Video: Sony's PS3 motion controller in action
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jun 3rd 2009 6:26AM
posted Jun 3rd 2009 6:26AM
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I want!
If looks could Kill, That would be a Killer!!
Btw who let the Ping Pong ball on top! FUGLY
it may look ugly, but it reminds me of a couple patents we had seen a while back from sony, like:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/31/sony-patent-app-details-motion-sensing-break-apart-controller/
so we can't really say it came as a surprise
I love the idea... take what works in Hollywood (motion tracking) and bring it to video games. The one thing that scares me is that as soon as the camera loses line-of-sight to the item it's tracking (e.g.: the bright red ball), your motion can no longer be followed. In other words, I can't sit on my couch with my coffee-table in between me and the TV if anything on said table obfuscates the camera's view (unlike the Wii controller, which is agnostic to line-of-sight).
look like a dildo, ewww
Moral issues notwithstanding, they did some amazing things in that video. But I don't have a PS3, maybe I'll pressure my friend who does into buying this.
I'm just going to refer to this thing as "the glowing dildo"
Needs to be real cheap and pack in if they want this to succeed
I don't know, I'd pay a lot for that.
Yea, I would also pay a fair amount to be able to hack and slash my opponent with that much accuracy.
There is no way I'd ever use one of those glowing butt plugs. I know the guy said it was a prototype, but think about it, the glowing bulb is how the camera tracks the controller, therefore the glowing bulb is needed and will be there in the end. This is how the controller will look, I'm sorry but it will. PS3 glowing butt plug with motion control.
Give me my Wii for motion control and give me my 360 for everything else. Sony has now officially killed the ps3.
lol shaun... This thing is a zillion times more accurate than the wiimote... and I don't know what butt plugs you are using, but... that thing looks like it would hurt pretty bad o_0
Admittedly, it's ugly, but you don't have to wear it on your head, and it kills skeletons with copious amounts of awesome.
Hopefully if this gets implemented properly, it will become a nice "niche" product in Sony's lineup. I don't think they're exactly going after Nintendo; rather, they wanted something to complement the EyeToy, which it does.
You gotta love the super-fast 1:1 tracking motion ability. That FPS thing was pretty sweet!
OMG, look at that archery action.
Do want this!
I hope that it actually works in a normal home environment. They're doing the demo on a stage that's very well lit by stage lights. That's plenty of light for any kind of camera (including really cheap ones with small sensors, the type found in things like the PS3 eye) to get high framerate and acceptable quality. But that's not how most of our living rooms are lit... lit poorly enough that a non-flash picture taken with a fairly good digicam comes out really blurry (because of long exposure) and full of noise. Even a DSLR struggles in these situations. Getting a picture on a sensor is all about lighting, and the typical game room has abyssmal lighting.
If they've gotten that issue beat, then it seems like a PS3 will be the console to get (after all these years).
@solmar
well it has a little light up the top (the ball) and from what I've heard and read that takes care of the placement relative to the world while accelerometers in the stick itself are responsible for more particular xyz movements not picked up by the camera in the dark
then again I could be totally wrong...
meh.
I'll still buy it.
@solmar: I saw the head of Sony Entertainment R&D in San Jose talk a few years back and lighting was one of his main concerns regarding motion control. I PROMISE YOU, they are thinking about it.
The problem is that the EyeToy itself is already kinda niche. Having to buy that and another controller is asking a lot. It might help if they bundled them with every new console, like they did with the original DualShock. Even still I don't see this technology being heavily exploited until the next console generation at the earliest.
Yawwn.
Sony wheres the rest? humm?
What do you mean by rest?
God of War III?
Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker?
Final Fantasy Versus XIII?
Final Fantasy XIV?
The Agency?
Heavy Rain?
Jak and Daxter: Lost Frontier?
Gran Turismo Portable?
Gran Turismo 5?
Uncharted 2?
Last Guardian?
Tekken 6?
White Knight Chronicles?
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time?
Dissidia: Final Fantasy?
Motorstorm: Arctic Edge?
Soul Caliber?
MAG?
All exclusives, I think they speak for themselves.
Have fun with your crappy exclusives. Doesn't change the fact that I will be playing Halo 3 ODST and the beta of Reach this fall, and you won't.
For starters, a lot of that list is PSP only. There is very little competition for those games as there is no other device that would run them anyway, and none of it was groundbreaking - very little was unexpected.
