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Sony, evidently keen to continue its consumer popularity drive, has used the global platform provided by this week’s Tokyo Game Show (TGS) to shine yet more light on its new motion-sensing control system and also confirm its first-quarter 2010 arrival.
Great promise, but the ball stays. Yuck. Image: Sony.
Although regional release dates, specific price points and even an official brand name have not been set in stone at this juncture, Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kaz Hirai presented the ball-topped wand controller to gathered TGS attendees before a selection of new tech demonstrations showcased the control interface’s promised abilities.
Used in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye camera, which can track the “absolute position of the controller,” the rumble-equipped motion wand is, according to Sony, able to “detect the natural and intuitive movement of the [player’s] hand and reflect the precise movement on to the game.”
While the new TGS demo content showed considerable promise thanks to gameplay interaction in Resident Evil 5 and LittleBigPlanet, an initial basic presentation given at this year’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles left many in the industry somewhat perplexed as to Sony’s design choices.
Specifically, the unattractively bulbous sphere sitting atop the controller was believed to be representative of an early concept prototype as opposed to a finished product – but related information provided by Sony suggests otherwise.
“The sphere placed on the top of the controller is not only used to track the absolute position but can also give visual feedback to users by changing the colors or the illuminating patterns of the sphere,” it explained.
Any aesthetic dissatisfaction placed to one side, the upcoming controller’s gyroscopic and accelerometer-based movement works on three different axes and twin motion sensors. Other internal specs include a rechargeable battery and will operate using Bluetooth 2.0 connectivity.
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