Sony Seeks a Cure for "Wii-envy"

Gotgame writes:

"Sony invested more time developing, and recently tested a new break-apart motion-sensing controller. Each piece would have its own individual accelerometer (you know, that part that made the Wiimote work), and players will be able to use the controller as a single piece, or as two separate pieces."

[CaptainHowdy]

the wii is a gimmick...i got over after the 1st 3 months.

[ChickeyCantor]

I see the Echo hasn't fade out yet...

[meepmoopmeep]

damn, quite the infection the Wii has caused

[Pornlord]

I won't be getting this unless they implement it VERY well in a game I CAN'T miss. Anything they can do with this remote that I would want, can already be done with sixaxis. I just don't buy into this gen's split motion controllers, it's not developed enough yet.

[Doppy]

Use the freakin PlayStation Eye. It does as much as the Wii mote and more. Make a collection of games that come bundled with the eye, for example, all the PlayStation Eye games on PSN need to be put on a Blu Ray disc and sold with the PS Eye. And every 2 - 3 months make about 1/2 a dozen game for the PS Eye and (the tank drawing game is a great example) incorporate the camera in hardcore game for special effects to make true gamers want the benefits of having the camera. (Burnout did a good job with it, but expand beyond that). Make all Eye Toy games compatible with the PS Eye if they aren't all ready. Finally make a slew of game where you can use the camera to take pictures in-game (Afrika would be great to use the camera for so make game like, Prehistorik, Safari, Mountains, Tokyo, New York, Paris, etc...) These simple games will help incorporate millions of casual gamers once the price of the PS3 drops to around $299.

Sony why haven't you hired me yet.

[QuackPot]

If the rumors are true about the Play- & X-motes then this is no gimmick.

Sony & Microsoft are not into gimmicks. If they see something that has real potential then they will implement it.

Obvious.

So enough with this 'gimmick' rhetoric. Tiresome.

[cmrbe]

The examples i have seen is that you can break it apart and use to climb a ladder or throw a grenade. Another cool use is when you run our of bullets you can break it apart and start punching your enemies. Imagine using your fist or holding two swords to attack. Its should be cool.

[deeznuts]

The Wii isn't a gimmick. Just not my cup of tea. My GF gave me hers, it sits there, and i want to play it. Still looking for that game though that will grab me. Going to try resident evil maybe?

[theKiller]

then this idea is welcomed my me and many many more people!

u see sony when do things they do it right and they dont usually copy cat like MS, and if they must copy cat then they add and advance that copied idea!! cant wait till i use DS3 with this new controller

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Like MS always do? Everything I've read seem to indicate that the motion controller MS is using is going to be much better than the Wiimote. Even the fact that it will include rumble makes a better in my eyes.

Sony are the biggest copy cats of this gen from their online service to their peripherals.

[theKiller]

i will point out the crap things in ur comment and the right things

the right: sony did copy somehow the idea of Live but with home they r taking it to the next level!

the crap: everything else u said!

u see when sony copy they do it better! not pure copy cat like MS!

[Pain]

why else has the Xbox 2 since released been called a "PURE Gaming machine" then , Now its a poor-mans PS3 wannabe.

[gunnerheadboy]

At least our controller wont look like a dildo that Shane kim pulled out of his @ss.

[ChickeyCantor]

Even if Sony manages to get a good motion controller out, they need to work on their marketing. You just dont win an audience simply by creating something.

Anyway success to them.

[TayTayShaniqua]

LOL! Dude seriously...

[TheFreak]

motion-sensing is the future. Omg metoid prime is so fun with the good gameplay it has because of the motion-sensing controlls and I have never been a fan of Metroid prime. If sony can get this right it will kick ass HARD!! hehe

[QuackPot]

Motion control will so awesome for shooters on the Ps3/360.

fast as aiming looking - as fast as mouse.

I just can't understand why critics continue to trash motion control ... or is is just because it was first implemented on the Wii?

[epiphany323]

I think most people (companies) thought Nintendo would come out the same this gen as they did last gen with the gamecube. But now that the wii with motion controls has become such a hit they have to deny the fact that it's what's causing nintendo to kick but and continue to bash the system calling it just a gimmick. But if it was such a gimmick their wouldn't be all sorts of rumors (or fan of other systems) claiming that the other big two systems are getting controllers based on the design of the wiimote.

[Silogon]

There is no "wii-envy" on my end. I hate the wii and motion controls and wanna see them die off like Virtual boy, VR and Pokemon. sony, do the right thing and walk your own path. Not Nintendos.

Oh disagrees, how surprising. So you dong bangers don't want sony to do their own thing? Funny.

