Sony patents, and patents again

Sony's been on a patenting driving recently and has secured a crazy amount of add-ons for its upcoming motion controller.

Obviously they wanted to cover any and everything you could think of placing on a stick, if your thought of it, the hardware giant most likely patented it.

Kotaku's got them in abundance. According to the description, the patent is for an "Expandable Controller Device Via Hardware Attachment".

You'll be swinging Sony's wand Nintendo Wii style sometime spring of next year. Never thought I'd have seen the day.

12/09/09 Ernice Gilbert

GH5 Dir.:Motion controls could bring new life into genre

So you're dreaming of using Natal whilst playing Guitar Hero 5? What about using two of Sony's motion controllers dubbed "Sphere" to help you become the biggest baddest Rock band drummer? Keep your hopes up, because you're not alone. Brian Bright is the project director for Guitar Hero 5, and he shared some interesting outlooks with Playstation: The Official Magazine.

"I think if we just continue to focus on what makes a game fun and if we can come up with gameplay stuff like the jump-in, jump-out [co-op added by GH5] - stuff that's fun and not just a gimmicky and just really compelling," Brian said when asked about the staying power of rhythm games. "I think there's staying power in there. And I'm pretty excited about Natal and the Sony motion control stuff they announced at E3. That could bring new life to the genre as well," he relayed.

PTOM: What kind of role might motion controls play in music games?

"The obvious things would be like motion controls," Brian continued. "The camera tracks you: you're doing stuff and your guy on screen is doing stuff now. Animations systems are pretty complicated and there's a lot of massaging of the data to go through, but that could be one.

"Also, if you look at our music studio, I could see Minority Report-style building blocks, putting musical blocks together in a virtual space and creating music really easily."

"When I used to sit in middle school, I would always do drum beats on the desk. So now with frequency analysis and the ability to map those frequencies to different samples, if you do this [drums on table with hands] you can map this to a kick drum and sample this to a snare and have it in real time - we're playing a drum machine," he said.

"So maybe there's a way to do that through audio. Or maybe if I hum something, it creates a melody and that becomes a building block that I can paste somewhere else. I mean, just integration between audio and motion control, we can take music creation and make it even more fun than what we've been able to with a guitar controller. It's really fun to create music if you can remove the tedium," Brian concluded.

Sounds like fun or like work? You decide.

10/24/09 Ernice Gilbert

Wii MotionPlus, Sony's Wand Controller or Natal, which is the best?

It's all in the motion these days, as Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft made a big splash at the Tokyo Game Show, showing off their versions of motion tech, and although the Wii Mote's been around since 2006, the battle royal is only now commencing. Sony and Microsoft, after criticizing Nintendo's device as a gimmick years earlier, recognize the importance and potential of the technology and want in. So now the battle for who has the best "motion" is on. First to the stage is the Xbox 360 and partner, Project Natal, let's see how they dance.

With what was one of the best kept secrets in gaming this generation, (everything gets leaked these days) Microsoft dropped a bombshell at this year's E3 and stole some thunder from both Sony and Nintendo. They introduced what according to them, will be the next step in the way we play and interact with games. It can recognize your voice and face, even know when you enter in a room, and by the sound of your voice, determine what emotion you're feeling. It's Microsoft's Project Natal, there's no physical controller, just hand and body movements; No word yet on the games being developed for Natal or the cost the device, but I have to admit, it looks interesting. However even with all its capabilities, Project Natal is good as dead if there're no games to boot. Microsoft knows this, so they gathered some of the best minds in game development to support their latest effort. Verdict: Project Natal combined with the Xbox 360 have great potential together, and by fall 2010, all kinks should be ironed out, making for an even greater and more accurate motion sensing product. Next up, the PS3, the eye-toy, and the wand controller.

According to Sony, it has been in development before the Wii Mote. Its accuracy is second to none, casual and hardcore gamers alike will find the device extremely handy and appealing. It has force feedback and up to four players can be tracked at once by the eye-toy, a barrage of games that support the device have been announced, and according to the hardware giant, a lot more to come. It's the Wand Controller from Sony, (there's no name given... yet) and already developers from across the board have been taking notice, some have expressed the desire to port some of their Wii games to the PS3, hoping to find even greater success. Verdict: Might not be as exciting as Microsoft's Project Natal, but it's certainly fascinating to know soon we'll be tearing through demons in God of War III using Sony's wand? Okay, maybe I'm dreaming, alright I'm dreaming, but rest assured, Sony will once again innovate and elevate this industry come spring 2010. Now we move on to the company which started the motion craze. Let's take a look at Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus.

