back to article Sony launches 'WiiMote for PS3'

It's not Arc, it's Move, Sony revealed yesterday when it took the wraps off its Wii-style motion controller system for the PlayStation 3. Sony had already said the controller will debut this coming Autumn, but yesterday it added that the add-on will cost less that $100 (£67) as a pack containing the controller, a "sub- …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Staggering....

    After years of slagging off the Wii for it's "quaint" controls they then go ahead and copy the idea exactly! Even down to the nunchuck..... You couldn't make it up!

    Sony stopped innovating years ago, and now they seem to have completely lost the plot!

  2. Code Monkey

    If the games come

    If this means there'll be lots of Wii-style (i.e. Noddy) games on the PS3, I might actually switch it on once in a while. I know I'm not Sony's target market but the PS3 games I've tried are all so damned serious.

    That big blue lollipop looks a bit daft, mind.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Looks naff

    I'm sure the controller will be a flawless piece of kit in use, but that blue globe looks really really stupid. Do I smell avoidance of patent infringement forcing Sony to take a less than ideal route?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      Old lag

      AC: you are correct, rather than their Wii-mote detecting where it is in relation to the screen, a la Nintendo, Sony's approach is to use a webcam to spot the glowing ball on the end of the controller (which is one reason why it's apparently quite light in weight).

      All the hands-on reports so far complain of input lag, so it sounds like a sub-optimal avoidance of patents.

    2. Argh

      Big swords

      Maybe, although the regular camera did have some neat looking tricks that the Wii IR camera couldn't do, such as showing you holding a big sword (*fnar*) etc. See from about 1:20 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th8_zKa0DKk

      Gimicky but fun for a few minutes and it's possible that someone may come up with some good ideas.

  4. Greg J Preece

    Maybe they'll make proper games

    As opposed to the 1000000s of mini games and boring uninspired crap that makes up the Wii library.

    (Apologies to Code Monkey)

  5. Citizen Kaned

    hmm

    the nintendo wii was a fad as the games all looked like something from 10 years ago (it was just a gamecube really anyway).

    this will be good for certain games im sure. i think the wii is better now with the dongle for added control but its the childish games that ruin it.

    i will be buying one for a laugh depending on what games use it and how well it works.

  6. Paul 25
    Stop

    Rumours of the Wii demise is greatly exaggerated

    Hardware sales chart - http://vgchartz.com/hwcomps.php?cons1=Wii&reg1=All&cons2=PS3&reg2=All&cons3=X360&reg3=All&start=39880&end=40244

    The Wii is still selling 275k/week, compared to the 360 and PS3's 153k and 168k respectively.

    While I fully expect Wii sales to slacken more and more, it's going to take a lot for the PS3 to catch up and then overtake the Wii on installed systems. The Wii currently accounts for just under 50% of the installed market. That's a very big lead to catch up.

    Neither the 360 or PS3 show any significant trend upwards for the first part of this year. Sony are going to have to pull off something special to significantly increase their sales.

    But that's "analysts" for you. I have yet to read anything by an analyst that turned out to be right.

    It's a shame that Sony seem to have forgotten how to innovate. I'll be interested to see how well the new controller works, but they could have tried to leapfrog Nintendo (as MS appear to be doing with Natal) rather than just aping them.

  7. James Howat
    Grenade

    Aiming with a mushroom is never a good idea

    Forget the actual motion controls - if it means I can actually aim properly in a shooter, then I'm all for it. It's amazing to see how long it's taken for console manufacturers to catch on to point-and-click being a good input mechanism for games, when PCs have been doing it for decades...

  8. Sampler
    Thumb Down

    What?

    After years - i mean YEARS - to come up with a competing/similar technology this is what they manage? It looks like they pinched it out in a lunch break!

  9. SynnerCal
    Happy

    Controller okay, s/w?

    I actually kind of like the new controllers - they're weird and stylish (to my eyes at least) in the way that Sony stuff used to be. And I can't see a problem with them "following" Nintendo, just as long as there's going to be suitable titles to use the new controllers - just bodging these onto existing titles won't work! However, that blue ball on the end makes me think of either (a) a sound level meter; or (b) some kind of sci-fi death ray/phaser gizmo.

    Tony Smith said "If it has, these buyers [Wii owners] won't necessarily view the BD-, HD- and, soon 3D-enabled PS3 and Move as the natural upgrade path from a standard-definition Wii."

    Couldn't agree more - as noted in the article the Wii pitches at the casual/family/fun gamers whereas the 360 and especially the PS3 are for (imho) the more 'hardcore'/serious gamer. In which case the only folks interested in going Wii->PS3 are those where the kids are now older and less interested in Mario et al.

