This year’s GDC (Game Developer’s Conference) is fully underway, and Sony has finally announced an official name for their upcoming PS3 Motion Controller, previously rumored to be codenamed “Arc.”
The official name is now “PlayStation Move,” and Sony managed to show off some software during its presentation such as a sports pack tentatively titled “Sports Champions,” which included table tennis and archery among other activities. Another game pack, entitled “Move Party,” was shown off and evidently superimposes images such as swords and shields into the game based upon the movement of the PS Move controller. The software sounds very similar to some Virtual Reality technology I experienced back during E3 2009, which superimposed a sword and shield onto my hands with VR goggles.
Sony showed off two different motion controllers during the GDC presentation: the previously disclosed Move with the orb at the end, and an orb-less “sub-controller” which evidently can act like the Wii’s Nunchuck accessory. Some demonstrations included players using two orb-topped Moves – one in each hand.
The release date is still scheduled for sometime in the fall, but a price point was announced: $100 for a starter kit that includes a Move controller, the PlayStation Eye and a game. There will also be three separate bundles: the controller itself, a controller and a PlayStation Eye, and a PS3 system bundle.
Several games have been announced for Move support including Socom 4.
More details were not announced, and Sony did not unveil a specific release date.
Despite the ridiculously over-covered scandal involving Tiger Woods’ personal life, EA Sports has stayed true to its words by continuing its relationship with the golfer, announcing that Tiger’s latest golfing title, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, will release June 8 on the Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 and and iPhone.
The game will feature “one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf,” The Ryder Cup, which is said to be one of the last great sporting events to be founded in prestige rather than prize money. The Ryder Cup is a competition hosted by Ryder Cup Europe LLP and the PGA of America that brings together the best American and European golfers in a team competition format. Accordingly, Tiger Woods will represent the U.S. team and Rory McIlroy will represent Europeans. McIlroy is a pro golfer hailing from Northern Ireland and currently ranked 9th according to the Official World Golf Rankings.
Players will be able to choose from the U.S. or European squad and participate in the various competition formats – foursomes where players hit alternate shots, fourballs, and singles, which traditionally bring the biennial event to a close with players going head to head. When playing The Ryder Cup mode offline, you will have the option to swap matches. Team play will not only be available offline, but online with the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.
The Wii version will support Motion Plus much like last year’s PGA Tour title, and will feature an Advanced Plus swing difficulty that reads rotation and swing angle while the Tour Pro swing mechanic assesses rotation, swing plane and point of contact.
The game is also going to support Sony’s upcoming Motion Controller for the PS3, but as the title is scheduled to launch on June 8 and the Motion Controller isn’t scheduled to launch until this fall, we’re not sure if the game will already have Motion Controller support built in or if it will arrive in another retail version or DLC.
Sony quietly took another step last week in the game of catch-up they and Microsoft are playing as they attempt to capture the wave of interactivity and interest following Nintendo’s success with the Wii. It began with Sony trotting out the Sixaxis and its tilt-functionality mere months after word of the Wii-mote’s motion-detection capabilities came to light and was seen largely as a hasty “me-too” by Sony that might have cost its agreement with Immersion for force-feedback in the controller.
Nintendo is apparently feeling the heat of both Sony and Microsoft preparing to release their own motion-controller technology, chipping away at the only feature that makes the Wii unique (that and a butt-load of crappy 3rd-party games). Shigeru Miyamoto was asked if the Nintendo was on the brink of losing its uniqueness in the face of competition.
His response:
“Well, I should say that it could be taken as a compliment if others are following suit, by saying Nintendo was right in choosing a certain direction. But if you ask me if that is going to be good for the entire business, I really don’t know.”
“If everyone else is going to do exactly the same thing, unfortunately in this entertainment business that means less uniqueness, and uniqueness is what Nintendo has tried to realize.”
“We don’t look to the future in one direction only,” he said. “When you say that one element of our uniqueness might have been lost, you don’t really have to be concerned about that, because Nintendo always tries to find something new. I hope you are looking forward to our challenge to discover this new uniqueness!”
G4 recently posted the above image of the Sony PlayStation 3 motion controller over at their live blog for the Tokyo Game Show, which shows a revised form since the accessory’s announcement at E3 2009. The new controller, which features a flatter, curvy shape and noticeable face buttons, is scheduled to be released in Spring 2010. No name or price point has been announced for the controller, but it still works in conjunction with the Sony EyeToy (which is why it still contains the bulb thing at the top). The controller also seems to contain no analog sticks or nunchuck-like attachments. No compatible software has been announced. [Correction: motion controller titles have now been announced including a new version of Resident Evil 5].
For a closer look at the new motion controller, see the image below.
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