EA boss says PS3 wand is called Gem

By Robert Purchese Published 10 December, 2009

Sony's saying nothing, for now.

Silver-haired EA boss John Riccitiello has referred to Sony's new motion-sensing PS3 wand as "Gem".

"In the coming year, both Sony and Microsoft have announced new controllers. Motion sensor controls, Natal and Gem, these are likely to bring new consumers into the marketplace," blurted Riccitiello during UBS' Annual Global Media Conference yesterday, as overheard by IGN.

Sony's responded and said that no official name has been announced.

The PS3 motion-sensing wand will be released this spring. Four can be used at once, handy for Vishnu, and they'll rumble until the cows come home.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's Natal carries no date, although an autumn 2010 release appears to be everybody's best guess.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (75) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Rirekon #1 2 years ago

    "Natal and Gem, these are likely to bring new consumers into the marketplace,"
    By "new" do you mean "Nintendo's" and by "the marketplace" do you mean "our marketplace"? Because lets face it the Wii has done this already

  • Raz76 #2 2 years ago

    Gem? What a strangely random name.

  • Beano #3 2 years ago

    Gem would be a pretty good game IMO - short, easy to remember, sound a bit expensive and references to the glowing orb/sphere. Also a name which is more international-friendly than sphere for example.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 12:11

  • Diomedes #4 2 years ago

    Hmmm ,I think I prefer Sphere ...

  • BabyJesus #5 2 years ago

    Gem sort of makes sense, I guess.

    PlaystationGem?

    PSGEM?

    PSG?

    PS3G?

    Scratch that, it's a silly name.

    I shall refer to it as Shiny disco ball hencewith.

  • b00n #6 2 years ago

    Except that 'sphere' wouldn't work outside UK / US probably (try to pronounce it, or write it if you don't speak English), so Gem doesn't sound too bad.

  • Beano #7 2 years ago

    Buy two... DualGem :)

  • Widge #8 2 years ago

    Gem is the name of my missus!

  • thedaveeyres #9 2 years ago

    Truly outrageous. Truly, truly, truly outrageous.

  • jaydeluxe #10 2 years ago

    Jem is truly outrageous!
    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=JNqrWm1M3Sc
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 12:17

  • Tomo #11 2 years ago

    I think it's alright. Far better than Wiimote. Jesus.

    I know of someone who does know what it's called though, but I imagine he's not going to confirm this either way... :x

  • berelain #12 2 years ago

    Hmm. Its an okay name, I guess. Can't say as I have any thoughts on it either way it just sort of... is.

  • Mkwone #13 2 years ago

    The lack of offical announcements and demos etc is making me worry for 'Gem'. If reports are to be belived we're looking at a release within six months and we've seen nothing since the demo at E3.

    I remain hopeful but who knows how it will turn out

  • Zomoniac #14 2 years ago

    Because lets face it the Wii has done this already

    The Wii has done 100% accurate 1:1 motion sensing with complete 3D spacial awareness, including depth perception even when not pointed directly at the sensor?

    Mine doesn't.

  • mr.smeg #15 2 years ago

    Why do you always mention his silver hair? Everytime.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 14:38

  • Whatsfor #16 2 years ago

    Well going buy what Sony said at the first reveal, the actual shape of the controller was a prototype and will look different on launch. The prototype was a bit too buzz-like so they may have put a diamond shape "glower" on the end.

  • Retroid #17 2 years ago

    @jaydeluxe

    Glad I'm not the only one who thought of that! :D

  • Bazfrag #18 2 years ago

    Codename Gem surely? Same with Natal. Although renaming it would put an end to any anti-natal jokes.

    Edit: They should both be codenamed Project Belated Bandwagon.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 12:35

  • macmurphy #19 2 years ago

    @Jay Deluxe Tee hee. I had no idea what it was about but when I saw the misfits I started getting flashbacks. Bet I never admitted to watching this when I was a kid but I obviously did.

    /Doesn't even have a sister to blame it on.

  • kangarootoo #20 2 years ago

    "Because lets face it the Wii has done this already"

    YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNN

  • kangarootoo #21 2 years ago

    I rather like the name. Simple, easy to remember, and the glowing sphere sort of looks like a glowy gem thing. Makes sense.

  • Distributor #22 2 years ago

    Riccitello is in a talkative mood nowadays but hasnt said really anything has he?

    "Theres a lot of gamers"
    "there will be more gamers"
    "Innovative new things coming out"
    "Who first reaches a low pricepoint wins"
    "lets focus on quality"

    and so on...all skin and bones, wheres the meat?

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #23 2 years ago

    GEM is just the name of the lib used to interface with the device, the final device could be called that, but the game cube runs on dolphin libs and the wii runs on revolution libs, so for now its still just an internal codename
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 12:40

  • ZuluHero #24 2 years ago

    Gem is my name - no one else is the same - Gem is my name! Gem!