  10. Ross 7

    PS3 moves into Wii territory

    I s'pose they need to widen their appeal to gain market share. Families with a bit of extra cash may see the new "family friendly" PS3 as a longer term investment than a Wii.

    Personally I love my Wii - well, I love Mario Kart. But I do agree about the paucity of must have games. Pity they don't have WoW on it, altho replacing a 102 key kbd with motions might be a tad difficult (not to mention dangerous)

    Hmmm, PIEglove....WoW...macros.... I've got an idea....

  11. Stu
    Boffin

    Wii vs PS3 device accuracy

    I don't think we're really talking about the same things here.

    The Wii has only accelerometers for placement, meaning it can't pinpoint positions of the controllers, but only estimate motion direction and speed and so forth using motion and gravity (to tell it which way is down). It doesn't even have a digital compass, which would at least help with locational awareness.

    I was always somewhat disappointed by that on the Wii, you didn't truly feel like you were in control of your on-screen weapon/racket/golf club etc.

    Reading about when Sonys version first came to light, I was under the belief that it COULD tell exactly where your controller is and how it was oriented. It makes sense because it involves a camera and a big glowy ball! Having this makes it all far more sophisticated and more, well, real.

    Like most mickey mouse Wii sporting titles, you take a swing and you hit the ball EVERY TIME regardless of whether you have a swing technique.

    With proper positional awareness on this thing, it at least introduces the possibility of a swing-and-a-miss meaning more skill can be leveraged to your advantage - games suddenly turn into proper tests of skill.

    ---Don't know if this is still the case tho.

    1. Adam 10

      Or...

      You could just go and play a round of golf, if you want that sort of accuracy...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Wiimote

      The Motion+ device that plugs into the Wiimote has a gyroscope, giving far more accurate movement/placement than the Wiimote alone.

      BTW, anybody think the ball on the Sony device is just waiting to be knocked off?

      1. Aaron 10
        Paris Hilton

        Relative vs. absolute

        The Playstation Move controller has ABSOLUTE positioning capability. Look at some of the augmented reality demos with early iterations of the controller. They're amazing, tracking the exact position of the controller, superimposing graphics in real-time on top of the video of yourself from the Playstation Eye.

        The Wiimote has RELATIVE positioning capability, even with the addition of the Motion+ device. There is a significant difference.

        Paris, because she likes the shape of the Move better... for some reason...

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Linux

      Wiimote positioning

      "The Wii has only accelerometers for placement, meaning it can't pinpoint positions of the controllers, but only estimate motion direction and speed and so forth using motion and gravity (to tell it which way is down). It doesn't even have a digital compass, which would at least help with locational awareness."

      Not quite. Ever wondered what's with that bar you place on the top of the TV?

      The Wiimote actually has a built-in low resolution CMOS black and white camera with a standard slab of deep purple plastic slapped on the front to filter out the visible color spectrum. So it's actually very similiar to Sony's idea, except 1. It's the camera that moves, and 2. The camera can't be used for anything other than tracking infra-red light.

      As for the Move, afaik the EyePets software already supports it, if not it will be supported in the near future. Uh, yeah.

      I have done something as silly as pairing my Wiimote with my PS3 tho. I was too bored on that day.

      Tux. One thing the new PS3 slim can't run, and the Wii can't run without hacking.

  12. Mike Brown

    you gotta move it, move it.

    the only reason wii sales are dropping is beacuse everyone that actually wants one, has one by now.

    im looking forward to these things. HD motion control gaming: yes please.

  13. Alan Bourke
    Go

    Make vit zer shoot-bang-fire.

    If it leads to some decent non-kiddy FPS games then fantastic. It's a control scheme that could rival mouse and keyboard, because an FPS on even a dual analogue stick pad is still fairly crap in comparison.

  14. Thomas 18
    Thumb Up

    Well I like it!

    I want to dual wield virtual swords while dancing around my living room stabbing illusionary skeletons (maybe with a VR headset on) and I want an accurate light gun with kick back and an ejectable magazine. Really is it so much to ask?

    I don't want a game of jerk the stick at the correct moment to win. This seems like its a step closer anyway.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnGSpAZtm38 (come on a redneck can manage it why can't sony!!!)

  15. Jacqui Smith's DVD Collection!
    FAIL

    Fugly

    The ping-pong ball is laughable!

  16. Citizen Kaned

    try this for fps...

    http://www.idealo.co.uk/pp/689577.html

    ordered mine on monday for AVP (not many kids on there since its an 18)

    why sony dont make these is beyond me!

