Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s big ‘Natal’ E3 reveal is
Sony’s motion-tracking rebuttal [pictured above is an image from Sony's patent filling late last year]. Since Microsoft had the advantage of going
first, the question analysts and amateurs are asking themselves is; how does the PS3
Motion Controller (yes, it’s actually called that, for the time being at least)
stack up against Natal? In these early, carefully curated demonstrations it’s difficult to
produce anything remotely conclusive. And so in my Natal write-up I
emphasized the word ‘potential’ and I’ll continue the theme in saying that whereas
Microsoft’s prototype has immense potential, Sony is much closer to seeing
their more modest potential realized. So, what is the PS3 Motion Controller?
Take one part rave, one part motion
capture, and one part controller. Let incubate in a Sony lab for untold months.
Then at E3 2009 reveal two controller ‘sticks’ with glowing purple orbs atop
them. Cue up some live-action demo footage and prepare for some ‘oohs’ and
‘aahs.’
Sony’s first full-on foray into motion
control (the Sixaxis has yet to be fully realized, in my opinion) takes its cue
from Hollywood-methodology, using a PlayStation Eye camera to track the glowing
orbs and translate that information into full three-dimensional movements.
Sony, unlike Microsoft, was capable of
showing off a multi-application live demo of the new controller in action. The
second thing that struck me watching a Sony minion wave about the glowing wands
was the surprising accuracy with which his actions were translated on screen. [The first was realizing how ridiculous he looked but Sony assures us this is just a prototype model and that things will look a bit different come retail).
One demo had the Sony employee using a single ‘stick’ as a tennis racquet to hit a bouncing
tennis ball. In this particular instance they’d configured the display to show
the demonstrator on screen in real-time but instead of a fancy wand he was holding an
animated tennis racquet. An interesting visual trick illusion. Even more
intriguing though was the exactitude of his movements on screen. Full on,
seamless 1-to-1 representation, with reportedly “sub-millimetre accuracy.” And
as if to squash any doubt that such actions were indeed sub-millimeter the demo
team proceeded to write legibly in cursive on an on-screen piece of paper by holding the stick as though it
was pen.
This level of accuracy was further emphasized as
the demonstrator proceeded to don a virtual sword and shield. In this instance
his body was represented by a polygonal counterpart on screen, one whose limbs
would move in-sync with the demonstrator. He then attacked an approaching
skeleton, aiming for the head or shoulder or leg, striking each body part accurately. This
conjunction act with the two controllers reached maximum ‘coolness’ when the
demonstrator switched to a bow and arrow combo, drawing one arm/stick back as
though pulling back an arrow. Arrows were fired. Ogres were killed. Fun was had by all.
All accurate. All real-time. And all
working as claimed. But was it enough?
Natal set the bar pretty high, promising full-body
motion capture without controllers. The PS3 Motion Controller demo team claimed
that they’d learned from their past experiences with the PlayStation Eye that controllers and buttons were ultimately a necessity. But that’s a hard
sell when you’re waving around two glow sticks. Microsoft had Steven Spielberg
come out and extol Natal’s ‘shedding of the controller.’ For him the controller was a
barrier for reaching the widest possible audience. Sony seems to be saying, ‘Yea,
but they’re still gaming consoles. You still need buttons.’ Perhaps they forget
that Natal is a supplement, not a replacement, for the Xbox controller.
Eitherway, Microsoft still offers more potential.
Should their promises come true, home entertainment may never be the same (I
mean, come on, face and voice recognition, gesture controlled menus?! Consoles
will finally be smarter than cats!) But judging technology on potential alone uses a
very skewed measuring stick. Sony has proven that their concept works and
though not as ambitious, it’s accurate, effective, and intuitive. Too bad it
wont see the light of day until Spring 2010.
