Sony turns ignition in hype machine
PlayStation Move, Sony's motion controller that looks like it belongs on an airport runway, is likely to be big news at the forthcoming E3 videogames convention?in Los Angeles. And to ready itself for the big push, the company has launched its official website.
The PlayStation Move site features technical specifications, video clips and information of a few of the games that are expected to accompany the controller on its launch in Autumn 2010.
Thankfully, more launch games will be announced over the coming months, as we're not quite sure that Sony can hope to flog the Move on the back of Brunswick Pro Bowling, TV Superstars and a smattering of other Wii-like titles. Certainly, a lot will be resting on the shoulders of Toy Story 3 when it arrives.
We'll, of course, let you know more with our E3 coverage from June 15.
It'll interesting to see what will be bigger, Move or Natal?
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Tags: Gaming Playstation Move Sony PlayStation PS3
PlayStation Move website opens with one eye on E3 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 09:46:05 +0100
Continue reading ASRock AIWI turns your iPhone / iPod touch into HTPC motion controller (video)
ASRock AIWI turns your iPhone / iPod touch into HTPC motion controller (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 01:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you've already sunk hundreds of dollars into your Xbox 360 console, even more on games and accessories, along with Xbox Live fees, you might have been hoping to catch a break with Microsoft releasing its upcoming motion-controlled Natal add-on for cheap. While it initially looked like Microsoft was doing all it could to keep costs to a minimum, new reports indicate that Natal is likely to cost closer to $150.
Microsoft originally wanted to use hardware-based motion detection for project Natal's cameras, but then we heard it would be forgoing that expensive luxury and doing much of the detection work in software. By keeping hardware costs low, around the cost of a game or less, not only would Microsoft encourage existing 360 owners to make the upgrade, but would give developers more incentive to write games for the new interface.
Is $150 just too much to ask users to sink on an upgrade to an aging system? Sega didn't have much luck with the 32X, and Natal doesn't even increase system performance. What do you think; is $150 more than you're willing to spend on what's basically just a controller upgrade?
Having gasped at leaked Scandinavian pricing for Project Natal, which worked out to roughly $200 for the motion-controller, new US-specific figures have emerged which are a little more palatable. According to Edge Online’s “trusted source”, Microsoft will release Project Natal in October 2010, priced at $149 in the US. It’ll also be available as a bundle with the Xbox 360 Arcade, for $299.
The source also confirmed that the device’s name won’t, in fact, be called Project Natal when it finally reaches shelves, and that the official title will be among the things Microsoft announce at E3 next month. There they’ll also outline its non-traditional gamer focus; “Microsoft expects to sell millions and millions of Natal units in its first year on the market” the source reckons, “so you can expect the software launch line-up to target non-traditional gamers.”
As for that launch, the current date is apparently pencilled in as October 26th worldwide, though that could still shift with an error margin of weeks on each side. Microsoft have declined to comment on the leaks.
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Edge probably sunk some hearts today by reporting a rumor that Microsoft’s motion-sensing Xbox 360 camera, codenamed Project Natal, will cost $150.
The “trusted source” who spoke to Edge pegs Natal at a much higher price than previously rumored. MCV reported in November that Microsoft would aim for roughly 50 pounds in the United Kingdom. Because both stories are based on anonymous sources, I don’t fully trust either right now. For all I know, someone inside Microsoft is priming the press for a higher price only to announce something shockingly reasonable at E3, a la the iPad.
Still, I don’t think $150 for Project Natal would so bad. The important thing to remember is that with Project Natal, the camera is the entire controller. There are no remote controls, wands or nunchuks, just human arms, legs and torsos. Beyond the initial sticker shock, there are no additional costs.
With the Wii console, you get one remote with a MotionPlus attachment and one Nunchuk for $200. Each additional remote/MotionPlus/Nunchuk combo costs $70. Accommodating three or four players on the Wii is equally or more expensive than Project Natal. Sony hasn’t announced pricing for its Playstation Move motion controller, but I’m guessing the cost of additional wands could also get pricey.
Even though I think the rumored pricing for Natal is fair, I agree with my pal Brad Gallaway of GameCritics, who said he’d need to see a “stupefyingly, mindblowingly awesome game” to even consider spending so much money on a peripheral. That’s always been true, and it’s true for the Playstation Move as well. The Wii is good enough to carry out motion control as a novelty. But novelty won’t cut it in motion control’s next generation. We need to be floored.
Microsoft's Project Natal could be an expensive peripheral if a rumor from a "trusted" insider is true. The device could cost as much as $149 by itself and might make the most sense only as part of an Xbox 360 bundle, where it would cost $299 for an Arcade console with the motion controller. The Edge source added that it was targeted for an October 26th launch, consistent with earlier rumors, but that it could move weeks forward or back depending on conditions....
USB 3.0 gear is coming to the market in larger amounts every day. Today if your notebook or mainboard has USB 3.0 ports, you are lucky to get a pair of them. VIA Labs will be showing off a new host controller for USB 3.0 at Computex that can double the number of USB 3.0 ports available.
The controller is called the VL800 and is aimed at integration into desktops and notebooks, servers, docking systems, and add-in cards. In addition to supporting four USB 3.0 ports that can be used at the same time, the new host controller also supports USB Battery Charging Specification.
Support for the spec means that the ports can be used to charge and power external devices like phones and cameras. The controller maintains backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 and earlier devices. VIA Labs doesn’t offer any indication when we will see the new host controller in consumer devices.
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PlayStation Move two-fer: Sony tells devs to avoid bad Wii clones, ad points to July release originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 20:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Game retailer BT Games may have provided a clue as to the launch schedule of the PlayStation Move through a flyer posted online. The spread mentions towards its end that the PS3 motion controller is "coming in July." BT doesn't explain the bundles or pricing and mostly casts it as a teaser....
