House: Time is right for PS3 motion control

By GamesIndustry International Published 16 June, 2009

"Three crucial things" in place.

Sony has said that the time is right for the company to introduce motion control technology to the PlayStation 3 platform.

A firm launch date, solid technology and a clear idea of how it will translate to alternative gaming experiences are the three crucial elements that can help the new control method establish itself on the market, said CEO and president of SCEE, Andrew House.

"We have have a lot of confidence from a Sony standpoint on the right time to introduce new technology and new interfaces, and the goal of the company has always been to do it at the right time, when we can make a difference and be best of breed," House told our sister site GamesIndustry.biz.

"What we had at the E3 showing was very forward-facing technology, a firm date for launch which is important as it gives us a good lead time to assemble the right sorts of content to take advantage of it. And we demonstrated a very tangible sense of how this will translate into gaming experiences. Those are three critical things."

While Nintendo's Wiimote has been on the market for some time, House said that accuracy is the key to the technology, and he's confident Sony's effort will prove that motion control is more than just a gimmick.

"It's stunningly accurate in terms of the way it tracks movement. That sounds like an incremental step in terms of motion technology, but it's a huge one in terms of saying 'now it's arrived' and it's really going to change the way we think about how we play games."

Sony has announced a spring 2010 launch date for the new technology, but other solid details are still under wraps. House would not be drawn on a price for the new control method and only indicated that bundling it with all future PlayStation 3 hardware was a "possibility".

He also shrugged off competition from Nintendo's Wii MotionPlus and Microsoft's Project Natal, adding that motion control will strengthen the PlayStation 3's features.

"I'm not unduly worried and I think the reason for that is that we've done a very good job with the PlayStation 3 as an overall value proposition without any motion control technology," said House.

"We went into this show with a tremendous software line-up, strong confidence in the platform's power and the kind of experiences that are only possible on PlayStation," he said of E3. "This gives us one more extension to that, it helps us build the business in a different direction."

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Comments (36) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Doctor_What #1 3 years ago

    Weren't Sixaxis and Eyetoy motion control? Were they launched at the wrong time then?

  • MeBrains #2 3 years ago

    i'll beat the rest of the group by saying: what a truckload of arrogance. He fucking believes in his product and talks good of it?! House'd better stay at home, teh Wanka'... "only possible on playstation" bollocks.

    and now what I will remember from this interview: PS3 wand is indeed coming next spring.

  • makeamazing #3 3 years ago

    wow calm down...lol.

  • Wastelander #4 3 years ago

    Sounds suspiciously like "Motion control begins when we say so"...

  • menage #5 3 years ago

    Meh, just give me all those cool games they showed. I think Sony is more innovating with stuff like LBP and that Modgen racer than waggle.

  • Xerx3s #6 3 years ago

    "Sony has said that the time is right for the company to introduce motion control technology to the PlayStation 3 platform."

    Didn't they introduce motion control to the ps3 with the sixaxis controller/eyetoy? So what are they saying? That they where ill conceived ventures?

  • Beano #7 3 years ago

    Amazing that House forgot Sixaxis and Eye... both works well when used properly.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #8 3 years ago

    More marketing crap from idiotic talking heads... It sounds as though he doesn't know his own companies products.

  • r4z0rbl4d3 #9 3 years ago

    And I still thing that the 'Wank' will probably need the Eye Toy to make something diffrent than the Wii, which means it will cost us alot to get going...

  • MeBrains #10 3 years ago

    even though I beat the group. it only took 8 posts to have idiocy resurface... quite predictable...

  • DFawkes #11 3 years ago

    Thank goodness, I was fed up of attempting to play Super Rub-a-dub and the controller not doing anything at all when I tilted it :p

    I do like motion technologies though, and he is right in that accuracy is key. But for what I want motion control for, the Wiimote and even Sixaxis suit me fine. I'm alway open to having nice options though, if they bring it out and there's the software to back it up, it's all good.

  • jjolley #12 3 years ago

    I suppose the nice thing with the ps3 setup is that the playstation eye is really cheap. 25 quid gets you both a reasonable webcam and a half decent video creation program. The wands will be 50 at most.

  • Darren #13 3 years ago

    Am I the only one that finds Sony's seemingly new found love for motion control a bit hypocritical? I mean here's a company who launched the SIXAXIS controller with the PS3 which was poorly thought out (IMO) and barely used and now they've announced another alternative at this year's E3 2009? :?

    Like Microsoft, the success of the Wii is undoubtedly the real reason for them wanting to tackle it again but I really feel it will come too late to make any real impact unless it becomes the new EyeToy for the PS3. Certainly I'm not interested in it and, like Natal, I'd rather see it launch with new console hardware as standard rather than arrive as a half-supported peripheral some three years or more into the PS3's life. That's just me though, add-ons rarely make any impact as not everyone will own it and so not every developer will support it and, thus, any potential it had could be wasted.

    I guess we'll have to wait and see...

  • Les #14 3 years ago

    The time was right 3 years ago...

  • Gaol #15 3 years ago

    Load of gash.

