What's a four-letter word for Playstation Motion Controller?

(click to "move" to a larger image)

In something of a follow-up to Monday's story about the then-unnamed Playstation Motion Controller, GDC has finally brought a name to the peripheral: Playstation Move.

Besides the official name, a few other details were unveiled at GDC. The overall design of the move remains unchanged from it's appearance at E3 2009. There is a large ball at the top that glows and can change colors for interaction with the Playstation Eye. Below the ball will be the standard Playstation face buttons (X, Square, Triangle and Circle) a PS button and an analog trigger on the back. The front of the controller also features a large button featuring the official "Playstation Move" logo:There is apparently a second part to the Move,dubbed the sub-controller, much like the Nunchuk to the Wii-mote. Unlike the Nunchuk, however, the sub-controller does not need to be plugged in to anything. The button setup for the sub-controller features an analog stick, with a D-pad, X and Circle buttons below. There is also an analog trigger on the back, identical to the main Move controller. For a better view of each component, you can check out IGN's gallery here.

Speaking of IGN, they got some hands-on time with the new peripherals as well as some vague information on the price: "under $100." Slightly more detail on the pricing can be found in an article at SFGate stating that both controllers are available in a bundle with the Playstation Eye for the sub-$100 price point. A good thing, too, since the Move requires the Eye to function. (Too bad it's not called the Hand, because that would mean it required Hand-Eye coordination.) In general, Playstation Move combines the technology of competing products Microsoft's Project Natal (itself a more advanced implementation of the technology behind the Playstation Eye) and the Wii's standard controller. Although, in regards to the latter, the Move has a noticeably greater degree of accuracy than even the Wii Motion-Plus according to cnet. This is particularly true in the Move's ability to accurately track depth and rotation.

As for the physical controller, IGN says the construction feels "solid" with a good weight and all buttons well within reach of the user's fingers. The exceptions to this are the subcontroller's D-pad, which can be difficult to reach at times, and the PS button, which is recessed and set apart intentionally to prevent accidental presses.

With so much focus on the Move controller the camera-tracking aspect of the setup often gets lost, increase the inevitable comparison to the Wii-mote. This is somewhat unfortunate since the PS3's boasts considerably more processing horsepower to work with, granting not only HD visuals, but true 1-to-1 motion tracking capability. This creates the potential for genuinely new mechanics and gameplay simply not possible on the Wii. All the fancy specifications and potential in the world doesn't count for anything without software to back it up, however.

Fortunately, IGN reports that 36 developers have pledged support for Move:

505 Games U.S.
Activision Publishing, Inc.
AQ INTERACTIVE Inc.
ARC SYSTEMS WORK CO.,LTD
ATLUS Co., LTD.
Bigben Interactive
CAPCOM CO., LTD.
CCP
Crave Entertainment
CYBERFRONT Corporation
Disney Interactive Studios
Electronic Arts Inc.
FromSoftware, Inc.
Game Republic, Inc.
GUST CO., LTD.
HUDSON SOFT CO., LTD.
IREM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INC.
Koei Co., Ltd.
Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Majesco Entertainment
Marvelous Entertainment Inc.
NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
ONGAKUKAN Co., Ltd.
Oxygen Games
PAON CORPORATION
Q Entertainment Inc.
Q-GAMES, LTD.
SEGA CORPORATION
Sony Online Entertainment
Spike Co., Ltd.
SQUARE ENIX GROUP
TECMO, LTD.
THQ Inc.
UBISOFT
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Zoo Entertainment, Inc.

It's important to remember that just because a company has pledged support does not mean that they will develop games specifically for the peripheral, they may just include optional functionality in a game, or do a remake similar to the Wii version of Resident Evil 4.

A few titles were on display at GDC to show off some of Move's functions. The Shoot is basically a light gun game with the Move controller acting as the gun (pull the trigger to...pull the trigger) and the Eye tracking your movements and translating them to your character, i.e. you duck, he ducks. The big catch with the game being that you're filming movies rather than engaging in "actual" combat (The Shoot = double entendre anyone?) and your lives are actually takes.