  • mull #25 2 years ago

    Umm, Gem's a code name, innit. Project Natal isn't going to market called that, it'll be' Xbox: Handsy' or 'Xbox Child Interaction Device 2010: Professional Edition' or something.

  • gjgjg #26 2 years ago

    i don't get a good feeling about 'gem' . the wii made me realise there are limits to this type of gaming.

  • Riggers #27 2 years ago

    I'm impressed by the number of Jem references in this thread.

    I can't decide whether it's beautiful, or truly outrageous. It all depends on the mood I'm in...

  • superted1974 #28 2 years ago

    Intellegent post from Gamesprogramer is yet to get a +1

    Link to 1980's trashy carton currently on +3

    Way to go posters!

  • Tangled #29 2 years ago

    "Why do you always mention his silver hair? Everytime...sheesh."

    Because it's puzzling why he hasn't upgraded to Gold yet...

  • Rirekon #30 2 years ago

    @Zomoniac and kangarootoo;
    Well done on completely missing the point - The Wii has brought "new consumers into the marketplace" through motion sensing technology already.
    MS and Sony aren't looking at "new consumers", they are looking at Nintendo's consumers.

  • LeD #31 2 years ago

    It's already listed on Amazon!

  • feistycheese #32 2 years ago

    'Four can be used at once, handy for Vishnu, and they'll rumble until the cows come home.'

    ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------

    hee hee, very good, unless of course your an easily offended Hindi.

    GEM, stands for Gyrating Ejaculating Member, the wand certaintly looks like something my missus would buy out of Ann Summers anyway. Maybe they should call it 'the Rabbit Mk. II'? . . . . .

  • jn2002dk #33 2 years ago

    Sony, please call it the Groovitron. Pretty please

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #34 2 years ago

    Be a Gem girl.

    LeD: git ;-)
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 13:05

  • FirewalkR #35 2 years ago

    "Handy for Vishnu" har har xD

  • Beano #36 2 years ago

    "...we've seen nothing since the demo at E3. "

    A short show-reel was shown at TGS 2009 - showed very brief footage from some actual games.

  • Zomoniac #37 2 years ago

    The Wii has brought "new consumers into the marketplace" through motion sensing technology already.
    MS and Sony aren't looking at "new consumers", they are looking at Nintendo's consumers.

    Yes and no. MS and Sony (MS in particular, looking at their marketing shite) will both be going after Nintendo's casual crowd. But if they've got any sense then at least one of them will see a gap in the market for hardcore games based on proper motion sensing that Wii can't fill because the tech isn't good enough. Playing Wii Sports with mates is great fun and I don't doubt that the Wii has its place, but ultimately you can get the same results just flicking your wrist and not moving. When you compare the sword-and-shield tech demo for the Gem thing to Twilight Princess's attempt at motion-based swordplay, or even the sword game in Wii Sports Resort, they're simply not in the same league, and it's the first tech I've seen where motion-based gameplay actually looks like it could be convincing and believable. There's so much potential to do some amazing stuff here. Fingers crossed.

    But yeah, it'll probably just end up being a sea of minigames.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #38 2 years ago

    I hope it's really spelt with a J.


    Edit: damnit, I'm at least the third person to post about Jem. That probably means there's a genuine image conflict there... Mind you if other japanese companies can brazenly name their products after piss, then I doubt Sony will be worried about an 80s kids TV series.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 13:13

  • 52pickup #39 2 years ago

    @LeD

    I know you got marked down by people, but it's the best laugh i've had all day, some people are too serious around here. I certainly won't be pre-ordering that version that's for sure.

  • Beano #40 2 years ago

    @Zomoniac : Have you tried the sword mini-game in Wii Sports Resort? It's actually very responsive and precise - much better than Twilight Princess's simple flick-controls.

  • TonyHarrison #41 2 years ago

    I like how people are talking about how good this 'Gem' supposedly is without having actually tried it.

    The early Wii tech demos suggested full 1:1 control, and then we ended up needing motionplus before we got close to 1:1, so lets not pretend that we know what the final product is going to be like before we see more than a tech demo this time around...

  • Doctor_What #42 2 years ago

    @ 52pickup: Some of us are at work, where links to vibrators don't go down well with our employers. It's a pretty dumb thing to do without a NSFW warning.

  • Beano #43 2 years ago

    @TonyHarrison : True - lets see the actual product and games... BUT... the "gem" live (non-fake) tech demos were very promising for the accuracy and responsivenes of the tech.
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 13:25

  • r_simsini #44 2 years ago

    It doesn't look like a 'Gem' more like a waste of money.

  • Zomoniac #45 2 years ago

    Have you tried the sword mini-game in Wii Sports Resort? It's actually very responsive and precise - much better than Twilight Princess's simple flick-controls.

