Virtua Tennis PS3 to use tilt Comments by Tom Bramwell

Good.

hmm is good to know games are being made that make an integral use of this tilt crap... its like 98 all over again. Ahh the sidewinder and its awesome tilt technology.

You will try it.. then turn it off again.

Yup sidewinder revisited.. gimmick not essential.

Given the shape of the PS3 controller, I can't imagine swinging it like a tennis racquet is going to feel terribly realistic or even comfortable and without a handstrap like the Wii, who'd want to risk accidentally letting up of the controller and smashing their HDTV screens? :?

Thanks but no thanks... I think I'll stick with the Xbox 360 version for its traditional control method plus rumble (so I can feel those shots) and online gameplay and play Wii Tennis with a PROPER motion-sensing control and rumble ta! /wink

I don't mind them doing this providing you can always turn it off. Stupid bloody tilting nonsense.

I don't mind them doing this providing you can always turn it off. Stupid bloody tilting nonsense.



Wii has no turn off option so the games BETTER use motion sensing correctly.

Diabolus Simius Dei

Wii Tennis is just recognizing that you've swung the nunchuk, not what kind of ball you wanted to play... so actually this VT3 seems to do more in the "sensing" aspect. Motion sensing still sucks donkey ballz in my book tho.

@Siro: you don't use the nunchuk in WiiTennis. And it does read what kind of ball you wanted to play. In fact according to the developers it's almost impossible to play the same shot twice.

Unless the controls actually are a combination of tilting and analog stick, I'm not too confident about this. So we tilt the controller to move our avatar around, and THEN have to swing it in order to move the racket as well. How does the game distinguish between "move character" and "swing racket"? Sounds complicated, for the player as well.

So if this game has the same tilt sensing as Wii Tennis PLUS you can turn it off, doesn't it make it appealing to wider audiences?

SeesThroughAll:
I am sure they have done everything to make it as hard to play as possible. Sheesh.

Didn't you read the article?

Not quite the same as Wii Sports Tennis, then, but certainly enough to invite comparisons.

It's not the same, for one it's not integral to the game, it wasn't designed for the tilt control. It's just a gimmicky tack-on.

Something akin to Monkey Ball, where you just tilt the world instead of moving an avatar AND coordinate it's actions, might work on the PS3 pad. But when you have only one piece of controller, are supposed to tilt and swing it AND press buttons / use a d-pad or analog stick... things are bound to get messy.

spongebob,
are you actually comparing a control method that has been demonstrated in public and reported to work fine by a number of individual parties with something that no one outside the developers and maybe some SEGA seniors has even witnessed? How did you come to the conclusion that they are the same?

I dont know about all you guys bickering back and forth.

But I would like to see Rockstar making Table Tennis for the PS3 with support for the Tilt Controller.

gonna laff my ass off when the whole fanboy euphoria of tilting dies down and they realise it is shite!!

If i wanted to play tennis i would go to my health and racquet club not buy a ps3!!

Anyway when are Sony gonna stop ripping off everyone elses ideas, when was the last time really thought of something themselves which was innovative?

The tilt controller is actually really good at detecting the roll and pitch (its rapid response over bt/usb and its 'precise' values ). Yaw isn't really possible but you have the gyro which does react to yaw movements.

(argh, all these axes confuse me)

disc, R* releasing Table Tennis for the PS3 is a distinct possibility (with or without tilt sensor support), but I would really like them to release it for the Wii with full Wiimote and nunchuk support :) That would really be something.

Thanks but no thanks... I think I'll stick with the Xbox 360 version for its traditional control method plus rumble (so I can feel those shots) and online gameplay and play Wii Tennis with a PROPER motion-sensing control and rumble ta! /wink

Wii Tennis doesn't have proper motion sensing control though. You don't move the character and the game often decides for itself what shot type you will play. Observe.

Nice, but what about online multiplayer? Is it still cut from the PS3 version or are they bringing it back?

"So if this game has the same tilt sensing as Wii Tennis PLUS you can turn it off, doesn't it make it appealing to wider audiences?"

The Wii doesn't just have tilt, it has position sensing in 3D. That means if you want to swing your racquet a certain way in Wii Tennis you just swing the controller the same way, exactly as if you were playing real tennis.

You can't do that with the PS3 because it doesn't sense position at all, just tilt, and there's more to tennis than tilt.

I know Sony would love people to think the PS3 controller has the same capabilities as the Wii, but it doesn't, it only has a fraction of them.

Zomoniac: No game is gonna have perfect motion sensing. After all it is just a accelerometer.

But the point is. They dont have to.

You are swinging the remote around just like a tennis racket. People will enjoy that in itself. It doesnt have to be 100% correct for people to have fun.

Actually chupachups there are a few limitations to the positional aspect of the Wii remote. You have to point it towards the sensor bar for it to be able to detect the 'position'.

While it is a great idea it is not a perfect solution.


Wiki.

I like how if it's an option, suddenly it becomes a "gimmicky tack-on". I guess most Wii games are just forced gimmicks, then? Come on..

As for VT, I'm glad it's an option. That's one of the nice things about Sixaxis, developers don't have to force the controls on the game, and can default to traditional controls if they want. But I will try the motion sensing mode and give it a fair trial..hard to say if I'll like it or not from the description. The shots sound fine, but I'm wondering how motion on the same pad will work - but if it fluidly detects transition from player motion to shots, it could be cool.

Also, for the poster above, the sixaxis also detects motion along axes, not just tilt around them, as the VT controls amply illustrate. Tilt is used for player motion, motion along the axes is mapped to your shots.

I am just using the previews and semi-reviews of Wii Tennis as a referral. There have been reports of it lacking a real use of the controller and that's why I was comparing it and Virtua Tennis on PS3.

