Sony announces new PS3 motion controller
By Nilay Patel 
posted Jun 2nd 2009 2:12PM
posted Jun 2nd 2009 2:12PM
Update: Video added after the break!
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You can smell the desperation
Nope that's the adulation over...HIGHEST RANK being back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YEAH!!!
actually highest rank was never gone, i think the commenting is just based on number of up votes vs. total number of page views or something like that. if you click on individual comment threads (the links are the timestamps by each poster's name), you will see that those are sometimes highest ranked and lowest ranked, etc.
it's just very rare in a full article because i guess there's 50 comments, so it's difficult to hit the threshold. but during the keynotes, they only show 10 comments per page, thus it's a lot easier for comments to get the highest rank
I don't call that desperation, its just responding to what the market clearly wants.
And while it's not as ambitious as Microsoft's Project Natal, they showed that it works already. And boy did it work well. That's more than you can say for Motion Plus and Natal.
I'm not saying that Motion Plus or Natal won't be able to provide real 1:1, but Sony has at least assured us that it will happen on at least one of the big 3 and perhaps we can finally get that lightsaber fight we always wanted.
I think that picture with the arrow looks cool cause the player (from what I can tell of the picture) holds 2 controllers, draws one back and then hits a button to release the arrow. The Wii would probably be something like, Hold A, wiggle, release.
The problem I have with it is that What if someone is wearing the same color as the remote? it will probably fuck it up. which is why everyone at sony was wearing black.
And another problem is that this only has 2 points of interests whereas Natal tracks the whole body (feet, legs, hands, arms, head) in full 3d.
"What if someone is wearing the same color as the remote?"
Can you point me to a store that sells color changing light up clothing?
@jason
I agree, that the Natal is attempting more, and I have the same concerns you do about the image clashing with the black outfits. But that problem extends even more so into the 360's method. How can you distinguish a leg from the background? I don't know the answers to these questions, but what I do know is that Sony proved their method, even if you have to wear a black shirt to do it.
If Natal works, then yeah, well done Microsoft. I'll be glad to have a 360 that I use almost daily. If it doesn't work like the Wii didn't, then we have a very impressive fallback here with Sony, and I get to blow the dust off my ps3.
I understand what you guys are saying, but the ball changes colors, so unless you are wearing a rainbow suit, you should be fine as I'm guessing it will adapt to the scenery.
@Wii60
From all appearances, Natal uses 2 (or more?) cameras to get a stereo view of the scene, allowing it to use depth cues to pick you out from the background. In this case, the wand (or "Wiildo" as I'm sure it'll be referred) seems able to change color.
@jason
Image recognition of a set object is typically simpler than identifying a broad set of items. In other words, identifying the wand should be easier than identifying the head, neck, torso, legs, feet, arms, and hand with the Natal. Worse case is they also have an IR LED that can flash to separate it from the background, unless that background happens the be a bonfire.
Natal *is* using an infrared projector to track 3d bodies. As far as I know, it's a single camera, a single projector, and an array of microphones.
@Andir
http://www.enlighted.com/pages/gallery.shtml
Oh please let this thing help my lame ass in shooters.
I don't know about desperation, but this looks awfully rushed. I think MS's announcement yesterday forced Sony's hand.
Desperate or not, Sony has brought true 1 to 1 motion control, FINALLY. The demonstration was impressive and 100% live. Nintendo will continue to sell a lot I'm sure, but technically Sony has left Wii in the dust and if Microsoft's Natasha turns out as good as they say, so will Xbox 360. Hopefully developers make great use of both of these technologies to bring us the true future of gaming, something Nintendo failed to do unfortunately.
actually i think i smell a dude that's never talked in front of an audience before
This sort of thing would be awesome with VR goggles.
Haters never quit. Replace "Sony" with "Nintendo" and they'll get a hard-on instead of hating this tech.
Amen.
This thing's a toy compared to Natal!
Oh, well. Maybe Natal will inspire Sony and Nintendo to actually accomplish something new.