I wish people would pay attention. FFXIV will be exclusive 'When it launches in 2010'. Read that carefully. My money is on a Q4 2010 release, and exclusivity for about 6 months maximum before it at least hits PC, and possibly 360.
How many new PS3 titles did they announce that we did not already know about? Very few. GT5 has been in development for how long now? STILL no release date. GoW3 and Uncharted 2 - probably the biggest PS3 games they showed - were officially unveiled a long time ago.
You can soak up the hyperbole all you want. Fair play to Sony for having some good genuinely exclusive games on that list (GoW3, Uncharted 2 etc), and for having a good crack at a PiiS3 Controller, but frankly they gave us very little new info for what is supposed to be their flagship system and it was an uninspired presser at best. As a PS3 owner I was pretty disappointed with it.
Final Fantasy XIV is NOT exclusive ... go watch the Xbox 360 presentation before you spout you fanboy trash.
@ seraph
Don't lie to yoursef you don't have a ps3 just stick to your Wii. If there was a paypal link i would donate for you to buy a ps3
@qwho: I do have a 360 which I do use as my primary online console and have had since launch, but you seriously can't say those exclusives are crap. I would consider myself a hardcore gamer and in being so, not a fan boy of any console, I simply appreciate great games and both Sony and Microsoft are presenting some seriously great games.
@seraph 6 out of 18 games are PSP, and it is not a complete list, just to show that some stuff is coming from Sony this year. I think that Sony's press conference would have had a much bigger impact had there not been so many leaks. If you looked at the landscape of games before E3, Sony had a lot more going for them this year, Microsoft still have to even the playing field for 2009, keep in mind, a lot of their titles are due 2010 spring.
@qwho...LOL, keep your overrated Halo game. Why can't 360 users ever give the ps3 credit when it deserves it. Stop hating, just admit we have a killer lineup this year. I always give 360 credit when it deserves it. SHow some love to the Playstation.
Fanboys are out in droves today. Sony gives a great show and displays a bunch of new IPs and some motion tech, and this is what happens. Jealous much?
@Seraph
There are about six on that list that are psp, however why would you separate the psp and ps3? Unfortunately for MS they don't even have a handheld. Sony has to spread the wealth.
Anyways FF 14 will probably be PS3 exclusive, I don't see why you say otherwise. It's an MMORPG for the PSN. Remember FF11 for Xbox (and PC) only. (it was also a MMORPG)
Also leaks were killer to Sony, but then again that shows how interested people are in the system. I bet if you didn't browse the net everyday or get feeds from a site you wouldn't even know about any of that stuff. And you got to remember you aren't the only person in the world, I'm sure many people were surprised with some releases.
I mean seriously even the journalists were surprised about FF 14.
Final Fantasy XI started out exclusive to the PS2, then moved to PC, and then it moved to Xbox 360. What's to say that Final Fantasy XIV won't do the same thing?
But it still has the constraints of only moving 2 points in space. Also, how would you move yourself around within that space while still being able to wave your arms around and hit stuff? You can see in the video that the only thing moving on the knight guy towards the end is his arms. His feet are rigidly planted. Thats just kind of lame to me.
Microsoft has at least solved part of that issue, but what good is it if you can only move around with the constrains of your living room. What if you have a really small living room?
I like this trend towards more immersive gaming, but so far it's still quite lacking. Mostly I think I'm excited about Natal. That has some real potential. The Eye toy I think will end up being the most gimmicky.
Buttons, we have them.
Joystick on the controller to walk around, like the Wii Nunchuck.
It tracks 1:1, but I'm sure you could increase the sensitivity if you had to for small rooms.
Games that will take advantage of this tech will most likely have the environment on-screen move automatically where you don't have to walk in-place or simulate walking. That, or have a second one-handed Nunchuk-like device that has an analog stick at the thumb command that could be used to move your character while your other hand controls the weapon/item/device.
Tekken 6 is no longer exclusive.
let me tell you that i'm more into this one than in Project Natal!
[still, natal it's Really impressive]
Project Natal needs another console unit... here is needed only a new controller...
Me too I prefer this one than Natal... its way more accurate. Sony have a winner here... if they can make games for it.
This also needs the Eye, which I would gladly get for this.
barracuda, Microsoft stated that Natal will work with all previous and future 360 consoles, so it's no different than buying the Playstation Eye.
"Project Natal needs another console unit... here is needed only a new controller... "
What?
Natal needs a camera-thingy. The ps3 solution needs an eye toy and a controller. I don't know why you think natal needs a whole nother console?
