Warhawk and The Dualshake Controller 72
You may recall Warhawk from the Sony conference demo, their flagship 'dualshake' controller product. A few of the news sites have gotten their hands on the game, and have impressions of what it's like to use the PS3 controller with the game. From the Gamespy article: "I was initially very skeptical of how this feature (which looked hastily tacked on to a regular joypad without a rumble) would work, but after a lengthy playtest of WarHawk's 30 percent complete single demo stage, I can safely attest to the excellent maneuverable quality possible from the very first moment you pick up and play. The slight delay at the Sony press conference between Phil Harrison's pivoting, and the on-screen tilting of his rendered joypad meant I was expecting the same problems during my WarHawk piloting. Not so. This works flawlessly, and immediately, and allayed any fears I had that this was a last-minute gimmick designed to tear interest away from the Wii."
It IS a last-minute gimmick... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:It IS a VERY last-minute gimmick... (Score:5, Informative)
EG: When did you first learn about [the tilt functionality] controller?
Dylan Jobe: We've really known officially for about a week and a half, and we did the final tuning just a couple of days ago.
Re:It IS a VERY last-minute gimmick... (Score:2, Insightful)
Okay wait a second. Let's take a step back and re-read the quote before jumping to conclusions. First, note the word "officially" in the beginning of the sentence. That means that Sony might have come up with this more than a week and a half ago, which is pretty likely. Second, note the use of the word "final" in the last half of the sentence. There is quite a bit you can read
Re:It IS a VERY last-minute gimmick... (Score:2)
I'd say that depends on whether or not the version that's been demo'd is the final version. There's no reason it couldn't have been hacked onto an existing dual shock controller. Furthermore, since it isn't necessary to make more space to add an accelerometer or two and a small microcontroller to support it in the final design (I've seen
Re:It IS a VERY last-minute gimmick... (Score:1)
I think the patent trouble is the more likely explaination, after all they have to license it either from Immersion (who are still pissed off because of what Sony did) or Nintendo (fat chance).
Re:It IS a last-minute gimmick... (Score:2)
My theory is that they originally tried to put rumble, motion-sensing, and extra batteries into the thing, prompting the "Batarang" design because it all took so much room. So they were fighting a three-front war-- The lawsuit they are losing with rumble, widespread criticism of the Batarang, and extra weight to support it all. So they decided to win all three wars at once by ditching rumble. Now all that is l
Re:It IS a last-minute gimmick... (Score:1)
While I'm sure that is what Sony wants, but is that what Sony is going to get? I know people who already have an Xbox360, and people who plan on getting a Wii to compliment it, and not even considering the expensive PS3. If anything, those w
Re:It IS a last-minute gimmick... (Score:2)
In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:5, Insightful)
So, in other words, the Sony gimic worked to tear your interest away from the Wii. Sony must be ecstatic.
Anyone remember the pressure-sensitive buttons on the PS2 controller? Anyone remember any game that used them? The only one I recall was Metal Gear Solid 2, and with that game, I only succeeded in screwing up the amount of pressure required, accidently shooting guards I only wanted to hold up. Supposedly some driving games used it, but I don't play driving games, so I can't verify that. Bottom line is that I really didn't notice any games using the pressure sensitive buttons - and even if they did, I wasn't actively using them, instead just pressing the button like I always did.
I can't help but feel that this new "motion sensitive" feature will go the way of the "pressure sensitive" buttons - very few games will bother using them, since they're not really a core feature of the controller. Try as I might, I cannot imagine twisting a PS2 controller around for any length of time. It's just too heavy and too unweildy to continuely wave around. Imagine having to hold your PS2 controller steady, because accidently tipping it might do something unintended. (To be fair, I can't imagine twisting the Wii remote around for any length of time either, but not having held that, I'm willing to give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt.)
Just like the pressure sensetive buttons, this whole motion sensitive thing on the PS3 controller feels like a pointless gimic. Apparently they're also trying to use that to distract from the fact that they've removed force feedback from their controllers in response to a patent lawsuit. I dunno about anyone else, but I like having force feedback.
The whole PS3 "DualShake" thing still sounds like a gimic to me, just like the PS2 "DualShock" was essentially a gimic. I'd much rather have force feedback than be required to wave a DualShock controller around in the air. (And, yes, it's been confirmed that the final PS3 controller looks exactly like the PS2 controller - except it's wireless. It's not that boomerang thing.)
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:5, Insightful)
Whether the motion detection in the Dual Shake is implemented well or not is irrelevant -- it's still a two-handed controller. When I imagine playing a game with one, I think of simple tilting motions to steer or control an airplane, and that's about it.
On the other hand, when I imagine playing a game with the Wiimote, I can see myself cutting people open in Trauma Center, or swinging a sword around, or learning the proper gestures to cast spells in some spiffy new Harry Potter game. The gesturing power of my right hand alone simply dwarfs that of both hands tied together.
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:2)
And the fun if it slips off your hand and cracks against the wall.
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:1)
To be fair to Sony, the DualShake is probably better than the Wiimote for these two things. I mean, I'm not going to run out and buy one just for this... but it's not like they just threw some crap together and came up with a bunch of stupid. If TFA is accurate, and the DualShake is accurate and responsive, then this will be a nice feature in certain types of games.