[Max Power]

you may seem all sane right now but i know there is another comment section where you flipped upside down and backwards and spout crap all over the place. so i disagree with you no matter what you say because i don't trust your word.

Edit: i figure i would explain my reasoning for my disagreeing with you, because i hate it when someone disagrees for an apparent to reason.

[theKiller]

u r half true, and i think MS is even doing worst than sony and they never made their own thing! only copy the others with their xbox consoles, have u heard of MS wii mote imitator?? i would like to hear ur opinion about that!!

beside all companies uses idea that was created by others if thats suites them but MS copy them exactly without changing them!! MS copies the controller from sony in everything accept the anolog left stick and vibrator etc!

the new sony controller will be an addition to the DS3 not a replacement like wii mote! and will be more advanced than wii mote

[Pornlord]

i agree with you siligon (although my agree/disagree buttons don't work on my company computer). Wii envy hasn't even crossed my mind. I enjoyed Zelda, it was a lot of fun, but games like that are few and far between.

That being said, if Sony does this right (which as much as I love Playstation, I don't think the tech is there yet) it could yeild some amazingly fun games.

[DJ]

::shrug::

[MJY2K]

I hope that, if they do make and release one, that they make it compatible with the PS2 using a Bluetooth usb stick.

It makes sence, there's much more PS2s out there than Wiis, PS3s and 360s put together. The PS2 is probably just as cheap and easy or maybe cheaper and easier to develope for than the Wii for, so developers probably wouldn't complain.

And if it came out for the PS2 then it might make them more likely to 'upgrade' to a PS3 since they will have at least one controller for it and maybe some of the PS2 games that use it will work on the PS3.

Hopefully Sony have enough sence to do this

[Max Power]

it would not make them 'upgrade' to the ps3, because why would they want a ps3 when they can use it with the ps2 which they have tons of games for, or with the it being easier to develope for those motion sensing games, which is the reason they bought that controller in the first place. the best thing anyone can do is to sit back and see if they announce anything at this years e3, if not then wait for something offical.

so far i have noticed that fanboys have jumped on these third party controllers as their systems 'wii-mote', but what i have seen on the websites of those third party controllers is that they have both made the same controllers for both the ps3 and xbox.

[TayTayShaniqua]

What a total moron this clown who wrote this garbage is.

"Poor responsiveness, dropped signals, and overall bad implementation of the motion-sensing"

Wow, an admitted "Nintendo fanboy" spewing a bunch lies and crap about game controls. Shocking!

Every console, arcade, pc joystick company has been working on some form of motion control and other control methods going all the way back to the 1990s.

I guess if your console is built on a stupid gimmick you need to write crap like this article to justify your purchase. "Everything else sucks and everyone is desperately trying to copy it!!!"

What a tool.

Oh god! Read the rest of the garbage on this dope's blog!

[-Neon-]

lmao, take a chill pill.
Gees, I'd hate to read your comments if someone actually said something bad about the PS3.
That ninty fanboy thinks sony is making a smart move.....
He is worried it may hurt the Wii's sales....
He acknowledges the wii's lack of graphical power...
You don't see him shouting "Sony's copying Nintendo, Nah nah nah nah"
Please go to this side -------->
Thank you

[Delive]

Plenty of Ben Gay after playing GoW3 with a controller like this (If done right).

[Max Power]

i have never thought about that. hmm interesting. just have to see if the break apart controller is exclusive to the Playstation brand.

also with that thinking, you have to wonder what kind of strap they are going to have on that controller, like the wii or like a camcorder.

[iceman2885]

When there were Rumors that they were gonna make a Castlevania game for the Wii (turns out it was a Castlevania fighting game, not the same thing). People were suggesting using the wii mote like a whip. I told them straight up they were crazy. Do they realize how much you whip in Castlevania, you would have to limit yourself to like 1 hour long sessions max for the posterity of your arm.

The same would definitely be true if they did it with GoW3, although I doubt they would b/c it is too loved of a genre to change it to much with something like motion controls.

[okcomputer]

Motion sensing is only good in small doses. Heavenly sword (as mediocre as it was) was the only game where I actually enjoyed the motion sensing. From the demo folklore also seemed to use it pretty well too. Other than that its felt added on for no reason to otherwise good games (drake, resistance) or just downright annoying (ngs) and in the case of lair, ruined an entire game. As long as sony and ms plan on using their planned motion controls for causal games only, i'm ok with it, but the minute it starts creeping into "real" gaming I'm gonna be pissed.

[TayTayShaniqua]

"and in the case of lair, ruined an entire game. "

LOL!!!!!!

Wow guy! Did ya, like, read that on THE INTERNET???

But thanks for making yourself look stupid to everyone who played Lair.

okcomputer, now you're just embarrassing yourself even more. Give it a rest.