The one thing that made me skeptical about this is when the kid tries to show off his bow skills, and has a really hard time hitting the enemy (on the edge of the screen). Apparently, if the Eye-toy loses track of the controller, it would reset and lose track of where it was. The Wii showed similar control schemes, but most of the time ended up controlling like that small error most of the time. I think the ps3 controller will have the same problem.
Was I the only one who was happy that waggle was only on the Wii? I'm not very happy that all consoles are now waggle-happy....
DID THEY come up with this after watching microsoft keynote ??NATAL FTW!!!!1
Yes. They actually created this all in one day. It's very impressive. :|
Yes - they saw Natal and then did years of research and development, not to mention a presentation, overnight.
Darn you Benny! I was watching the video while you commented :P
The motion tracking looks to be more advanced in a 3d space, where natal looks like like a glorified 2d eyetoy.
Plus given Microsoft's track record one or more of the situations will happen:
1) Faulty firmware at launch
2) Faulty software/hardware causing a massive recall
3) Feeling and knowing that you just bought something produced cheaply and ill-conceived
This could be impressive. With the accuracy this gives and the horsepower the PS3 has to process what is going on, we just might get things such a simulated 1:1 sword fighting this generation of consoles.
Absolutely considering the incredible physics calculations a well coded app for the cell could do. You never know, some hacker may also use a handful of these badboys in Linux for cheap motion capture. (I presume that like the PS3 controllers you will be able to use up to 7 at a time)
The wii has this . The often bashed wii sports resort has a 1:1 sword fighting game. Also red steel 2 is 1:1 also (from impressions very tiring though).
i need this
Oh my god. First off, the thing looks like a sex toy. You gotta admit it, it does. Second, first Microsoft coppied this idea from the Wii, and now a day later Sony did? WTF?! Sony probably threw it together in a couple hours to make it seem like they actually had something to show at E3. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
This is more of a copy of the wii than NATAL.
The wii and the this EYE toy thing recognise light/color sources whereas NATAL recognises body gestures.
at the moment I would say the sonty one has more chance of success as it not as difficult to implement.
NATAL is probably for the next generation. I am sure Nintendo are looking at similar for their next console.
Don't be a numpty Jamie. No-ones truly copying ideas here. Motion Capture in Video Games has been the holy grail for a lot longer than any of the 3 "next gen" consoles have been around. They're all trying variations on a theme to implement it. Even Sega had a go back in the day. So were Ninty copying Sega?
http://www.destructoid.com/sega-activator-the-crappiest-game-peripheral-26148.phtml
Natal for me was the most impressive, but I feel Microsoft's demo was a lot more smoke and mirrors than Sonys.
Let's not forget that computers have using similar tech with hollywood studios (aka green screen special effects) for DECADES. Technology is constantly evolving and borrowing ideas from each other. And, I'm ok with that.
"Sony probably threw it together in a couple hours to make it seem like they actually had something to show at E3. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk."
If you looked at the patents for their "sex toy" (it's an engineering sample) you'll see that Sony has been working on it before the Wii existed.
I agree poke, MS and Sony probably are only showing this prototypes (although Natal seems almost ready) so Nintendo's next console won't be so amazing to see. They think like everyone else that Nintendo will be first to launch their next gen console. They need to have better tech in their pipelines for then because Nintendo hasn't shown anything about they are thinking about.
Its good to see that all 3 are now working towards impressive play rather than the old school style. Now lets see if anyone cam make this really work
Nice Demo. However, it just looks like an evolution of the Wii concept. Natal is a complete revolution in how one would interact with the console. It remains to be seen how they will both end up working. I'd give the edge to Natal for its potential.
I wouldn't...this combines several different types of input and can basically do everything Natal can do, so why has Natal got the edge by taking away options? In the first demo he held various weapons including a gun. With this to shoot that gun you press the button or trigger. Natal...what would you do?
Not the same Tes. Full body tracking, voice and facial recognition vs. tracking a wand(clown penis). Fanboy perhaps?
This uses the PS Eye which is a camera with an array of microphones. Surely that means that it has the same functionality. It just needs the software on the PS3. Let's not start a fanboy fight here.
Too late! My bad Ben!
Again Patrick, this is a GAME console...that's really great tech, really, but HOW can it be usefully translated into workable and playable games? Face recognition?! Really? tracking my body if fine...but I can only move at most half a meter to either side while playing games...even LESS when I'me playing with someone. so how does that become Call Of Duty? how do I strafe, turn or anything else apart from ducking and standing up? How do I tell it to fire my gun? shouting bang?! I mean it HAS got voice recognition!