@Andir3.0 Cyberdog. What will the cybers do!!!
lol that look more like a sex toy than a motion controller.
hahaha, that's what I thought.
they said it was a prototype and the final thing won't look like this...
LOL - Almost spilled coffee on my work laptop ....
Rumble-pack sold separately.
The ladies will have to wait a year or two for rumble.
Who here sees a personal massage device? Show of hands! One, two, three... Oh hell, just say everyone!
I guess Sony is finally going after the soccer moms.
Actually, it looks like something the Ood carry in Dr. Who.....and is about as cheesy.
"Sony says they've learned "some experiences need buttons," "
Yeah, that's what they learned before yesterday.....now they just look stupid saying that. Sounds like something they added to their speech after the MS press briefing.
desperation.
you guys are gross
dildo motion control?
Excellent finally the Wii killer i want Next gen graphics with a motion controller not shitty Wii graphics because they cannot afford to go next gen.
If Nintendo couldn't afford to go "next gen" with graphics before, I'm pretty sure they could now.
Say what you like about the Wii and DS, but to Nintendo they are basically a licence to print as much money they like. I think Nintendo aren't worried about systems with better graphics because they have realised that there is a huge market made up of people who couldn't care less as long as it is cute and fun.
Did you really just say Nintendo cant "afford" something...
Shoot yourself and fall off a cliff...thanks.
All the wii buyers now are going to buy Nintendo's next system? I don't think so, the majority aren't even spending money buying many of the new games coming out on the wii now. Are the hardcore gamers going to buy the next nintendo system? Nope not after the lack of any game targeting that demographic for the wii, they know better than to go with nintendo ever again. So who will nintendo sell their next machine to when the new xbox 720 and ps4 come out? Or do they plan to still sell an 8+ year old machine at $50 to a limited number of still interested buyers? They basically looked really short term and gained alot of short term profit, and in essence killed off their long term prospective. Reality is MS and Sony now are interested putting out motion controls and they have much bigger budgets to make those experiences much better than Nintendo could ever dream.
Nintendo tried every gimmic possible hoping for a miracle this gen and they better hope they invested all the money they just 'printed' into some really nice stock because I smell a long disaster coming their way in a few years.
@PG one shouldn't speak on business without understanding it.
The thing about Nintendo is they are purely gaming sector.
They're not like Sony and Microsoft; separate divisions in a bigger business.
Just like with the Gamecube...no one really bought the Gamecube, but Ninty was the only company to come up positive in profit out of the three.
Nintendo...despite all the doom and gloom forcasts...is not going anywhere. As long as there are the same folks who've been buying it for the last past 20 yrs, they will turn a profit, they will make money, and they will prosper.
I mean...even with the gaming consoles out the way...the DS generates enough to carry them.
So I wish folks would stop with the "Nintendo is doomed" prophecies...it hasnt happened int 20 yrs. I doubt it will anytime soon.
First - Anton cracked me up. Second - I am sold. I like the more interactive options. I feel more immersed in the game and I actually get up off the couch which qualifies and some sort of semi-miracle. I agree with the point made here - combining the higher end graphics with a highly sensitive motion control is the intersection of what I would like. I still like my Wii but sometimes I wish for a different graphical experience. Off-topic: Red Steel 2 art style is what I would like to see more of on the Wii.
it looks like a karaoke mic or some sort of sony hypno magic wand...
LOL
oh man is that image so RIPE for a caption contest.
Bend over Billy. It'll only hurt for a second.
That's what she said.
so you take the mini-tom servo and you proceed to....
"So if blue is for male and red is for female, then pink must be for O FOR THE LOVE OF GOD NO. BILLY PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT COLOUR THAT IS? I'm still your daddy OK?"
Colonoscopy Hero?
Using our magic wand, we can control this child behind me, who we have called Milo 2.0. By controlling this child, he can pick up a ps3 SIXAXIS controller and then you control actual games through him!
Clown Hero.
IMA CHARGIN MAH LAZORZ
I thought it was one of those light meters photographers use.
...........after that, if it turns red, your pregnant!
mmhhh damn another brat .. !
the Wii is done.