    The PS3 has too high a price point, and too old a user base, for this stuff to enjoy wii- like success. I wish they would just concentrate fully on ground breaking games and media functionality.

  • chubster2010 #16 3 years ago

    @Darren

    re 'Sony's seemingly new found love for motion control a bit hypocritical'

    Sony have been exploring motion control for some time - the Eye Toy was released in 2003....

    I'm sure the new-found vigour with which they're attacking it in in response to the Wii's success though.

    Also - 'add-ons rarely make any impact as not everyone will own it ' - this, in the past, has generally been the case. But we now live in a post-Wii Fit/Singstar/Guitar Hero/Rockband/Buzz world... I think people are now more open to the idea of peripherals. If Sony (and MS) can deliver enough compelling content (or even just a 'must-have' title) I think they have every chance of success.
    Edited by chubster2010 at 16/06/09 @ 09:57

  • Bilbo_bobbins #17 3 years ago

    Most of the people who comment on here are absolute morons.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #18 3 years ago

    The true motion control era only starts when Sony says so!

    Edit: ah, shit, Wastelander beat me to it.
    Edited by MENTAL1ST at 16/06/09 @ 10:10

  • Beano #19 3 years ago

    "Most of the people who comment on here are absolute morons."

    LOL

  • sanctusmortis #20 3 years ago

    Sounds suspiciously like "Motion control begins when we say so"...

    In one, Wastelander, in one.

  • rotmm #21 3 years ago

    I think the precision argument Sony keep going on about the new Playmote is the same reason it won't capture the imagination of the extended audience that Nintendo targeted so well.

    Sure, the "hardcore" will buy into (and already have, if the forum comments around the web are anything to go by) the concept of "true 1-1 control", but the reason the Wii and Wiimote have been so successful is precisely because anyone can pick up the Wiimote and play a round of bowling without worrying about the minute adjustments of direction, spin, weight, etc and still be able to compete.

    To that end, I can easily see the tech being shoehorned into "hardcore" titles, but it won't really resonate with the more casual market, as it will require too much effort to get proficient in games that are mapping 1-1 movement.

  • Diomedes #22 3 years ago

    I hope they dont screw up and include an analogue stick in the wands .

  • chubster2010 #23 3 years ago

    @Rotmm
    'To that end, I can easily see the tech being shoehorned into "hardcore" titles, but it won't really resonate with the more casual market, as it will require too much effort to get proficient in games that are mapping 1-1 movement.'

    It will be interesting to see how well Wiimotion Plus sells then!

  • _LarZen_ #24 3 years ago

    Playstation 3 to expensive for you? Get a fucking job! Regarding the motion control from Sony I have way more belief in this tech then Natal when it comes to impliment this in todays games.

  • Negotiator #25 3 years ago

    "only possible on PS3" blah blah blah if I hear that shit one more time, I swear I'm gonna implode.
    Edited by Negotiator at 16/06/09 @ 11:24

  • AphoticCosmos #26 3 years ago

    "Three crucial things" in place.

    1. Wii did it a few years ago
    2. Natal beat us to it at E3
    3. Eyetoy was starting to look lulzworthy in comparison

  • rotmm #27 3 years ago

    @clubster,

    While I see your point to a certain extent, there are a couple of things to remember.

    Firstly, Sony are touting Playmote as having even greater accuracy (and in 3D space, due to the use of a camera too) than the Wiimote, with or without Motion Plus.

    Secondly, Wii Motion Plus will only ever be an alternative control scheme for any Wii games released. No developer is going to want to potentially alienate any of the 50m+ Wii owners out there by making a game Plus-only. So all titles will still have a control scheme that Grandma can pickupandplay without worrying about the nuances of tilt, roll, yaw, whatever.

    Look at how the two games with Motion Plus have been received so far. Tiger Woods has been praised widely, but nearly every reviewer has spoken of the effort needed to me invested to get used to it. Also, Tiger Woods is, compared to most titles on the Wii, what one would consider a "hardcore" title and it is really golf fans who will purchase and play the game. It's not really a party title.

    Then you have Wii Tennis from EA. Reviewers are very divided about the game itself, but again highlight that Motion Plus needs an investment of time to get to grips with it, taking the game out of the realm of pickupandplay and into a more hardcore arena.

    But of course, both of those titles have an alternative control scheme where the Motion Plus isn't needed and therefore are more "casual" friendly. The Playmote, on the other hand, won't have that to fall back on. Yes, titles may have simpler control schemes included (they will have to), but then it becomes just another Wiimote. True 1-1 is only for the hardcore crowd and I suspect Sony doesn't quite have a handle yet on how to appeal to the Wii user base.

  • EvilBob_leeds #28 3 years ago

    "only possible on PS3" blah blah blah if I hear that shit one more time, I swear I'm gonna implode.

    Brilliant!

    only possible on PS3
    only possible on PS3
    only possible on PS3
    only possible on PS3
    only possible on PS3
    only possible on PS3
    only possible on PS3

    There, that should do it.