I know it's a touchy subject, because all the Wii fans are scared that what if Virtua Tennis on PS3 is as fun as Wii Tennis. That would be so wrong, wouldn't it?

spongebob: Wii Sports Tennis is very simplistic though, it's made for byte sized games. Couple of minutes of fun. Doesnt have to be deep or complex as there are more games in the Wii Sports package.

Virtua Tennis 3 is more of a full package of Tennis with their odd arcade games.

I've got a feeling there will be a Mario Smash game in a year or two which is more fleshed out and will give Virtua Tennis a run for its money.

@Siro: you don't use the nunchuk in WiiTennis. And it does read what kind of ball you wanted to play. In fact according to the developers it's almost impossible to play the same shot twice.

OWNED! @:D

It's always a competition, isn't it?

That's one of the nice things about Sixaxis, developers don't have to force the controls on the game, and can default to traditional controls if they want.
The same applies to the Wii mate

spongebob: Wii Sports Tennis is very simplistic though, it's made for byte sized games. Couple of minutes of fun. Doesnt have to be deep or complex as there are more games in the Wii Sports package.

Thank you.

It's barely a full game. Yes it has tournament mode etc.. but it's a facet of the whole Wii sports package.

Of course I expect Virtua Tennis 3 to be a better tennis game than the one in Wii sports!

I'd be shocked if it wasn't.

Wii Sports: Tennis, is merely a taster of whats to come. I can't wait for Mario Tennis Wii, virtua Tennis wii, or fingers crossed R* Table tennis Wii.

That's when the true comparisions will begin :)

amazing how many people are reading so much ability into the sixaxis controller.
Shame very few of them have got it right or even have a clue about how it works, they are just assuming too much.

Well after that Warhawk demonstration at E3 what would you assume? :)

amazing how many people are reading so much ability into the sixaxis controller.
Shame very few of them have got it right or even have a clue about how it works, they are just assuming too much.

I assume you, "Darkedge", have tried it or developed for it, because you have the knowledge we others lack.

"(of Wii Tennis) In fact according to the developers it's almost impossible to play the same shot twice."

That sounds like a selling point to me... a game that you can't master, because you have too little control!

o_O Do you not just get it or something? Or you being stupid on purpose?

"The same applies to the Wii mate"

The alternative to not using the motion sensing etc. on Wii is a very limited controller. The Sixaxis retains the full form and input functionality of the traditional dual shock, if you don't want to use the motion sensing. Developers are pretty much compelled to find some way to use it on Wii, whether it's good for the game or not - unless they can get by with a d-pad and a couple of buttons.

And yes, I know there's a classic controller, but it is optional - a developer cannot develop a game as if everyone is going to be using it, they have to accomodate the wiimote/nunchuck.

And there's the Gamecube controller. Which Smash Bros Brawl uses.

Remember? The four ports on the top of the console... they;re not just for GCN games you know.

I wonder how all those people who un-intentially tilt controllers around in games already are going to cope with tilt control? I guess they might adapt to it quite well.

For my part until I try these motion sensing controllers I just can not help thinking it is going to be far less direct and responsive than a conventional controller and will just feel like playing a game with a really sloppy control scheme where the challenge is as much coping with the controls as the actual game

"And there's the Gamecube controller. Which Smash Bros Brawl uses.

Remember? The four ports on the top of the console... they;re not just for GCN games you know."

A gamecube controller does not come as standard with Wii.

We might as well start talking about what you can do with eyetoy or eyetoy+sixaxis on ps3 if we're also considering optional peripherals on Wii.

Personally, I think a more inspired use for Virtua Tennis is if you tilted the controller left or right after you pressed X or whatever for spin effects. People are forever moving their hands around in the heat of a battle and that would seem like an intuitive natural solution.

Anyway, this can't hurt. You're all playerhaters.

The options there though. And that's the point.

Tomo: A so called aftertouch which is quite popular in other sports titles. Yes that would be perfect.

@Normski "That sounds like a selling point to me... a game that you can't master, because you have too little control!"

I think you misunderstand. If you were to record every swing you did with a tennis racquet in real life, you'd never do exactly the same thing twice. You'd never perfectly match the speed, direction, angle of the face, amount of spin etc. It doesn't mean you have less control. Far from it, potentially you can control all those variables just by one swing of the controller.

LAYDEEEES AND GENTLEMEN! IIIN THE BLUE CORNER WE HAVE THE SIXXAXIS AND IT'S HALF-ASSED SHOEHORN TILT MECHANSIM. IIIN THE RED CORNER WE HAVE A SPORTS GAME WITH ONLINE PLAY.

/turns on 360

Here's the diagram of how you control in Virtua Tennis PS3:

http://content.imagesocket.com/images/70...

It still looks like it would take quite some getting used to.

Actually. Fuck. It probably has dropped online multiplayer.

My mrs has been trying to tilt control virtual tennis for years. Its about time technology caught up with her....

/you should see her play locoroco...

I maintain that Locoroco, Marble Madness, Super Monkey Ball and Mercury would be PERFECT for the PS3. Even better than the Wii just because it is a two handed device.

So there I said it.

The Tilt controller for the PS3 might actually be better at some games.

/Runs from the horde of nintendo fanboys.

The Tilt controller for the PS3 might actually be better at some games.

I disagree. For those games, it would just control exactly the same, not better. Some Wii games do NOT use the nunchaku.

Locoroco, Marble Madness, Super Monkey Ball and Mercury

Fully agreed on that list, let's hope at least some of them become downloadable in the future... and add to those others like Klax, Afterburner and little "duck hunt games".

SeesThroughAll: You dont think? Oh and Katamari Damacy as well, though I'm not sure I want another one. Actually YES YES I DO.