    Yes I have, and yes it is. It's not quite perfect 1:1 but it's a massive improvement. It certainly begs the question as to why Red Steel 2 uses WMP but still only has two preset animations for swordplay and is no more advanced than TP was. However there is, and will always be, a limitation with the Wii remote because unless you're pointing the front of the remote at the sensor bar it has no idea where it is spacially. It knows which way up it is, but has no idea whereabout it is. It's the Gem's big advantage, but I guess we can't say how much of a big deal it will be until we get to play on it.

  • Zomoniac #46 2 years ago

    The early Wii tech demos suggested full 1:1 control, and then we ended up needing motionplus before we got close to 1:1, so lets not pretend that we know what the final product is going to be like before we see more than a tech demo this time around...

    Did they? Watch again. None of the live demos they showed, be it the tennis demo or Myamoto conducting, actually showed 1:1 at all. The trailer footage was misleading, as they'd obviously got their actors to match the canned game animations as closely as possible, but nowhere did we ever see a live 1:1 control. I think we all just jumped to a massive conclusion, filled in the gaps ourselves and made assumptions based on a highly misleading trailer.

    Which is why I'm more excited about Gem than Natal. Sure, Natal is incredibly cool and futuristic, and in its lifestyle trailer video thing and in the Milo video it looks mindblowing. But then when you see Kudo's foot spazzing out and the massive delay on Ricochet on the actual live, real-time demos, it's far less convincing. I have a lot (perhaps too much) faith in and excitement for Gem, because it's the only one where I've seen live demos in real-time by actual people and been absolutely convinced that it really works.

  • Beano #47 2 years ago

    "...Natal is incredibly cool and futuristic, and in its lifestyle trailer video thing and in the Milo video it looks mindblowing."

    Let's not forget that the Natal trailer and Milo demo consisted of fake footage.

  • cam_guin #48 2 years ago

    Sony should get on the crowdsourcing with this. I'd go with the PS Prong.

  • swissorc #49 2 years ago

    How about the 3mote as in PS 3mote better than gem although it's still going to be completely wack until they show a nunchuck like partner.

  • Zomoniac #50 2 years ago

    Let's not forget that the Natal trailer and Milo demo consisted of fake footage.

    Which is exactly my point. Both videos are incredibly misrepresentitive of what it can actually do, much like the Wii launch trailers. Gem is the only thing to have real footage to suggest that it definitely works.

  • abcd #51 2 years ago

    To the guy that posted an amazon link to a dildo.....

    Thanks, you've totally screwed up my amazon recommendations.

  • Beano #52 2 years ago

    "...it's still going to be completely wack until they show a nunchuck like partner. "

    I belive they will use two Gem-controllers in that scenario.

  • b00n #53 2 years ago

    "...Natal is incredibly cool and futuristic, and in its lifestyle trailer video thing and in the Milo video it looks mindblowing."

    "Let's not forget that the Natal trailer and Milo demo consisted of fake footage. "

    Meh, then let's also not forget that EVERY trailer or ad is partly fake, and that Microsoft has no history of overpromising in their ads or PR as Sony has. There are enough journalists that have experienced the demo and said that it worked roughly as advertised.

  • JahB #54 2 years ago

    To the guy that posted an amazon link to a dildo.....

    Thanks, you've totally screwed up my amazon recommendations.

    i laughed really, really hard.

  • Beano #55 2 years ago

    "There are enough journalists that have experienced the demo and said that it worked roughly as advertised. "

    True - roughly... but the last 20% is important, otherwise it useless.

    The Milo demo was completely scriptet though.

  • Beano #56 2 years ago

    He actually said that?

    WOW

  • chukcyQ #57 2 years ago

    I call it "penis".

  • Beano #58 2 years ago

    Piinis :)

  • 3william56 #59 2 years ago

    One ball?
    /copyrights PlaystationHitler

    (PSHitler just looks badly capitalised)

  • kangarootoo #60 2 years ago

    @Rirekon

    I'm not missing the point, I'm making a different one.

    The Wii did indeed create a new market of gamers, no doubt. What I am commenting on is how extraordinarily mind numbingly boring I find it when someone uses a variant of "they just copied XYZ" to berate a new product. Your comment wasn't some objective comment on the marketplace, it was the usual "Sony copies Nintendo lolz" fare that obviously irks me.

    I just want fun game experiences. I don't give a rat's ass who copies who, or who does what first, or whose market it "is". Everybody copies everyone else by degrees, they always have, can we please just get over it.

  • Widge #61 2 years ago

    You missed the Resident Evil 5 motion control game announcement I guess...
    Edited by 1 at 10/12/09 @ 16:02

  • Beano #62 2 years ago

    Gimmicks sell

  • Rirekon #63 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo ;
    I wasn't commenting on the technology, I was commenting on the specific comment I quoted about bringing new customers to the market.