  • chubster2010 #29 3 years ago

    @Rotmm
    'Wii Motion Plus will only ever be an alternative control scheme for any Wii games released'

    That's not true. Red Steel 2 will require WMP to play it at all, as will Wii Sports Resort. Shigeru Miyamoto has also recently suggested that the next Zelda will only be playable with WMP.

    Whether this will end up being the norm or, as you say, WMP will offered as an alternative control method for most games*, only time will tell.

    *Personally, i think this would be a mistake - if WMP really does offer a big step up in terms of control precision, then I'd hate to see it being hamstrung be developers struggling to make games that work with both WMP and standard Wiimote controls.


    Edited by chubster2010 at 16/06/09 @ 13:12

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #30 3 years ago

    Playmote

    Oh, they should definitely, officially name it that! It captures the sex-toy aesthetic perfectly.

  • zedzee #31 3 years ago

    "we've done a very good job with the PlayStation 3 as an overall value proposition"

    Really?

    Is he talking about the same PS3 that's still the most expensive console in the market and is deterring people like myself in upgrading from my beloved PS2?

    And I suppose having Backwards Compatibility/not having Backwards Compatibility was just a little 'let's mess around with our loyal PlayStation fans' kind of fun for the marketing executives, right?

    Microsoft's Natal and Sony's Motion Control may well be great new peripherals (almost as successful as the original EyeToy, for example) but ultimately, they will be just that: peripherals. So by nature, they'll sell less and eventually, sales of such peripherals depend on cost and bundles and ultimately on the cost of the console.

    Sony really need to decide to take a hit on the BluRay drive manufacture costs and drop the price of the PS3 substantially. Otherwise, such peripherals will stockpile.

  • _LarZen_ #32 3 years ago

    @zedzee :

    People realy has to stop saying the PS3 is to expensive and blame that for not upgrading from the PS2. I payed way more for the X360 and the PS3 when they first came.

    And you dont have to be a genius to know that what you get in terms of content and technology in the PS3 is more then the X360. With that I dont mean that the PS3 is better but it has buildt in stuff like Bluetooth, wireless nettwork and bluray to meantion a few.

    If people have little money to buy a PS3 then they should A: get a job...B: buy the cheap stripped down X360.

    And if you just have to play the old rotten PS2 games....wel play em on the damn PS2. The rest of us have moved to 2009.

  • Darren #33 3 years ago

    @_LarZen_ - The PS3 is and always has been the most expensive console of the three current systems yet, Blu-ray movies aside (which isn't of interest to everyone), it offers comparable quality games to the much cheaper Xbox 360. So, yes, the PS3 really *is* expensive. It's twice the price of the base Xbox 360 model for example. People looking to buy a console don't see the Blu-ray drive, they don't see the exclusive games, they don't see it's sleek sexy looks, they don't see its free online service, they just see the games and on the score there's really nothing on the PS3 that shows the system is worth twice the cost of an Xbox 360. Certainly not if they aren't interested in watching HD movies. That's *why* people think it's expensive.

    I bought my PS3 at launch when it was an obscene £425 but I don't regret it at all as I love the machine and have made the most of it as it was my main BD player for over two years and had plenty of cool games too. However, I'm not most people and I'd wager that there are a lot of people out there who find the PlayStation brand appealing but deem the PS3 far too expensive to warrant buying when the competition is selling their consoles at half the price. Brand loyalty only goes so far. PS2 sales never really took off until the machine dropped below the "magic" £200 price point. I expect the same will be true of the PS3.

    That said, sales of the PS3 have been quite decent considering the cost but it has a long way to go before it achieves the same kind of success the PS and PS2 enjoyed. It really needs to drop in price to £199 IMO.

  • Les #34 3 years ago

    "And if you just have to play the old rotten PS2 games....wel play em on the damn PS2. The rest of us have moved to 2009."

    Don't agree with that one at all. For those of us that own an HDTV, PS2 BC in the PS3 is very welcome. I personally still use it quite regularly (as I was fortunate enough to get a BC PS3). I have a big backlog of PS2 games and TBH gameplay-wise little has happened since the release of the HD consoles. So if you're not too obsessed with graphics, those games are still very playable and often better than plenty of the next gen stuff that gets released.

  • Rodchenko #35 3 years ago

    @Darren

    I agree it's all about perception.

    My 40GB PS3 cost me 399 EURO several months after launch. I had a good deal on my 60GB 360 another few months later (got it for 149 EURO at a special sale at the local electronics outlet-- that's why I bought it). However, it still goes at about 200 EURO at most places here these days. Add 60 Euro for the Wireless adapter and twice EUR 60 for Xbox Live (last year and this) and you are almost even on two feature-wise equivalent rigs (about 380 vs 399 EUR). 360 has 20 GB more storage, rumble, a cheapo headset and a clunky HD-cable out of the box, PS3 has a BluRay drive to weigh up the few extra bucks (and doesn't need new batteries for the controller every other month).

    Of course, you could always shoot down that comparision pointing at the 360 Arcade, but how many people on here who consider themselves 'hardcore gamers' (yet still constantly repeat the 'too expensive' mantra) did actually consider this option?

  • davisorle #36 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 20:44:35 16-04-2012