You tilt the control left the dragon immediately turns left.
You tilt the control right the dragon immediately turns right.
You tilt the control back the dragon immediately turns up.
You tilt the control down the dragon immediately dives down.

That's it!

It is so sad that there are gamers like okcomputer who still think they are being cool by screaming lies about Lair. You never played the game. You're an embarrassment to real gamers on all platforms.

[okcomputer]

nope I played lair, and the utterly crap controls ruined what might have been a decent game.

Do you think they installed a patch fixing the horrid controls and allowing for analog controls just for fun? If the controls weren't crap, they wouldn't have come out with the patch. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

[CadDad]

Would you say Lair is better now since the patch or the same?

If it's better now, how did the motion controls ruin the whole game?

If it's the same, then it was a "ruined" game without motion controls.

So either you are exaggerating the impact of the controls on the game, or Lair is bad without them, either way, it makes you look silly with your comment.

-CadDad

[okcomputer]

Whatever, its more like this

You tilt the controller left (or any direction) <half second delay> dragon slowly veers in that direction
You tilt the controller down, game misreads it and dragon dashes forward
You pull back on the controller to flip the dragon, game misreads it and dragon again dashes forward yet again

Just give it up man, even the makers of the game themselves admitted the controls were crap and needed to be redone, so they released a patch. You can cry about it all you want, the fact is that even the devs themselves agree with my point of view. If they controls were really THAT good, it wouldn't have needed a patch.

@ 8.3
I haven't played the game since the patch was released, i only rented it, didn't own it. So I can't say if the game was better after the patch. It probably is better now. My comment though makes perfect sense in that lair seemed like it had potential, great graphics, good story, good voice acting and a good concept, but the controls were so frustrating they ruined it for me. Thats all.

[jc48573]

It can be devastating if they make it right this time. I can picture how it will turn out and I think it will work well just because the design of the controller fits the idea perfectly. I wish they've done this from the start though, then this would make first person shooting (and horror games) more interesting and everlasting.

[SmokingMonkey]

the Wii has PS2 envy

Sony did the right thing in '95 when they broke away from Nintendo and they have had success ever since.

[Mike134nl]

Launching another first party controller seem very unlikely for sony at least in this generation. Could backfire on them.

[thuway]

Wrong. Its only logical to make another controller to try and capture the Wii's market. I think its the smartest decision they can make.

[deno]

Nintendo crushed sony in this console generation. Good luck sony but to late!!!

[agentace]

IF that controller works it will easyly be the best motion controller out

[Ali_The_Brit]

that prototype at the bottom actualy looked AWSOME, the idea is cool

[n00bzRtehgey]

leave the copying to M$, fony. u already failed with the sh1tasses.

[ItisI]

How do you measure a companies success. Consoles sold? Profitability? If its the former then yeah Sony was successful but with profit Nintendo has yet to post a negative profit. Now that seems successful.

Also I don't class the PS3 as successful yet. Its struggled to overcome a high pricepoint and a lack of games which it is starting to get over and produce games that might be worth buying. But it isn't successful by any means and the only way Sony(games division) stay in the black is with the PS2 still selling. Without that Sony would be struggling big time.

[SmokingMonkey]

Leading home console since '95
The Family can't be touched
how many ps2 have sold already? 130 million+ and they are just getting into Southeast asia with yet another slimmer version of the slim PS2.
if 60% of all the Ps1 console sales came after the Ps2 launched, then it's fair to say that at LEAST 45%+ of all Ps2 console sales will come since the Ps3's launch (nov 06) even with the Wii's extremely strong competition, the PS2 will go down in history as the most sold console ever made!

[theKiller]

if nintendo crushed sony then what about MS?? i guess it murdered it!!!

well wii can not be possibly be the only console gamers own, its like an extra for gamers, but not the same for casuals!

all those casuals when they see ps3 new motion controller with blue ray and amazing game and price drop etc will jump out to get a ps3

[Big Jim]

Motion controll = casual.
More casual games = less hardcore games.
Wii = destruction of video gaming.

[25]

the wii already has dildo attachments for the wii mote. so unless sony attaches a va-jay-jay on the controller, its over. lol. oh, and it has to rumble too. hahahaha

[N4g_null]

They had a video of a guy taking the controller apart and fumbling to put it back together. That idea is not going to work unless that problem is fixed. I'm wondering how many people out there can stare at a screen and put to objects squarely back together with out looking. If SONY does this it will surely cause them more harm in it's current state. The idea needs more R&D. Great idea but need more time in the fix me box. Then they have to make a game that says I'm PS3 answer to the Wii. That's a tall cup of water to drink.