Also on display was Wii Sports Resort clone Sports Championship. While nearly identical to the Nintendo title, Sports Championship also goes a long way towards illustrating teh difference in accuracy between the Move and the Wii-mote. Whereas the Wii-mote is based on use of accelerometers, the Move uses motion tracking. So when you're say, swordfighting (and using the second controller as a shield), you can't fake a powerful swing with a simple flick of the wrist, you actually have to make a big swing. The same goes for tennis based games, no quick wrist-flick for his speed hits or serves, you're going to need to actually put some power into those. The game even recognizes when the controller is behind your back.

Speaking of Wii software comparisons, another demo on show was SOCOM 4, said to play much like Wii title Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. The subcontroller and it's analog stick handle movement and cover (via the trigger) with the main controller used for aiming and shooting. SOCOM wasn't designed around the Move, however, the funcionality was patched in. Because of this, the game is a better example of what other companies may do with existing titles than what Move software is capable of.

Another title that recently had Move functionality patched in was EyePet. When it was revealed at E3 last year, EyePet used the Eye exclusively, showing what is saw on your TV (most likely you in your living room) with the addition of a ridiculously cute monkey-like pet rendered in the middle of everything.

(click for larger adorableness)

The eye functionality is still there, and is still the primary focus, but now certain interactions -- such as making bubbles with a bubble wand or dumping cookies into a bowl -- will be accomplished via the Move. The real draw here is still the way the Eye creates the illusion of interacting with the pet and, of course, the absurd level of cuteness. While the implementation of Move appears superfluous at this point, there is potential for some interesting ways for it to interact with your EyePet.

For more in-depth coverage on everything Playstation Move, you can check out IGN's coverage here.

Before we end the article, I'd like to throw out a personal opinion:

As cool as I think the Move could be (I'd love to try some sword fighting where I'm actually...sword fighting) I don't know what Sony thinks it's going to accomplish. They're not going to draw any market share away form the Wii, they're just not.
The Wii's biggest audience is comprised of people that don't generally play video games -- your parents, your grandparents, your girlfriend -- with the other segment being the hardcore Nintendo fans who bought the Wii just to play the handful of franchises actually worthy of the title "video game:" Mario, Zelda, Metroid.
Neither one of these groups are going to find anything of interest in the Move. The investment is far too steep for the first group, and the second group only cares about being able to play first-party Nintendo games.
The only way I see this accomplishing anything is the exceptionally rare scenario of "Gee mom/grandma/honey if you/we spend an extra $200 for the PS3 and Move you can play games just like on the Wii and I can still play 'real' games."
Yeah, good luck with that Sony. Remind me again, how well has the Eye sold? You know, that camera peripheral that's also required for Move? I bought your system for the AAA games like Metal Gear Solid 4, Uncharted 1 and 2, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet and Heavy Rain that I couldn't get anywhere else, stop making me blush with these "me too" antics.

/rant
/article

Dark Void, Murky Combat.

