SCE Gives Details of PS3 Motion-sensitive Controller

Sept 6, 2010 21:34 Tadashi Nezu, Nikkei Electronics

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCE) had a press conference to explain the details of the "PlayStation Move Motion Controller" (Move) for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) Sept 3, 2010, in Japan.

"The Move will be the second standard controller," said SCE at the conference.

To increase the number of PS3 users, the company aims to attract so-called "casual gamers," who do not often play TV games, by enabling to play games with motions similar to those used in daily lives.

The Move is a bar-shaped controller. It is combined with the "PlayStation Eye" (Eye), a camera for PS3, to realize gesture inputs. The user holds the Move by hand and moves in front of the Eye to play a game.

The Move is equipped with a triaxial acceleration sensor, a triaxial gyro sensor and a triaxial geomagnetic sensor. And the Eye is used to detect the spherical object attached to the Move and track the face of the user. With the data collected by the Move and the Eye, the motion and posture of the user are determined.

The spherical object of the Eye emits light in various colors in accordance with the colors of the environment in which the Eye is used. Therefore, the spherical object can be detected by the camera in any environment.

In the press conference, an engineer who was engaged in the development of the Move took the podium and explained the aim and background of the development in addition to the efforts made to develop the Move. At first, the Move was being developed at Sony Corp's research institute. And SCE started the development in earnest in the summer of 2008 to commercialize it, the engineer said.

In the development of the Move, SCE focused on realizing a high accuracy and a high reliability at the same time and ensuring a real-time operation. For example, the company aimed to recognize all the motions of the user in any environment and to reflect the user's senses directly in the operation. The response speed of the Move is the same as that of the "DualShock 3," an existing wireless controller for the PS3, SCE said.

Attention paid to button layout

The layout of the Move's buttons is different from that of the other controllers for the PS3 including the DualShock 3. The existing controllers for the PS3 have four round buttons (Ο, Χ, ∆ and □) arranged in a diamond shape. On the other hand, two of the four buttons are located on each side of a large button in the center of the Move (□ and Χ in the left and ∆ and Ο in the right) so that the controller can be used for various games.

The large button in the center was added to attract casual gamers.

"The four buttons may seem complicated for casual gamers," SCE said.

However, if too much attention is paid to casual gamers, users who frequently play games might require more complicated operation. Therefore, SCE made it possible to play games with more delicate operation by using the "PlayStation Move Navigation Controller," a small controller that can be connected to the Move.

SCE also cared about the details of the spherical object attached to the Move. For example, the company made efforts to eliminate visible seams and color shading and to soften the object so that it does not damage other objects when in use.

Used as real object

To realize an intuitive operation by using the Move, it is necessary that the controller can be used as a pen, torch, net for catching insects, bat, racket, gun, etc in games. At the press conference, SCE showed a demonstration of using it as a racket and sword and created a stir with its realistic movements.

However, the company found that it is not possible to use the Move as a shovel, whip, paper fan and some other objects.

Combined with 3D images

SCE intends to use the Move for other applications than PS3 games. In fact, the company is now testing the Move to combine it with 3D images for enabling to touch them in a 3D space. SCE is conducting the study in collaboration with Sony.

Moreover, SCE is planning to apply the head tracking, face recognition and voice recognition technologies of the Eye in a variety of areas. In Japan, the company will release the Move and its related products Oct 21, 2010.

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