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Sony Rumored To Be Debuting Wiimote-Like Controller At E3
Posted by
Soulskill
on Wed May 27, 2009 05:06 AM
from the all-the-cool-kids-are-doing-it dept.
from the all-the-cool-kids-are-doing-it dept.
Anenome writes "Previously, we saw a Microsoft patent on a Wiimote-like device, and now rumors say that Sony too has a similar device in the works. This isn't surprising, given how dominant Nintendo's Wii has proved to be in this hardware generation. However, many gaming-geeks continue to lament the move away from plain old button-pressing. What is exciting is the prospect that all three companies may incorporate Johnny Lee-style head-tracking into the next console generation, which achieves a convincing 3D illusion on a regular vid-screen, leaving us just a few steps away from true positional 3D. Both the Microsoft and Sony patents incorporate a camera looking at the user, a required setup for achieving positional head-tracking."
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just the next logical step in evolution of control (Score:5, Interesting)
we went from very simple digital joysticks, to analog joysticks, to analog pressure buttons, and now to multi-axis 3D input. i love it. it's what i've been wishing for since i was a kid.
analog steering wheels probably represent the need perfectly. [well, at least in the racing games that lean to the simulation side as opposed to the arcade side....]
i hope all the next-gen continue to get more nuanced inputs!
Re:just the next logical step in evolution of cont (Score:5, Funny)
The next logical step would be a controller that you can actually wear on your hand like a large glove. It would be so bad!
Parent
Re:just the next logical step in evolution of cont (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
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I think he meant a version that works.
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3D for shooting games (Score:2, Funny)
I can imagine, the next generation of 3D shooting games!!. Almost Virtual Reality.
the problem would be "Almost Virtual Reality Shooting Games" vs "Almost Surreal Shooting Raids"
could your classmates perceive the difference?.
Re:3D for shooting games (Score:4, Funny)
And do mammals really drink milk? This is weather at 11.
Parent
"Required"? (Score:2)
e a camera looking at the user, a required setup for achieving positional head-tracking
Sure it's one setup, but it's hardly "required" otherwise it wouldn't have been possible to do the same trick with the wii-mote.
Besides, what happens if your identical twin brother walks over next to you? Did they think of that? No, they clearly did not. Am I truly concerned? No, I don't have a twin. Do I like speaking in questions today? Yes, I do.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure it's one setup, but it's hardly "required" otherwise it wouldn't have been possible to do the same trick with the wii-mote.
The wiimote acts as an infra-red camera (the "sensor bar" is a misnomer, it only has some leds), and IIRC the head-tracking trick involves a wiimote pointing at the user and some leds in the user's head.
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I had thought the guy just mounted a wii-mote on his head.
Still, face tracking with a camera would be less restrictive and involve less money on hardware in the long run than having to wear headgear which could get damaged or lost etc.
The face tracking of course would be more CPU intensive and difficult to code, meaning poor responsiveness and accuracy for the first generation at least. At first I was thinking you would even have to determine which direction the user is looking in, but really you could real
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By impossible I assume you mean impossible to do it very quickly, but even mobile phones can locate faces on their cameras these days so it can't be too bad..
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So you use motion estimation. Works really nicely. But turn round and it no longer looks like a face. Move your hand in front
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*I assume it's elegant, since this is like the 4000th time they've refined the general 'tracking' idea but only the second or third version they've put on the market.
Just as long as it's truly Bluetooth compatible (Score:5, Interesting)
I use the Wiimote all the time with Smoothboard [smoothboard.net], which incidentally is a much MUCH better application than Johny Lee's.
But really, the Wiimote's BT implementation sucks pond water from the bottom: you need to use the BlueSoleil [bluesoleil.com] stack, which is $$$ and can be quirky, unless you're really lucky and your Broadcomm or Toshiba stack works as-is, and the Wiimote doesn't autoconnect.