click to biggerize

So the Dark Void demo is finally out and I have to say: I think they could have picked a better section of the game to show off. The flight combat could use some work, so having a demo that focuses almost entirely on that -- forgoing the "vertical cover system" we've heard so much about altogether -- is probably not the best first impression you want to make. On the same subject of odd choices, as talented a voice actor as Nolan North is, applying the same exact voice as Nathan Drake to a main character, William Augustus Grey, that bears a noticeable resemblance to said fortune hunter is a little distracting. But then, 360 gamers don't really have to worry about that. Hm...
Since I've mentioned the air combat already, let's get into that first. The demo tasks you wiht learning the basics of flight, shooting some stationary targets and taking down 3 Watcher flying saucers before moving on to some ground combat...and is quite short. Flying around and shooting at stationary targets works just fine, it's when you've got moving targets that combat gets a bit uncooperative. At all times while flying you have jetpack mounted machine guns and a crosshair to aim them with. You can press L2 to face the nearest enemy, however that only points the camera in that direction, not your character or your crosshairs. What this means is that, if your enemy's behind you, your view will be of the opposite side that your character, and thus your crosshair, is facing and you must maneuver that crosshair into view WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO SEE IT. As you've probably guessed, this can be quite disorienting. If you're not going to have a lock-on system (which I think could speed up the relatively slow pace of aerial combat, personally, but that's beside the point) your character should at least swing around to the direction the camera is facing so that the player can see what he's aiming at.
Questionable control decisions aside, the air combat looks like it could get old quite fast. Getting in close, although still far enough away to make me say "WTF?" allows the player to press Circle and latch on to the enemy flying saucer, triggering a minigame to hijack control of the vehicle. This minigame consists of the following pattern: wait for gun to charge, dodge left/right, hold circle, dodge left/right, and repeat. Occasionally the pilot will put the saucer into a corkscrew to try and shake you off, but if you manage to press Square or Triangle (whichever the onscreen prompt calls for) at least 2 or 3 times, you're not going to fall off. Since flying around and shooting down the enemy flying saucers is nowhere near as fast as hijacking and then abandoning the vehicle, this could get old fast. Which brings up another point, piloting a flying saucer is nowhere near as fun, or effective as sticking to your jetpack. But this is a demo, so I'll save my final judgment for the full game in case there's some other gameplay in store to spice up these sections.
On the ground combat is...serviceable. Those of you familiar with Nathan Drake's adventures will find a control scheme that is identical save for the reversal of the take cover and melee buttons. Speaking of melee, you can only use a melee attack if there's an enemy near enough to use it on. An interesting design choice that is nonetheless effective. I theorize that this is to prevent players from accidentally entering a melee animation that would leave them open to getting shot, but I can't say for sure. That said, I found that, in the demo at least, you could just run up to any enemy and melee them to death. They don't seem to have any type of defense against it and weren't very good at preventing me from getting close enough -- even on the "Hardcore" difficulty setting -- to use it either. As far as weapons, you can carry any two, plus grenades, (although your default weapon in the demo seemed to be the most effective overall) and switch between them by pressing any direction on the D-pad. Lastly, although I've made a few comparisons to the Uncharted games, the ground combat in Dark Void just wasn't as fast, fluid, or fun. But again, this is just a demo and I didn't get to try out the "vertical" variation.
All in all, I wasn't too impressed with the Dark Void demo, but here's to hoping the rest of the game will prove to be worthy of Geek God, Nikola Tesla.

Check out the Super new combatants of Street Fighter IV.

Anxious to see the fighting styles of the three new pugilistic superstars of the forthcoming Super Street Fighter IV? Well GameTrailers.com has you covered.

With the new videos (which can be found for the rest of the cast here.) you can not only see the new characters in action, but get tips on the best strategies for using them...or defeating them.

Now if we could only get a video detailing why Capcom still chooses to release multiple versions of the same Street Fighter in the age of downloadable content (and with progressively longer titles) we would understand everything.

Cody

Adon

Guy

Gamez rulez commercialz!

So Adweek recently held a voting on the best commercial of the decade (I know, I wasn't told either) and, in a move that will probably have your grandparents shaking their heads if/when you tell them, two gaming commercials actually managed to make it into the top spots.

One of these was Sony's "Mountain" commercial from the heyday of the Playstation 2 which...well I thought was kind of lame. But that's probably due to my unexplainable dislike for anything involving Shirley Temple. Check it out and make your own decision.

The second of these commercials was from the Halo 3 "Believe" campaign (although this particular ad is apparently called "Diorama") and is pretty rad. I can't ever watch this commercial without thinking to myself "Man! I want all of those things and the time to set up that exact scene!"

Feel free to check out the other, non-gaming commercials as well. From serious political statements to commercials that make you say "Wait...what?" to the ones that just make you say "WTF!?" Enjoy.