Say what you like about Nintendo, but none can go around the fact that they were the ones who initiated this motion revolution, when they took the 'make or break' attitude, and ordered their riskiest venture to date into production. The rest was history. Nintendo had grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, and kids alike the world over, loosing weight, and playing sports. 51 million strong in just three years, add that to the fact Nintendo has been making profits on every Wii sold since its release in 2006, and there'll be no doubt in your mind, Nintendo have a winner on their hands. After the Wii's quick Success, they followed up with an upgrade accessory for the WiiMote dubbed the Wii MotionPlus. With this accessory, the WiiMote is distinctively more accurate, and reviews across the boards have been posittive. Nintendo is promising even more innovation, and rumors abound that in 2011, they'll introduce the WiiHD. Yes, they've neglected the hardcore crowd, (which I think was a mistake) but certainly the casual market has been rewarding the Legendary company with hard cold cash sitting in the bank. Verdict: Although most hardcore games cannot operate on the system, Nintendo gets rewarded for taking a huge risk that could've left them bankrupt, and because of them, Sony and Microsoft are lesf scraping for remainders in the "motion market."

In conclusion, I believe they all are winners, but Nintendo is way ahead of the pack. Simply because they've lead the innovation front in motion sensing technology from the beginning of this consoles generation. It'll be interesting to see what, if any results Sony and Microsoft's venture yield. Share your thoughts.

09 27/09 Ernice Gilbert

Sony struggles to name motion controller

You and I call it the wand controller, but what about the folks at Sony? Well, they're struggling, too many options I guess. Here's Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida:

"There are several candidates for the name of the controller. The SIXAXIS and the Dual Shock 3, while great product names a based on the actual tech, the name we pick for the wand controller might not be so techy," he said.

A name for the motion device has to be chosen carefully since Sony is trying to appeal to the casual gamer, and grab some of the market share from Nintendo. The names are making the rounds through various Sony departments as the Hardware giant seeks guidance and ideas internally.

I have an idea, how about the PSMii? You like? Oh, just hush, you jealous one you.

09/26/09 Ernice Gilbert

Yoichi Wada says there'll be a new Wii in 2011, and "motion" impact for PS3 & Xbox will be small

As I've said before, next year will be the "year of motion" for both Sony and Microsoft as said companies release their Nintendo-inspired motion thingies. With the Wii being a runaway success, the PS3 and Xbox 360 want to show off some magic of their own. But if Suare-Enix's President Yoichi Wada is to be believed, Neither Sony, nor Microsoft will see much magic at all. In fact he sees a "small" impact on the industry when the peripherals are released. Yoichi also believes there'll be a new Wii come 2011.

He says, expect the new Wii to feature functionality more like Microsoft's Xbox or Sony's PS3, and possibly a different controller. Wada also believes that the recession would not have a lasting impact on the gaming industry, and attributed the weak US numbers to a slow down in sales from Nintendo games.

Rumors have been running rampant about an impending price cut for the Nintendo Wii, and it was recently confirmed in a retailer conference call. It's a win-win situation for gamers this holiday season, and I say, that's the way it should be. Always.

Via ft.com

09/21/09 Ernice Gilbert

Technical Difficulties might keep trophies from coming to PSP

Talking to Playstation: The Official Magazine, Mr. Shu Yoshida could not directly answer the question at hand.

PTOM: Will trophies ever be available for PSP games?

Shu Yoshida: “it’s under discussion, but there are some technical challenges.” Not a very encouraging answer by any means, but we’ll have to wait and see.

PTOM also asked Shu about the motion controller, concerning the availability of games at launch, and what audience are they targeting.

Shu Yoshida: “Obviously we are looking at the ease of use of the motion controller to attract a broader audience, but when we work this new technology, because it’s so precise, we can see a lot of functions for more core gamers’ games.” “Like a first-person shooter would be great, walking around a room ducking and hiding. We’re looking at all kinds of possibilities.”

Wait a minute there Sir, “ducking and hiding” you say? I’m not too sure core gamers want to lose weight while playing Killzone 3; or Break HDTVs while wielding Kratos’ sword. Bring your toy to the market, let’s first see how it works please? Thank you.

08/03/09 Ernice Gilbert