technabob » motion control

blaze ps3 motion controller: ps3 meets wii

technabob — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:34:51 +0000

Sure, the PlayStation 3 is eventually getting its own official motion controller from Sony, but while you wait for this bit of futureware, the guys over at UK gaming outfit BLAZE have announced their own motion-sensing PS3 controller. And it looks an awful lot like a Wii-mote.

The BLAZE PS3 Motion Freedom 3D controller can detect your movements and send them to the PS3 for use in games. The controller has a D-pad, analog stick, and all of the other buttons you’d find on a DualShock 3 control.

Now there’s no word on what games the Motion Freedom will support, but BLAZE makes mention of Tiger Woods PGA Golf and Sega Tennis in their announcement. No word on a release date or price either – so for now, you’ll just have to be satisfied reading the press release.

[via TFTS]

turbo: action-packed, geeky teen movie. so yeah, satisfaction is not guaranteed.

lambert v. — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:08:40 +0000

But hey it’s for free, so we can’t really complain. No one’s forcing you to watch it. But let me let me tell you more about the movie so you can decide if you’d rather watch a puppy who can’t get up. Turbo is basically Karate Kid 4.0. The movie follows one avid gamer named Hugo Park, a “misspent youth whose only outlet for angst is a 4D fighting videogame called “Super Turbo Arena”.” Hmmm. An angst-filled kid cooling off through video games. So far I’ve only seen kids who become even more pissed off while gaming. Anyway the gamers of Super Turbo Arena are treated as celebrities, and when a famous gamer who goes by the name “Pharaoh King” sets up a tourney to see who will join his team of pro gamers, Hugo of course joins the tourney, because if he doesn’t the movie would only be 54 seconds long. I think your imagination can fill the rest of the story up.

Super Turbo Arena is a motion-controlled fighting game. And we’re not talking about Wii Boxing here: the avatars pretty much do the same thing that the gamers do: Your avatar can pull off crazy moves like a fifty punch combo and then end with thirteen roundhouse kicks for good measure, but only if you can do the same. Well there are also projectiles and energy attacks, but if you have zero fighting skills then you’ll probably suck at Super Turbo Arena. I do not want this kind of gaming.

Turbo was written and directed by Jarrett Conaway for his MFA at the USC Cinematic School of Arts. Conaway says that he’s a “hardcore gamer”, whatever that means nowadays, and that he likes “Hadokening his friends into submission.” But enough chit chat, here’s the movie. Yes! Here it is, you can watch it right here:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

So? Quite flashy for a student film eh? You think Conaway and his crew can attract major distributors? What do you think of the word “Hadokening”?

[via Destructoid]

sony patents their part of the motion-controlled future

alisha k. — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:02:02 +0000

Move over, Project Natal and Wii-mote: here comes Sony, trying to break into the let’s-make-it-real movement with a new patent for image-scanning with their EyeToy camera. Oh, did you think I meant their oddly-shaped wand controller from E3? No, friends, this is altogether different.

The new patent expands on the combination of wand and camera demonstrated at E3. Now, instead of simply recognizing and identifying that controller, it looks like Sony’s camera will be able to “read” any real-world item, coffee mugs to… is that a magnet? A 2D horseshoe? A giant wooden letter U? Whatever it is, the EyeToy will apparently be able to read it.

Used well, this could really opening up gaming to all sorts of experiences on a level heretofore unseen, edutainment games aside. It’s certainly something to keep an eye on!

[Siliconera via PS3Blog]

they’ve got wii-sports, we’ve got v-sports

technabob — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:40:08 +0000

Too cheap to buy a Nintendo Wii? Then look no further than the latest Wii knock-off to find its way from the streets of China.

The V-Sports console from Hong Kong electronics outfit Rumdes does its best to copy the motion controller concept of Wii Sports, but without any of those pesky Nintendo games. The cheapie game system retails for just ¥8000 in Japan (about $74 USD) and comes packed with 11 sports games that use the included motion controller, making it even more of a bargain basement deal.

And if you act now, the console comes with an additional 10 arcade and puzzle games to keep your mind and reflexes sharp.

From what I can tell, the console plays what are old 16-bit games, modified to take advantage of a rudimentary wireless motion controller. And unlike the real Wii, the V comes in three colors: white, blue and pink, so there’s one each for boys, girls, and everyone in between.

With a real Wii retailing for $249, I suppose you could buy 3 of these instead, but I have a funny feeling that V-Sports console will be less than 1/3rd the fun.