Really, so this is going to make casual gamers (who don't spend a lot on games to begin with) want to spend an extra $100+ to buy a PS3, then the $100+ this thing is going to cost, then $10 extra on every game? You obviously don't understand the demographic most of the Wii's sales are coming from then... The reason it sells so well is because it's cheaper and simpler than the 360 and PS3. Add on the fact that the Playstation Eye, which this controller requires, is pretty much a failure and most people who own a PS3 don't even own one.
Are you kidding? I can tell from your icon that you must be a Sony fan, but still.
WiiMotion Plus will be available next week, Sony's attempt won't even be available til next YEAR.
Both will have 1:1 tracking.
One doesn't require you to stay in view of the camera at all times.
One allready has games that work with it, plus another years worth for more to come out.
One comes from a company that has shown they can be succesful and MAKE money this generation.
Choosing between the Wii being succesful and the PS3 catching up, my money is the already proven Wii. When it comes to competition i'm thinking Natal will provide more fire for Nintendo to deal with than Sony will.
Nintendo is shipping the Wii motion plus this month. When will Sony ship this? Nintendo is not done. =)
This is the Wii killer...but the PS3 still can't touch the 360.
The 360 and PS3 are perfectly competitive. They are just equally killing the weakest (not really that weak, but in comparison).
Also why was Nintendo 17+, Sony and Microsoft were gory as hell.
Wii - say hello to the glowing stick and the Natal.
Helll owwww!!
It's what I'd call pre-natal care...
"oh man is that image so RIPE for a caption contest." :
Let's start one, right now. No reason not to.
"wanna touch my glow stick ?"
(i know i know .. but i had to be the one to say it .. lol)
I got the magic stick, I'm the love doctor.
This is absolutely sick
Anton is so funny though
Right, that other guy seemed nervous, he probably saw a Wii Motion Plus controller in the crowd and felt pressure. But Anton seems like he was having legitimate fun.
FYI to all out there. I'm watching the live stream right now. I was really pissed when they started talking about Motion Control, but... dude... go watch this video. This motion control is freaking nuts. I can't wait to get my hands on this.
Right...it's more precise than the Wii (sans MotionPlus, I havent seen that in action yet)
And it gives you the same functionality of Natal...
PS3 has did it!
Nuts? It's wiii with a dildo.
Someone hide this from my wife.
Well, it sorta gives you the functionality of Natal, except that you have to hold the goofiest looking device ever made.
The main thing though that makes this more impressive then nathal is that there is no lag what so ever, the lag seen in the natal video is maybe just some microseconds. But when fighting with sword or something like that, that's way to slow. And in natal there is no way to point or angle what your holding.
I just bought a PS3 eye on-line. Video does look good. Bring on the games!
@daki:
Really? You're saying a few microsecond delay might be noticeable? As in, 10^(-6) seconds? Perhaps your math is faulty... Each frame (running at 60fps) lasts 16,667 microseconds. I believe the word you were looking for is milliseconds.
@Mark
Clearly it's just a "prototype"
Why is no one understanding that word?
And as he did say (I was watching live also)
There's just some things you need a button for.
Eye Toy provides the functionality of Natal
The handheld device provides the needed interaction of Wiimote
It's really a seamless product that does fit together...
But in the end...the video phenomenon of "playing with your body" will only be novelty select.
Nintendo hit it with the right balance of movement and controller interaction.
No one wants to sit and relax to play a game...but then have to stand up and move your whole body to play it.
It will be fun for short games and family fun. But not for anything seriously big.
It seems that Microsoft is basically advancing the Sony's Eyetoy development. But Sony's R&D already figured that there are limits to how much movement and control you can do with a camera without pressing buttons and that's could be why they went with a more advanced controller similar to what cinema uses to choreograph 3d movements. It makes sense that in order for them not to be limited to movement and like in a virtual world it needs alternate signals as to switch modes fluidly. Where as without buttons motions and gestures need to be decoded before moving on to the next mode.