Tes, did you watch the Natal demo? There are other games besides FPS. The skate and fighting game go way beyond what the Sony product could do. BTW, I don't see the Sony solution as useful in FPS. It may work as a shooting range game, but you can only aim at a 2-D screen. How would you move in 3 dimensions?
Microsoft's choice not to use buttons makes their implementation for games more limited in my opinion as I believe buttons give you more options as shown by wii and ps3 in terms of shooting a bow and arrow for instance.
I have a ps3 and was excited by NATAL yesterday but although not as equally impressed by sony's efforts they have outline a time frame so now dont feel I'll the need to get a 360 now. Doesn't mean that wont change. Lets see what they do with it.
God of War with this could be cool.
Microsoft said that they got rid of the buttons as they thought it was a barrier to people who don't really know anything about gaming (i.e. the casual market). That is what this tech is gonna be squarely aimed at. It has been made to try and bring over some of the target Wii audience.
Patrick, could you tell me HOW I can have a sword in one hand and a shield in the other (PS3 version) and yet NOT be able to apparently represent the same left and right hand that the fighting game showed? It's the SAME thing. The only thing the PS3 one can't see is your legs...but you were not going to be doing any round house kicks in your living room anyway!
"BTW, I don't see the Sony solution as useful in FPS. It may work as a shooting range game, but you can only aim at a 2-D screen. How would you move in 3 dimensions?"
Because it has BUTTONS on it!!! You see...you've been commenting for several hours and don't really understand the thing you're criticising...this is the type of non thinking I was ranting about above. 1 it's a prototype, and 2 it already has button...why not an analogue stick eventually too? THEN it's VERY useful in a FPS. The Wii already has a few.
It should be much more accurate then the Wii Motion+. Those reflective orbs are essentially motion capture markers. You've probably seen people wearing those suits with the white balls on them. Those are passive markers, however, Sony's controller uses active markers that have LED's in them.
These are incredibly accurate. All the Wii Motion+ is is a gyroscope and accelerometer that is much more advanced, however this only gets contextual position, using a camera and active markers like a professional mocap system means you get spacial and temporal location as well.
Ahhhh...the flames....
Seriously guys, try and be a bit pragmatic. Both concepts are similar and I can see advantages and disadvantages to both.
Lets wait and see which one turns out best.
Tes, you're the one not thinking. If you want a full FPS experience you'll need to have an entire controller in your hand. How do you turn around and fight an enemy behind you? Certainly not by actually turning around. If you have to use the buttons to turn around then you're not really doing ANY motion capture except for simulating a keyboard and mouse. Neither of these systems would be optimized for FPS games. While you say Sony's is only a prototype, you criticize Natal for lack of functionality without mentioning it's also a prototype. Typical fanboy behavior.
As far as no buttons on Natal, how easy would it be to create a simple controller with buttins that it can track. I can imagine the multitude of cheap 3rd party devices to simulate a gun, sword or whatever if they decide to go that way. BTW, I never criticized the Sony concept. I only said it's just an evolution of the Wii which it is. It looks cool, just not as cool as Nata IMO. Assuming it turns out as advertised.
This does things that the Wiimote and Natal just can't do. You can't point with Natal, and button presses, or actions, have to be gestured by obvious hand movements. The Wiimote has pointing, but no 1:1 motion - something that has been missed since its conception.
The Sony controller may seem as glamorous, mostly due to being stuck in R&D, but it's far more viable for a wider gamut of gaming genres.
The Wii Motion Plus will launch later this year to deliver true 1:1 movement. A little late? Perhaps, but it's launching a year before whatever the hell this abomination Sony has come up with. By the time Sony's Wii-rip arrives, we'll probably have something even better to look forward to.
"You can't point with Natal, and button presses, or actions, have to be gestured by obvious hand movements"
First you can point with Natal since it tracks all your limbs. Second, it seemed pretty damn accurate to me so even small gestures look like they'll work. It'd also be incredibly, mind-numbingly easy to make a controller for use with Natal so people can press buttons if it was ever really needed.
Looking here and again at the flame war that erupted on this yesterday I want to know...when did the Engadget comments get so unintelligent? I mean there have always been a fair share of idiots, but this was a special showing of ignorance and stupidity.