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:1)
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:2)
Camera control (Score:2)
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:1)
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:1)
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:1)
Game feat. pressure sensitive buttons (Score:1)
If you press R1, you target an enemy.
If you press R1 hard, you also charge up your weapon.
It was kind of awkward.
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:2)
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:1)
With the PS3 controller, from the pictures and videos i saw, I can see myself with both arms in my lap and gently twisting the
Re:In other words, the gimic worked... (Score:1)
Analog Buttons, Carpal Tunnel, And No Rumble (Score:1)
That said, you're point is undeniable that they were
Just because the engineers rock (Score:2)
Crap too late. (Score:3, Funny)
Litigation still pending (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Litigation still pending (Score:2)
Re:Litigation still pending (Score:1)
Last Minute Gimmick? (Score:3, Informative)
Boomerang? (Score:1, Redundant)
Re:Boomerang? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Boomerang? (Score:4, Funny)
I agree. This [awesometools.com] goes much better with the aesthetics of the console [sonyplaystation3news.com].
Re:Boomerang? (Score:1)
A gimmick's a gimmick. (Score:5, Insightful)
Another interesting thing to note is that if games come out for the Playstation 3 that revolve around the motion-sensing control feature, it's likely that they will also be ported to the Wii - or from it, which ever way it works out. This means increased availability of games, which works out for us gamers, though it's hard to tell which company would come out on top of that one. (Something tells me Nintendo would get the long end of the stick on that one, considering the console is already predicted to be much cheaper, and therefore more available to consumers in terms of cost.) This also means that developers wishing to take advantage of motion-sensing controllers won't be isolated to just one console, should they choose to develop for the Wii and the Playstation 3 at the same time. (And eventually the 360, since there's no way in hell Microsoft would ignore a feature like this considering all of the attention it's getting.) After seeing what the 'Wii-mote' can do, it's easy to see that Nintendo's driving a motion-sensing bandwagon right through the industry. Their console may yet be a revolution - in control schemes, if nothing else.
Re:A gimmick's a gimmick. (Score:3, Insightful)
Ergo... (Score:2, Insightful)
If Sony's done stole a little bit off Wii for itself, that doesn't suddenly mean Sony > Wii. It just means that Sony will have to work hard to encourage
Hastily tacked on? (Score:1)
How long have we known about Nintendo's controllers? It was debuted September 15, 2005 [nintendo.com]. So if Sony started working on this technology as soon as Nintendo announced the controller, they would have been working on it for over 7
Re:Hastily tacked on? (Score:2)
Re:Hastily tacked on? (Score:1)
Re:Hastily tacked on? (Score:5, Informative)
They found out in the last week or so. See here [eurogamer.net]. They did the tuning in just the last few days.
I highly doubt that they wouldn't've given the controller to them if it had been ready earlier - or if they even knew it was going to work much earlier. This was a "have this work by E3 or else" announcement, and I'm surprised that it works at all.
Re:Hastily tacked on? (Score:1)
Re:Hastily tacked on? (Score:2)
Honestly, they can't have been working on it long: the WarHawk demo didn't go well (just read any of the reviews), and they must've known that it would've taken time for them to get the kinks worked out.
Regardless of how good the technology is, the implementation takes time, and they only gave the guys a week and a half. That just screams "last minute implementation" to me. If they'd been working on it for a year, I can't believe they woul
Re:Hastily tacked on? (Score:1)
Re:Hastily tacked on? (Score:2)
Re:Hastily tacked on? (Score:2)
Hell, it sounds pretty much like the WarHawk devs didn't even know for sure if this was going to happen until last week. If they had honestly been planning this for a year, they would've kn
Maybe you're too young to remember this, but..... (Score:1)
Re:Maybe you're too young to remember this, but... (Score:1)
I see your power glove and raise you (Score:2)
(Ok it's not exactly the same thing hehe, but I like to say "Le Stick" as in "grip Le Stick with my Power Glove")
Re:Maybe you're too young to remember this, but... (Score:1)
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Maybe you're too young to remember this, but... (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Maybe you're too young to remember this, but... (Score:1)
There is, however, an accelerometer in the other half of the nunchuck-style setup. It's been quoted as used in madden to do footbally-stuff I don't understand.
What I really want to know is where they fit the Interocitor.
Re:Maybe you're too young to remember this, but... (Score:2)
Hello LocoRoco! (Score:1)
Screenshorts [gamespot.com]
Diverting our attention from what, exactly? (Score:1, Insightful)
Gee, big surprise. (Score:1)
It took 15 seconds for me to change my jaded mind from slightly mocking to kool-aid drinking. I've experienced the way PS3 games control, and it's epoch-making.
haha. Epoch-making. You've got to be kidding me. I find it hard to take anything else this guy says seriously.
Re:Gee, big surprise. (Score:1)
Seems likely that Sony exerted some influence to have statements like the above dropped on the blogs so it doesn't look as sad and foolish as it really is....that or their pact with the devil kicked in and everybody will herald the $500 price tag and cheesy imitiations of motion sense and online market place as ground breakin
Re:Pelican TiltPak (Score:1)
On the other hand, don't forget that the true 3D space movement detection the Wii uses is a true first for the gaming industry. The PS3 and all those other prior products may be "motion-sensing", but are much more limited in their capabilities.
It *is* a last minute attempt... (Score:2)