Quite frankly, all the Wiimote needs is a small firmware fix to be perfect. No need for Microsoft to reinvent things, just make it compatible.
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No need for Microsoft to reinvent things, just make it compatible.
What does one thing have to do with the other? If you want compatibility, the last thing you'd want is MS to reinvent something.
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Smoothboard is neat, but I'd rather see an app that can work with a couple wired cameras, instead. Having to mount and unmount the Wiimotes constantly to charge them seems like a major hassle, plus the whole issue with the bluetooth stack needed, etc.
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#1 - I got a BlueSoleil stack with my first Bluetooth adapter at no additional cost.
#2 - My second adapter is a cheapo USB adapter that uses the default Windows stack. It works just fine with my Wii Remotes.
In my experience, spending too much on a Bluetooth adapters is usually the root of the problem. If you have XP, I can recommend the adapter in this package [amazon.com]. It's cheap and works really well with Wii Remotes.
is it just me (Score:5, Funny)
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it is just you.
but wait a minute - what camera are you talking about?
[minutes later, me looks to the right side of the picture]
Re:is it just me (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Patentable? (Score:4, Interesting)
Isn't it weird that you can describe a device as "Wiimote-like", but you can still patent it?
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It's been done (Score:2, Informative)
Debut? (Score:2, Redundant)
Shouldn't a debut include something new?
The problem ... (Score:5, Insightful)
... is the added complexity proposed to operate the gaming console. At first one button was fine, then two buttons, six, twelve ... now my wireless Logitech controller has no less than 18 buttons on it, two analog sticks, and a d-pad.
The beautiful thing about the Wii is that while it's not as fast or responsive as simply pressing a button to do X, it helps alleviate the complexity of modern gaming. My dad -- who couldn't figure out how to play golf on the Xbox because of all the different button combinations -- had no problems playing golf on the Wii (he still has a hard time with, and has basically given up on, 3D gaming -- so 3D Zelda and Mario are right out for him).
But now Microsoft and Sony continue to take the elegant design of the Wii controller (relative to the other gaming controllers, mind you) and add a whole bunch of shit to it to make it "better"
Technologically, it might be better, but god damn, they are missing the point: it's not the motion controls that gave Nintendo the damn lead, it's the ease of operation that opened the console up to less than hardcore gamers.
When my dad has to strap on a helmet just to play these games, he's going to junk the console, open his laptop, and play TextTwist into the night ... and I can't blame him.
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Hmm... I find this statement odd, since I do have a hard time playing golf on the Wii. Or, at least, I have a hard time playing well. The controls are just way too finicky. I'd have a much easier time basing the power of my shot on one or two wildly swinging meters that I have to hit a button combination to stop at the right point. Every time I swing the W
Eyetoy+Target (Score:2)
Subject says it all. There's a camera, there's a target. It's the Eyetoy, with a target. The eyetoy was lame because the PS2 only had enough processing power for simple games when doing the image processing. This ought to be less lame, but I still won't have one because there's not enough room for a PS3 in my living room, and besides, I already have a George Foreman grill.
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Um... my PS3 doesn't get particularly hot, and it's got the 90nm graphics chip and the 65nm Cell. The newer models have 65nm graphics chips, too, and consume even less power. The Xbox 360, on the other hand... well, I don't know if it consumes less power or not, but whatever heat it generates, it can't handle it [wikipedia.org]. Spacewise, I can't help you. But it fits in my living room just fine. :->
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Playstation 3 Converted Into George Foreman Grill [gizmodo.com]
I don't really like the Wii-mote direction (Score:2)
Honestly, I like the Wiimote. I like the feel of it, I like the gimmicks it can us. I don't like that every game is forcing the player to use movement or aiming. I'm not terribly happy it's in the PS3 six-axis either. Ultimately that's why I bought an Xbox360.
I'm happy with both consoles and each one excels for what I bought it for.