  • Zomoniac #64 2 years ago

    Sony should innovate and not just copy Nintendo.

    Funny how when Sony released the first major dual stick controller, then Nintendo's next console suddenly turned up with a dual stick controller, nobody thought anything of it...

    They didn't just copy, they took an established idea and built on it. Much like Nintendo did when putting dual sticks on the Cube pad, something Sony did first. If someone else comes up with a decent idea and it works, why not try to take it and improve on it? All these companies should stop making games consoles, they're just copying Atari, etc etc etc...

  • Nuada #65 2 years ago

    Zomoniac I think there's a chance you're being too hard on WMP and the points you're raising come down to shoddy coding. I played a few rounds of Tiger Woods 10 with the folks and the pair of them were birdieing about the course like nobody's business. For the record The Ould Doll thinks all games are a waste of time and for kids and The ould Boy has only ever played Tetris and solitaire before.

  • Zomoniac #66 2 years ago

    @Nuanda

    Doesn't that kind of emphasise my point? I know WMP is a massive step up, and it can be convincingly close to 1:1 when done right, but if people who've never played a game before (dunno if they're expert golfers) can be birdieing round courses instantly, does that not suggest to you that it's massively assisted and not doing 1:1 at all?

    I've played a lot of Grand Slam Tennis, and whilst it's streets ahead of Wii Sports tennis in terms of the control, it's still not 1:1. You can control your shot type to a fairly fine degree, but you still need button presses to do drops and lobs, and you still need to swing a second before the ball hits, rather than to meet the ball, as it were.

    Which is all well and good. If you had true 1:1 on everything, the Wii would've failed miserably. Most people can't play tennis or golf properly, and would scream in frustration if their actual motions were transcribed as though they were real since they'd never even hit the ball. I'm not knocking the Wii for what it is, it's a family console, anyone can play it and enjoy it with no experience, and that's it's selling point. But it's not for me. I want something more accurate, that requires more skill and practice (I'm a shite tennis player in real life, but I can win on the hardest difficulty on GST with WMP no problem, so that sure as hell isn't 1:1). I want something where, when I'm playing a tennis game, I can hold the racquet in my hand and either play real 1:1 or assisted, and where moving around the room actually moves my character, rather than having an auto-pilot or awkwardly using an analogue stick.

    What I want, in an ideal world, is a handheld 1:1 motion sensor like the Gem, with a camera like Natal that knows where my body is, and a depth adjust head-tracking system like Johnny Lee's demo on Wii, all in 3D. I can dream, eh? :)

  • Redeye #67 2 years ago

    EA boss says PS3 wand is now called Dave, and is shaped like a fifteen-inch black rubber cock that glows in the dark.

  • Nuada #68 2 years ago

    Sorry, I guess I should have been clearer, they ARE golfers and sucked at the game with the assisted swing and putting turned on but kicked my arse royally when they were left to their own devices. I on the other hand have no time for poofters hurling and managed a best of 2 pars over 18 holes. Also my game improved dramatically when I took their advice to look down where the ball should be and not at the screen while I swung and to take a proper stance, bending my knees and swinging from the hip. Now I'm sure there are plenty of ways to cheat this but the fact remains that real world techniques transferred to the game fantastically when used by n00bs. If you haven't played TW10 with WMP yet then I highly reccomend it. It's the only game I've played that uses it properly but it's worth the price for that one alone.

    The WMP is capable of everythig you want but unfortunately most devs appear to be pretty lazy when it comes to incorporating motion controls and settle for 'ah, it's close enough'. I have this feeling that 3rd party dev's will only take 1:1 capture seriously when it's on a grown-up's toy like the PS3. I guess what I'm saying is shoot the fucking messanger, not the message :)

  • canIdoyabombsforya #69 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    You are missing the point, Rirekon's comment was regarding what Riccitiello said in the article, and he's spot on.

  • dfish #70 2 years ago

    makes sense. Gemstones come in various colours and the ball thing on top is designed to change colour depending on the context, GEM sounds perfect i think

  • Zomoniac #71 2 years ago

    @Nuanda

    Sounds cool, I shall check out Tiger and see how it goes.

  • SeesThroughAll #72 2 years ago

    Hopefully both motion control systems names will end up going the opposite direction that the Revolution/Wii did...

  • Doctor_What #73 2 years ago

    Does anyone know how it copes when the ball on the wand goes out of view or is obscured for a moment?

  • SeesThroughAll #74 2 years ago

    Does anyone know how it copes when the ball on the wand goes out of view or is obscured for a moment?

    If the gap is short, filtering should take care of that.

  • r4mp4g1 #75 2 years ago

    Maybe he named that because he liked this band

    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=blojsP2t--w
    Edited by 3 at 14/12/09 @ 22:32