Natal, apart from offering 3D full BODY tracking, also has MICROPHONES.. People are acting as if that's subliminary or even nonexistant. It's the microphones that made Mylo such an impressive (if a little freaky) watch.. it's the microphones that play the movie.. it's microphones that shut it down. How someone can say, 'Eye Toy provides the functionality of Natal'. I'm don't care a dime for MS but it's clear which is the better technology by a mile. The only advantage sony has is that their controller will probably come around a little earlier than natal and will most preobably be cheaper.
p.s Why do people keep mentioning lag? I have not come across one journalist even mention lag in Natal. ign stated quite clearly that there was no noticable lag in their hands on.
You know the EyeToy has a microphone array in the top part, right?
"prototype" You do know what that means right?
It looks good, but like with Natal, I have to repeat: It's all about the games. And we didn't see any real games here either.
It remains to be seen whether Sony will put together something amazing with this, or whether we'll just get a bunch of sports minigames.
It is all about the games, that's totally true.. and so far Sony has failed with PSEye games. Total bunch of crap, besides the Eye of Judgment, which, while a neat idea, didn't have enough play to be terribly interesting, and the eye is pretty much completely unnecessary for the game.
Here's to hoping for better games... but I wouldn't count on it. Look at what nintendo has done with their entire system dedicated to it. The best games barely even use motion control.
i'm totally with you Jon. I dont' have a pseye or whatever because the games look gimmicky and just not fun. my initial reaction is that microsoft blew the crap out of nintendo and sony this year, and sony is just trying to play catch-up. they're going to need to either offer much better 3rd party development tools to support their motion peripheral (not to mention better and cheaper 3rd party support in general), and they also need some 1st party IP's that are exclusive in order to push back. sigh. i want an xbox 360 now.
Is that a clown's penis?
hahahahahahahaha...
I second that! hahahahahahahahaha
Makes me want a ps3 even less.
wow it looks sooo suckish get a new design lol everyones copying wii to get sales and its almost time for the new consoles they should have saved it
Meh. Sounds and looks dumb. Natal FTW
Not only that, but Natal will make your hair grow back.
ITS OLD>
Some guys in an university posted it LAST YEAR. Works with ANY modern PC camera, and can track any item, you didn't even need that wand.
And Sony try to sell it as incredible news. Sorry, but the MS solution (I'm no fanboy or anything) it's year ahead of that.
It's coll tech, but not all that they are talking about.
Sony :
"A day late and a dollar short"
This is barely more advanced than Wii Motionplus
and FAR behind Natal
and people call MICROSOFT unoriginal
I'd love to see Natal in a real world situation. How well is it going to track a black guy in a black shirt and blue jeans in front of his navy blue couch with the lights dimmed? My guess? Not at all.
Sony has had several camera-only games in its arsenal... they all sucked, because the imaging technology just isn't good enough.
I believe that's where Natal's IR camera will come in handy.
"How well is it going to track a black guy in a black shirt and blue jeans in front of his navy blue couch with the lights dimmed? My guess? Not at all."
Natal can operate at 0 lux .period.
Yes.
It still looks stupid.
Look how far gaming has come. Now instead of controllers we have a dildo. I'm pretty sure it has feedback force built into it. Oh the fun!!
I like this one best. PS3 isn't dead yet.
Poor Wii :p
A few things. If by Poor you meant to say Rich then you are correct. Remember when MS and Sony said Motion was a fad? Well the the Nintendo spanked both of their asses with the Wii and now look who's jumping on the motion band wagon. Wii has nothing to worry about from these 2.
Actually, I still believe motion controls are a fad. After playing with the Nintendo Wii for a few days, it just grew old. Unless fun, addicting games come out that make good use of the controls, I don't see motion controls lasting much longer. That's just imo though.
Sure, the Wii has been very successful, but with this, I think there're going to be fewer Wii60 or PSWii gamers. I suppose casual gamers will still go for the Wii.
Anyway, by poor, I meant the announcements. Xbox 360: Natal, PS3: This wand thing, Wii: ...vitality sensor? Seriously?
Next year? I get the feeling that we'll be seeing them demo this at E3 '10, after much rumored and talked about delays and game issues.