  17. Kravex
    FAIL

    Eye Toy 2

    I wouldn’t worry about it, gimmicky peripherals that aren't sold with the console bundle right from the start usually fail quite quickly, why make games for a peripheral no one owns / why buy a peripheral that has no games for it (chicken and the egg problem).

    The Wii was a success because it came with the Wii-mote which was originally planned as an add-on for the GameCube, would the GameCube be as popular as the Wii right now and have loads of games using that add-on if they'd released it that way instead?

    A few studio's will support it in the beginning then it will fall into obscurity as history has proved with all the other junk like this now filling up landfills.

    1. Thomas 18
      FAIL

      Yeah kinda like guitar hero controllers

      They disapeared right down the drain, along with the dance dance revolution mats.

  18. Fractured Cell
    Heart

    Is it just me...

    ... or does the one with the blue ping-pong ball on the end look like a 'Body Cavity Insertable Pleasure Device™'?

    1. Mr Brush
      Coat

      A Title is Required

      But does it have a rumble function?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Not just you

      seriously reminds me of a magical wand from Japan ;-)

  19. Doogie Howser MD
    Thumb Down

    Meh....

    ....Natal looks better and I blinkin' hate Microsoft.....:-(

  20. Ivor Biggen
    Thumb Up

    SOCOM 4

    The first FPS game using the Move tech is SOCOM 4.

    Over 35 developers working on titles for the new tech, with nearly 18 months (from E3 '09 - to launch) the quality of the games and the interactions should be brilliant.

    Developers have had more time to work on this than they did with the Wii. The processing power and HD resolution should make the games look and feel awesome.

    The PS Eye sold pretty poorly, but you can bet the people who do own one already will be getting the new controllers to go with it.

    I imagine most of the games will be PSN titles at launch with a few making it to retail (SOCOM 4, Tennis, Golf & maybe even a Sony version of Wii Sports)

    Good tech, powerful system & tested playing methods, all in theory give this new controller a very good chance of succeeding. Lets hope Sony market this well.

    Looking forward to being shot down for my comments.

  21. paul 97
    Pint

    if it works

    Not for me - but could well be sucessful.

    The ps3 is a ten year (at least) project for sony.

    The ps2 that turned ten recently still has good games coming out for it. Unlike my original xbox that MS dropped like a bomb as soon as the 360 came out. Nintendo didnt really support the game cube for long either. Software sales (not consoles) are the things that make these companies money.

  22. Les Matthew

    The blue ball

    I wonder how long that will stay attached with regular home use?

    My guess, not long.

  23. Ben 42
    FAIL

    Casually failing

    If they wanted to capture the casual crowd with this, they will fail because it has too many buttons. One of the genius things Nintendo did to capture the casual crowd was to put only two buttons on the Wiimote. Or more accurately only two buttons per grip style. Most people are (understandably IMHO) intimidated by the number of buttons on a modern, standard console controller.

    Come to think of it, they're unlikely to capture the hardcore crowd either since most of them are in the "you can have my traditional controller when you pry it from my cold, dead hands" camp.

    I see this going the way of the Eye toy - a few cool demos will be made, but in a few years it will still be a very niche thing.

  24. aL 17
    FAIL

    Piimote

    .. is what they should have called it..

  25. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Sony want you to touch their shiny knobs!

    Come on kiddies! Come and hold our shaft with a shiny knob on the end! It throbs when you score!

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Fail

    the idiots that think that this is directly comparible to a a Wii/Wiimote. Sure there may be many similarities, but did ANYONE bother to look at the games that were demoed? A million miles away from the shovelware in Wii, plus the PS3 controller has alot more flexabiity to support more game types.

    Also fail purely because this doen't take away the existing hardcore gamer element that the PS3 offers, nor the hi-def movie experience, it purely widens it's appeal. The Wii simply can't offer anything like the range of services the PS3 can.

  27. Jonny Englisch
    Coat

    Would it work for Bet Lynch?

    or anyone else who is similarly baubly bedecked.

    My coat's in the snug....

  28. SuperFresco
    Unhappy

    wireless to some

    This would be of interest - I like a new gadget as much as the next guy - but only if they bring out a wireless PS Eye (as well as some worthwhile games, of course).

    My PS3 is racked in my media hub, too far away for any cabled peripheral (when I say racked, I actually mean on a shelf and when I say media hub, I guess I really mean in the cupboard under the stairs with my Amps and Sky HD boxes!)

  29. Scarborough Dave
    Coat

    LOL

    Mine is the one with the Dildo in the pocket!

  30. Scarborough Dave
    Coat

    I can not believe it!

    Looks like a device that is waved around has a fragile ball on the end of it, basically it does not look resiliant to knocks.

    Coat - Because mines the one with a Dildo looking controller in the pocket!

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