For those lauding Natal, tell me this...apart from stuff bouncing off you, how would you for instance tell an on screen gun to fire? How would you walk through a room? All the demos they used showed you standing in one spot as translating foot movements into walking would require you ACTUALLY walking around your living room...how big is yours? Even in the skateboard demo, your feet are static. This still has buttons, maybe analogue sticks...and it's a PROTOTYPE! I couldn't understand how dumb you had to be to keep making cracks about how a prototype looked!
and then when people finally saw the video and saw it was actually more accurate than the Wii, and finally accepted the look wasn't final...what was the complaint? It's "copying" the Wii. Ah I see, so basically if company A invents something and then company B IMPROVES on it...in your world you would like company B to keep the improved version from you so you can sit at home and wait for company A to figure it out? Are you thick in the skull?
The Wii and this will ultimately prove more useful than Natal until they figure out a way to translate more than where you happen to be standing into useful gestures to do more than wave your limbs. with Natal there only seem to be a limited set of actions you could perform and therefore a limit on the type of games. Air guitar would be great for Guitar Hero until you realise it's only sensitive enough to translate the strumming and not the slight move of your hand from chord to chord. How would you translate the five coloured buttons to gestures?
Also don't forget unlike xbox and nintendo we also have bluetooth and 6-axis, while this is still an awesome prototype, the possibilities are even greater, if they add functionality from these(assuming they haven't already) it gives the ps3 the ability to move out of the limitations of sight by the eye toy, which both natal and wii cannot do. i agree completley about no buttons and lack of precison of natal, there is nothing it can do that the ps3 can't do better, the technology is obsolete before it is even released.
* For those lauding Natal, tell me this...apart from stuff bouncing off you, how would you for instance tell an on screen gun to fire?
Probably say "bang", unless MS has a little nunchuck-like peripheral to accompany the system by the time it is released.
if natal is (or becomes) very accurate, you could just make a trigger-pulling motion with your finger, or use your thumb.
and the sony thing is a complement to the eye toy, so i doubt it will be used in any real games for a long time.
@stevep
The Wii has bluetooth. Only Microsoft opted for a proprietary wireless solution. Also the "6-axis" sensor doesn't do anything more than Wiimote's own internal sensor.
Are you kidding me..NATAL better?. This is so much better, and the accuracy is just mind blasting. natal is a gimmick only, and will only work on a few games. This is the real shit.
I really can't decide which I like best. Natal has more potential, but this seems more geared towards today's games. I think Microsoft is trying to be to futuristic with Natal. A combination of both would be spectacular. But really, why couldn't MS just include some sort of foam replica sword or gun with their game for Natal to track, kinda like those toppers Nintendo came out with for the Wiimote? Eh, nevermind... bad idea. You need buttons to play games, Sony takes this one as much as I hate it. Looks like I'm going to have to get a PS3 when this comes out.
Either way, the next generation is going to be quite awesome, all three of the big boys are going to have something more awesome than these come PS4, xBox 720 :), and whatever Nintendo names their next console.
I would like to say thank you Nintendo for spurring on a gaming revolution.
well I agree. I would like to see Natal shipping with some sort of a "grip controller" with an analogue stick and buttons, so that you can change weapons, move freely (without having to run all over your apartment in reality).
@TareX
So you basically want Natal to be this then?
@Tes
What? Natal cannot even be compared to this gimmick. Adding a hand grip would not make Natal like this. Have you not seen Natal?
Fanboi.
""A combination of both would be spectacular.""
It's not like the Natal will break if you have a controller in your hand. MS was giving the "possibilities" video, of how neat a controllerless scheme would be, but in real life, what is stopping a game developer from using a 360 controller like the ps3 solution?
@TareX
Because Microsoft said the SPECIFICALLY removed the controller from the equation on purpose...it's all part of the Natal's appeal. So why on Earth would they suddenly change their minds? You tell me a game that can be done with Natal that would be impossible with the Ps3 setup. If I'm holding my 360 controller in my hands then what's the point of Natal tracking my limbs?
Adding a hand grip would make Natal EXACTLY like this. I've seen ALL the presentations and so far this one is the one most useful in terms of GAMES. Natal is more impressive tech...but not really easily translatable to gameplay...I think that's what you seem to have overlooked. It's for GAMES.
Why is it "not an ordinary Wiimote"?
From everything I saw, this is exactly the Wiimote, only it's coming 2-3 years late.
The Wii-mote can't be tracked in 3D space...even with the new add-on. They can accurately tell HOW you're holding it...but not in context with where it is next to your body.
You have obviously never used a Wii then. You must be the only person in the world.
That's a reply to Tarex by the way.