Fuck sony. (Score:2)
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Hush! I'm already working on it and hoping that the next PS will be bought by many good looking females.
Who said only governments should have all the fun?
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There's paranoid, and then there's goddamn insane.
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Remember: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they're not after you ;)
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Re:Now to wait... (Score:5, Informative)
Do you mean like this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_MotionPlus [wikipedia.org]
Parent
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That's the difference between a fan and a fanboy. I love Nintendo, but this is a good thing. You don't get onto a car company for shipping a product that has four wheels on the bottom. This technology will continue to improve and become more intuitive with three companies innovating instead of one.
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Nintendo fans will be bashing Sony for "once again copying" Nintendo soon enough. Also it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo is secretly working on a better motion sensing technology themselves.
I just hope Nintendo is working to keep a step ahead in general. Adding more games to the selection would be good for both Sony and Nintendo, since Microsoft has a clear lead at the moment when it comes to selection.
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Sony didn't copy Nintendo, they've been working on this stuff for years, even during the development of the eyetoy for the PS2 they demonstrated a prototype "wand" controller. Remember, the PS2 eyetoy came out before the Wii.
Re:This Is Sure To Be A Success If It's From Sony! (Score:3, Informative)
Sony Laserdisc
Actually, Sony had very little to do with the laserdisc format. They came out with some lame players (actually, any player but a post-digital-audio Pioneer or a high-priced Home Theatre brand player was lame), and they manufactured [wikipedia.org] discs. [lddb.com] Oh wait. Carry on.
But as it wasn't a Holy Sony Format, naturally they wouldn't care if their quality was crap.
PS3 is fine (Score:2)
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Sony went from 70% market share in the previous generation to around 20% now. That's what's wrong ;)
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Oh, it has also lost Sony $4 + billion, maybe more than $5 billion.
Source: Sony's financial reports in their investor relations page, Games division.
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blu-ray
jury is still out on that one. it's done better than laser disc.
but its still hasn't done better than betamax (sure it killed hddvd..but I remember when video stores were almost 50/50 beta/vhs and beta still lost.
And in my opinion blu-ray's real competition is DVD. Sure bluray has the quality advantage... but then so did betamax... dvd's are cheap, well established, and look equally good on most people's tv's at the viewing distances most people watch tv at.
bluray penetration and marketshare is expan
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It is, however, backwards-compatible to a greater extent than, say, DVD, as you can take a bit of media from the last generation (a standard DVD) and pop it into a Blu-Ray player and it'll work fine. Trust me, trying to stuff a VHS tape into a dvd slot is a pain by comparison.
Anyhow, I think that people buying new playback hardware
Re:This Is Sure To Be A Success If It's From Sony! (Score:5, Interesting)
So how much money is lost per console versus how much is gained per license and per sale?
If there's any indication that the Playstation 3 is still a money sinkhole for Sony it's their continued refusal to lower the console price, despite being outsold by its last generation counterpart. It means that the PS3 still costs a lot to manufacture, Sony is still taking a loss on the console, and lowering the price would put their charts into all kinds of unpredictable hell.
The declared goal of the Playstation 3 was to shim Blu-Ray into the average consumers home. At 22m units sold worldwide, it has helped Blu-Ray ... but it accounts for almost 90% of all the BD-enabled devices in the home around the world. With DVD being the near-ubiquitous media of choice around the world -- it has market penetration of almost 99% -- BD has a long damn way to go.
Also, the Wii and Xbox 360 continue to outperform the PS3 in the market, with 50m and 30m sold, compared to PS3's 22m.
So, yes, I'd say the Playstation 3 has been a marketing and performance failure. It was supposed to ride the success of the Playstation 2 and usher in the Blu-Ray era. It has not.
Parent
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Well, we already had to buy different plastic instruments for different music games*
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*Although I've been told that they have come to their senses and become compatible once again
Re:The word "wiimote" is fucking childish (Score:4, Funny)
Parent