BitSnark

E3 2009 was truly the venue where both Sony and Microsoft sought to close the gap with Nintendo’s Wii Motion Plus control system, by showcasing one of their own. Sony’s own effort, known simply as the Playstation Motion Controller, was demonstrated on stage to the E3 audience.

Working with the Playstation Eye and looking like an approximation nintendo’s own Wiimote, the motion controller itself was essentially a wand with a glowing purple ball on the end with which the Playstation Eye tracks your motion to 1:1 efficiency. The benefits of using the Playstation Eye in conjunction with what we would now call a ‘traditional’ motion controller was that on-screen all manner of things could appear in the players hand such as a sword, shield or bow and arrow.

Somewhat echoing Nintendo’s own Wii MotionPlus archery demonstration, control with the wand on stage appeared to be effortless and the precision impressive, as the wand was gestured in real time to mirror bow firing movements and responded in kind on the screen.

Impressively, all of this was rendered in real-time, and even if the models themselves seemed somewhat superimposed or simplistic, the result was still eye brow raising and lends thought to what future applications the technology can be put to.

For what it’s worth, it seemed to me that the technology here was a genuine step forward for motion control. In terms of comparisons to the 360’s Project Natal however, the motion controller seemed more of an actual tangible step forward, then a ‘oh shit is that actually real?’ leapfrog that Natal certainly seems to be. Time will tell on both counts I believe.

Regardless, PS3 owners should be looking forward to their foray in the lovely world of motion control early in 2010.