Was that aimed at me Benny? If so are you high? could you tell me exactly how a Wii can tell where you're standing in relation to your Wii-mote? IT CAN'T!!! It can only see the Wii-mote...I've sat on a couch and played Wii boxing without as much as extending my arm more than three inches. Try it, hold it in your hand and just rotate it, your avatar will swing it's arm anyway.
LOL...too late, my bad Ben!
@Tes: Wiimote can be tracked in 3d space in several ways (when using the pointer, based on the apparent distance between the tracking LED points; and possibly fairly accurately with MotionPlus, by tracking position from an initial known point). But the question is, why would you want to do that?
Leaving that aside - this thing just uses PS Eye to track, with 3D determined by the apparent size of the ball thing in the frame? Cool idea, but seems maybe a bit hacky to me. Then again, bolting an extra gyroscope onto your game controller to make it more accurate is also a bit hacky, so I guess MS are the only non-hacky game in town here...
Microsoft's 3D camera system is elegant and technically impressive but probably little use for games. This one... well, it's not elegant, it's not technically impressive, but perhaps (if it is reliable, not something previous PS Eye efforts were known for) should work better for games. But I still doubt it'll really be used much. I think the too-late efforts from both manufacturers are both well on their way to EyeToy status before even releasing.
Or to put it another way, Nintendo's innovation wasn't making a motion controller (those existed for years); Nintendo's innovation was making that the *only* controller that ships with the system.
It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next console generation in a couple of years - i.e. what control interface actually ships with the next MS / Sony console.
they look and sound nervous, instead of excited
They're engineers/developers... not spokespeople
project natal is just a prototype..hence the word PROJECT.. what's to say they won't get the camera to recognize items like the 360 controller... also they were only demo's showing what the camera can do, surely developers will combine the 2 together, love to see Fable sequel using the natal.
RIGHT! This is exactly what I'm thinking. Sony said in their press conference something along the lines of "We've found sometimes you just need a button" This is true, but what's to stop Microsoft and it's partners from combining Natal with the controller? There are a ton of different ways you could use natal with the controller in current games. I'd love to see an FPS that tracked my head movement and tilted the pov when I tilted my head. And the voice recognition would be great too. Why scroll through weapons when you can just say what weapon you want?
@Jim
Well that would be completely useless. If you tilt your head and the screen tilts, you are still looking at a straight image.
Although if Natal could track the controller, then I agree it's possible that it could be better than Sony's offering. I'm with Tes on his comments though, I just can't see many games where Natal is useful. I suppose we'll have to see just how clever it is. If it can detect lots of different football techniques with no mistakes (not just kicking), it could be good in a football game. I don't see how running would be implemented, but since you are only moving your legs mainly, you could always hold the controller.
I do prefer the concept behind the PS3 motion controller. The bow and arrow idea was very good, and the first person shooter mode looked really cool. I'd imagine for it to be useful in a shooter though, you'd need joysticks on both the controllers, similar to a Wii nunchuck. You could have two weapons aiming independantly on the screen, left joystick to move, right joystick to turn/aim, and triggers to shoot each gun. No idea how useful it would actually be though.
It's too early to tell which is better though. Both could turn out to be a flop, but until the time comes, it's impossible to judge.
Again Patrick, this is a GAME console...that's really great tech, really, but HOW can it be usefully translated into workable and playable games? Face recognition?! Really? tracking my body if fine...but I can only move at most half a meter to either side while playing games...even LESS when I'm playing with someone. so how does that become Call Of Duty? how do I strafe, turn or anything else apart from ducking and standing up? How do I tell it to fire my gun? shouting bang?! I mean it HAS got voice recognition!
GOD I hate the Engadget commenting system...implement Google Wave as soon as it's availiable Engadget!!!
Anyway, I hope it doesn't seem like I'm some sort of PS3 shill. I just can't stand that people are being so ignorant and not thinking it all trough. They are both still in development (PS3 and Natal) so it could all change...I have my fair share of criticisms of the PS3 version. It seems you'll be charged for not only the PS-Eye, but you;ll need TWO sticks for most games. This as usual with Sony, will be too expensive.
Natals technical demo showed that the main points that the camera picked up in motion were the knees, shoulders, elbows and head. I dont think it will be accurate to the smallest movement of a finger (i.e pulling a trigger). Thats why buttons are usefull. Also, voice recognition should be easily done using code in games. However, the software and stuff is all there in one package, and knowing microsoft will probably push this thing quite far.
Will be looking forward to the advance of this and Natal. See how they turn out :)
Cant wait till i try them both.