Sony’s placing a lot of hope in their upcoming motion controller, and considering the upcoming competition, that’s probably a good idea. With E3 just around the corner, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Sony’s holding their tongue, at least in any official capacity, to make sure that they get to announce all the goodness on their own stage. That’s not stopping video game outlets like BT Games from (possibly) ruining the whole surprise.
Oddly enough, we thought we already knew when the Move motion controller was going to be launched. After all, Sony officially announced the motion-based peripheral only a couple of months ago. And with it, word that a release some time in the Fall of 2010 was mentioned. At least, “slated.” Apparently though, BT Games (which is a video game outlet) just released an advertisement in their latest brochure stating that the Sony motion controller is coming in July.
No, there’s no way to confirm this at the moment, and obviously Sony isn’t going to say anything to confirm or deny it. They’ll wait until E3. But, considering that Microsoft’s Project Natal is coming in October, maybe jumping ahead a few months is the right way to go. What do you think? Project Natal or Move?
[via TechRadar]
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Sony’s NEX-3 and NEX-5 are all well and good, but with high definition recording topping out at 1080/60i there’s a distinct lack of 1080p HD goodness in the range. According to EOSHD’s sources – previously accurate in their NEX predictions – that’ll be taken care of with the Sony NEX-7 later in the year. That camera will use an APS-C chip, though a different one to what’s found in the NEX-3/5, capable of 1080p@60, 1080p@24 and 720p@120/60 for super slow-motion.
Fitting all that in will apparently require a larger body than the slimline form-factor on the two current NEX models, with an appearance more like a mirrorless Sony Alpha A550 including an electronic viewfinder and an E-mount. There are also some new E-mount lenses in the works – again, tuned for video-friendly quiet performance – though the source wouldn’t be drawn on specifications. Sony are apparently targeting Photokina in September for a release, though they’re also watching Panasonic’s development of the GH2 so as to remain competitive.
[Thanks Tony!]
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Review Imagine the result of a quick bunk-up between a wireless keyboard, a regular games controller and a Wii Remote, and you will be close to understanding what the Air Keyboard controller is all about.…
Microsoft's full-body motion controller Project Natal, has been on track to come out in time for the Christmas holidays, but the latest news from the software and hardware giant places it at an October release. Microsoft's Saudi Marketing Manager Syed Bilal Tariq claimed during a presentation that nothing was official but was confident that the launch had been narrowed down to the one-month window....
Sony's PlayStation Movie motion controller has shown up on a Canadian retailer Gamestop's webstore recently, revealing a $60 purchase price. A promised sub-$100 price tag may have been for a bundle that includes the PlayStation Eye camera that is required for the system to work or for a game that supports the functionality....
The PlayStation Move motion controller isn’t out yet, and you will have to keep waiting for a few months before you’ll get your hands on one, but if you were curious as to how much it might be going for when it does finally launch, here’s your first clue. It’s coming out of Canada, right from GameStop’s site, and it does a pretty good job of giving us an idea of what the future might hold.
Unfortunately, it seems that someone at GameStop technical must have noticed the page’s existence, because as of this writing, the web page itself has been taken down. So, you won’t be able to head on over to the site and place your order. Though, as you can see from the screenshot, the Move will cost you a cool $59.99, but again, this would be Canadian pricing. So, whatever Sony will charge here in the States is still, technically, up for grabs.
We’ll go ahead and say that we can see Sony charging the same amount here, though. After all, with the company saying that the PlayStation Move controller, bundled with the camera, would go for under $100, this would mean they could still bundle the camera for $30 and call it good. E3 is definitely going to be a good show this year, so stay tuned.
[via Engadget]
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Microsoft’s upcoming Project Natal is a full-body motion controller, promising an incredibly immersive gaming experience and biting into the market first tapped by Nintendo Wii, back in 2006.
Now, Project Natal was all but confirmed for October launch by Microsoft Saudi marketing manager Syed Bilal Tariq in an interview with GamertagRadio. “It is going to be somewhere in October. We will be in a position to confirm the date at E3, which is in June, but definitely it is going to be October 2010,” he said.
Love it or hate it, Microsoft has done some great things for gaming, and they might be on the verge of launching another game-changing (pun intended) technology. The jury on the official name is still out, though; any guesses to what it might be?
[via TechRadar]
Tags: gaming, microsoft, project natal
During a press event at the Game Developers Conference, Sony finally showed its motion controller to the gaming press. Welcome to the world of the PlayStation Move.
We were shown a number of videos and demos, and they all looked uncomfortably similar to what we've already played on the Nintendo Wii. Even the models, with a focus on females and families, made it look like we were in the realm of Nintendo. The reveal of the secondary controller with an analog stick—a product that again looked like a direct rip-off of a Nintendo product—drew either ambivalence or titters from the crowd. At a cocktail mixer directly after, we were able to get our hands on the Move directly, and play through the offerings.
How did people react? There is a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the product, and people were talking about similarities to Nintendo titles and about the price of the product in hushed tones. There were jokes made about the look of the Move; many people compared it to a certain sexual toy. Others placed the glowing orbs on their crotch, to mimic testicles. In short, there wasn't a lot of love for the Move at the launch.
But we've played the games, handled the hardware, and given the whole thing a long think, and we believe that the Move may not flop, although it could have had a stronger first showing. Here are the things we like about the hardware, and where Sony may have gone wrong.
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[Direct Link]CNET: Sony announces Playstation Move: Sony unveils their first motion controller for the Playstation 3. http://bit.ly/c87hSh
