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Sony Unveils PlayStation Move Motion Controller, We Drool Noticeably

by Terrence O'Brien on March 11, 2010 at 12:45 PM

When the Wii, with its decidedly last-gen graphics technology, hit the market and trounced the competition, we knew it would only be a matter of time before Sony and Microsoft tried to copy Nintendo's motion sensing technology. While details are still scarce about the Xbox 360's Project Natal, the PlayStation Move has been officially announced and is expected to hit the market this fall.

The Move looks less like the Wiimote than you'd expect. Its rounded plastic body and glowing orb at the top more resemble a souvenir from Barnum & Bailey and less a gaming peripheral designed by the same team behind the sleek, matte-finished PS3 Slim. The Move can be used in conjunction with a "subcontroller," similar to the Wii Nunchuk, that has a directional pad and analog stick. It seems Sony wants you to use two Move controllers together; the subcontroller lacks any motion-sensing ability, so demos like the bare-knuckle boxing game 'Dukes' require one player to use two Moves. Like the DualShock3, the Move is wireless, can be recharged, and offers rumble feedback.

Half the blogosphere, it seems, was able to get some hands-on time with the Move (though we were not, thanks Sony!), and impressions appear to be generally positive. Our friends at Engadget and Joystiq both walked away quite impressed with the accuracy of the device. Engadget had some issues with lag, but that appears to be less of a hardware issue than a problem with the games, which are still early in the development cycle. Kotaku dedicated an entire post to the ways in which the Move blows the Wiimote out of the water, but judgment should be reserved until we know whether the Move will have any compelling content. There were, of course, a few naysayers. Both Gizmodo and Ars saw nothing special about the Move, and essentially called it a Wii with better graphics.

The last trick up the Move's sleeve is augmented reality. When paired with the PlayStation Eye, it can layer graphics over a video feed of the player to make the Move appear as a paddle, sword, or anything else developers can dream up.

The Move, once it hits shelves, will be available packaged with a PlayStation Eye and a game for "under $100." Sony, make it up to us, will you? [From: PlayStation Blog, via: Engadget]

Tags: ar, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, motion control, motion controller, MotionControl, MotionController, move, playstation, playstation move, PlaystationMove, sony, top

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