative)

Release date Spring 2010

Recommended Retail Price To be decided.

Key Features -- Three axes gyroscope, three axes accelerometer
-- Bluetooth(R) 2.0
-- Lithium-Ion rechargeable internal battery


Software Titles for Motion Controller from SCE Worldwide Studios(*1)

(2010 release, includes both Motion Controller dedicated and compatible titles)

Title name
----------
Ape Escape (Working Title)
Echochrome 2 (Working Title)
Eccentric Slider (Working Title)
Sing and Draw (Working Title)
Champions of Time (Working Title)
Motion Party (Working Title)
The Shoot (Working Title)
Tower (Working Title)
PAIN(*2)
Flower(*2)
Hustle Kings(*2)
High Velocity Bowling(*2)
EyePet(*2)

Yes! Hustle kings ...

Interestingly it doesn't mention LBP and Resident Evil 5 which were shown at TGS with Wand support.

 

[MasaC]

Official TGS press release about the Motion Controller:



Yes! Hustle kings ...

Interestingly it doesn't mention LBP and Resident Evil 5 which were shown at TGS with Wand support.

They mention their in-house titles only, right? LBP and RE5 are third party.

 

[Arwin]

Yeah, I think you may be right, that it's titles published by Sony.

 

[ShadowRunner]

Thats quite a few games for just 1st party. Wonder if they will show any of these off during TGS

 

[Prophecy2k]

Yeah, I think you may be right, that it's titles published by Sony.

Sony did publish LBP though?

Plus, didn't Sony buy Media Molecule?

 

[Kasersky]

Sony did publish LBP though?

Plus, didn't Sony buy Media Molecule?

pretty sure its still privately held. maybe confused with guerrilla games which they did eventually end up buying.

 

[ShadowWolf64]

Sony did publish LBP though?

Plus, didn't Sony buy Media Molecule?

Sony and MM have a deal to make 3 games exclusively on the PS3 platform.After that, MM is free to develop on any another platform it wants.Honestly, I believe LBP is perhaps, the PS3's best game.I love it.....

 

[Prophecy2k]

Wow... I never knew that... I was sure Sony bought them. Especially since they've pretty much made Sack-boy the poster child for all things playstation.

If i was Sony i'd snap them up straight away... Does Sony own the LBP IP though?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

You can't snap them up if they don't want to sell.

 

[JPT]

I believe Sony helped the MM guys setup the company etc, so I guess they got some very decent connections. Not sure who owns LBP ip, but it might be Sony already.

 

[spacemonkey]

The final design. Confirmed for next Spring.

 

[liolio]

The final design. Confirmed for next Spring.

no pun intended, but do you have source?
I saw this during TGS but I never knew it was the final design.

 

[Kasersky]

looks expensive. i think attach rate will be low.

 

[Nesh]

How much does the Wiimote cost?

 

[AzBat]

How much does the Wiimote cost?

$40 for the remote & $20 for the nunchuk. Buy Wii Play for $50 get the remote free.

It does look expensive considering you have to have the camera. Maybe that's why they didn't put a d-pad or thumbstick on it? I'm still shaking my head over that oversight. I also still can't get over the light bulb. I could make all kinds of comparisons... Personally I think they should have went with a different technology that didn't require a camera. The Gametrack Freedom seemed like a better alternative. Doesn't need any camera & doesn't require pointing. Much more elegant.

Tommy McClain