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Sony making "break apart" PS3 pad News
PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Wii News by Robert Purchese
Sony is busy making new controller for PS3 that breaks apart into two bits, each containing an accelerometer like the Wii remote, GamesIndustry.biz reports.
It's a little unclear when the pad will be officially unveiled, but sources said working models have already been shipped off to some developers.
The potential for new game types to made should open the PS3 up to the kind of audience Nintendo has been so successful at selling to with its Wii machine.
Sony will be hoping that alongside Blu-ray becoming the de facto high definition disc format and PlayStation Home ready to roll out later this year, motion-based games will help sell more PS3 machines.
The PS3 did originally launch with motion-sensing functionality in the Sixaxis pad, albeit in a limited manner. And this was at the expense of rumble, which is to return in the DualShock 3 pad to be released in Europe sometime this year. Hopefully.
Sony declined to comment on the matter at the time of writing, although an announcement is expected soon - making an E3 unveiling a strong possibility.
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jaywalker3010
13/06/08 @ 15:43
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So its like the bottle in the Apprentice, it splits apart, hmm wonder if it will make the £29.99 retail price ;)
Apologises to anyone who didnt watch the apprentice, but am sure theres not many on here who didn't ;) |
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Ah so like the nintendo Wii fakes that were put about or the breakable controller that was made by a 3rd party for ps2. Just thought I'd remind people before we got 'gosh - what a good idea' ;-)
Late, the whole point of the Wii motion controllers are that they are standard and the whole system uses them as do the games. Sony launching this just puts it in the buzz controller or eye toy category. Unless Sony are brave enough to make developers use it as a standard and give them away free to PS3 owners that is, it'll be the odd game support - like Wii balance board in fact |
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"Late, the whole point of the Wii motion controllers are that they are standard and the whole system uses them as do the games. Sony launching this just puts it in the buzz controller or eye toy category. Unless Sony are brave enough to make developers use it as a standard and give them away free to PS3 owners that is, it'll be the odd game support - like Wii balance board in fact"
Surely that's the whole point. The likes of Buzz, Singstar and Eyetoy all did this kind of thing for Sony long before the Wii came about. I don't think many people would want them to replace the Dual Shock 3 with this, since traditional pads still serve their purpose very well for most genres. It's a lot more likely to be an optional extra that'll be packed in with whatever the first game for it is, much like Wii Fit / Eye Toy or whatever. |
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The main problem I see with this is that it isn't the standard pad people will get with their PS3 therefore it'll only ever attract a small sub-set of the market - in the same way Eye-Toy did. The only way Nintendo have got the Wiimote and nunchuck combo to work is because everyone who owns a Wii has that controller setup, so developers can make games for it knowing the potential audience is there.
This from Sony is never, ever going to come close to that. |
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Um, custom controllers have been made for years - in particular the Dreamcast for a ton. How many games did support the maracas? Two (though only one was released here). The Bass Fishing rod? Would you want to play anything except Resident Evil with the Gamecube chainsaw controller?
So people who want to use the games that use this controller will buy it, just like Buzz! players get those controllers and Wii Fit in effect IS the controller. |
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off-topic: it's.... er... well "odd" to read a comment like the "mossy" dude. I mean, it's soooo tasteless (for a Portuguese), I couldn't imagine reading someone posting that in EG.pt (and they seem much younger).
Anyway, it was just a cultural-shock thing, nevermind. Desperation leads to this kinda comments I think, or maybe cultural differences are bigger than I thought.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 13/06/08 @ 17:30
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I think both Sony and Microsoft will produce Wii style pads now that they know this is the way to attract traditional non-gamers to the show. I'm not sure what use the Sony pad will have unless they also have a sensor bar to track the thing spacially. Heck it looks like microsoft have flat out ripped off the Wiimote. I wonder which company (Sony or Microsoft) will also have the cheek to say "You can use the Wii sensor bar too if you already have one".
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VibratingDonkey
13/06/08 @ 16:33
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Sounds kind of sketchy... I keep thinking of those crappy third party controllers.
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most recently on 13/06/08 @ 17:35
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I fucking called it
A YEAR AGO. (after reading a story on CVG) EDIT: and no, Sony isn't "making it", a young start up made it. Sony must just be showering them with money. Lastly they demoed the controller and it was BRILLIANT. I was playing Subsistence at the time and I thought I could "break" the pad into two parts to go up ladders or throw a grenade in the game.
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most recently on 13/06/08 @ 19:38
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WinterSnowblind
13/06/08 @ 20:33
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Soo.. what happened to all the Sony fans mocking Microsoft for copying Nintendo? ;)
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penguin_overlord
13/06/08 @ 21:17
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This makes a lot of sense. The Wii's biggest asset is its controller. If Sony can replicate that they could be onto a winner.
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@penhalion
The Wii sensor bar uses a proprietary type mini port in the back so unlikely. Personally I think if you accept the wii-mote is a good idea then logically both the 360 and PS3 could benefit from something similar. It would be good if they improve on the original with more buttons, or at least usefully placed ones, and removing the umbilical cord between the two bits. I'd like to see the controller applied well to 360 / PS3 games. |
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penguin_overlord
14/06/08 @ 08:49
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I can't see this being released until next yeat at the earliest as it will take time for developors to write software that uses it. And I wonder by then how important this type of controller will be. Is the Wii remote the future or just a side-thing for certain games? It certainly shouldn't be an integral part of the PS3 as many gamers, myself included, prefer a standard controller.
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