Bitter Nintendo tears

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Popcorn
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Bitter Nintendo tears

Post by Popcorn »

My thoughts are with Nintendo. Ken is a cold and heartless murderer. Exercising a kind of brutal efficiency that is typical of the company, Sony just announced, in case anyone hasn't being paying attention, that the PlayStation 3 controller contains motion sensors that detects when you are leaning and turning the pad in different directions. Sony demonstrated this with a flight simulator featuring a jet that tipped and pivoted in reaction to the player's wrist movements-- now, for the first time, your sister erratically leaning from side to side when going around corners will actually constitute legitimate strategitic initiative.

And, what's more, I can't help but think that putting motion sensors inside a normal pad is actually a far more sensible application of the technology than Nintendo's approach. Now you can have traditional games aided by gyroscopes rather than defined by them; it's the best of both worlds. What does everybody think?

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Post by Segaholic2 »

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Cue the thousands of Nintendo fanboys screaming foul, starting... NOW.

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Post by Popcorn »

I guess it's actually to be expected. When Nintendo revealed the N64, with its analogue stick, Sony suddenly invented the Dual Shock. With rumble.

In case anyone's wondering, the PS3's controller will actually resemble a DS2, but with a USB port on the top. There's an image of it floating about somewhere but I don't have it handy.

Edit: ah, here's a graffiti'd version of it highlighting the different shoulder buttons:

Image
Last edited by Popcorn on Mon May 08, 2006 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Segaholic2 »

Image

Final PS3: Image

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Post by Protodude »

Wow, Sony just totally one-upped Nintendo. Too bad the system is going to be expensive:
Sony's next system to come in two configurations, 20GB hard drive-equipped version to cost $499, 60GB hard drive-equipped model to go for $599.
From some gamespot article.

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Post by FlashTHD »

This is more or less what I thought the Revolution controller would be before it was unvieled - a typical controller with motion sensors built in. I like the idea; unfortunately, Nintendo has already made their big splash with the Revmote, so Sony's coming off as desperate for ideas now. That's not the kind of blow to the Playstation's image they need after revealing that kind of mind-boggling price tag.

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Post by Frieza2000 »

The Wii still has the light-gun feature, so it's not as though they've lost all of their edge. Though I bet we'll be seeing the sudden return of light guns too. Then all the Wii will have going for it is its library of famous old games and its free(?) online play. And the price tag.

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Post by Ngangbius »

Bitter Nintendo tears? More like Sony's getting deseperate especially with the non-retard pack selling at:

Image

And that price doesn't even include at least one game and tax. OY!

I have a feeling that Dual Shock WII is going to be a have-assed Wiimote.

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Post by Green Gibbon! »

So is there any difference between the bullshit expensive version and the super bullshit expensive version other than hard drive size?

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Post by Ngangbius »

The retard version is $500 and comes with 20GB and no wifi support, no HDMI(I believe you'll have trouble playing Blu-Ray movies without this), and no Memory Stick slots.

$600 version has everything the 'tard version lacks and it has a 60GB HDD.

Get ready to work extra hard for it!

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Post by Delphine »

Ngangbius wrote:no Memory Stick slots
...what.

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Post by Green Gibbon! »

I assume Memory Stick refers to the PSP Memory Stick, for data transfer. You probably save actual PS3 games on the hard drive.

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Post by Ngangbius »

=(
Looking at the official press site of SCEA, we noticed that the PS3 with the 20 gigabyte hard drive seemed to lack HDMI support. This seems to be confirmed by an offical press release from SCEA, which indicates via comparison between the two systems. However, it also indicates that the 20 gigabyte system won't have Memory Stick, SD or Compact Flash reading capability or WiFi support. Even worse, it appears that rumble doesn't appear to be included with the new six axis sensing controller.
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/705/705887p1.html

Crippled $500 system for the lose!

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Post by Esrever »

The detection in the PS3 controller is not really the same as the Wii's at all. It can't locate the controller's position in physical space, which means that it can't tell where or how fast the controller as a whole is moving... just what angle its being held on. And of course, it can't detect which way the controller is pointing, which is by far the most promising feature of Nintendo's doohickey.

To use a horrible metaphor, Sony can tell that the moon is spinning, but it can't tell where the moon is, what way it is facing, how fast it is revolving around the earth or which way it is travelling.

That was some pretty impressive technology back when Kirby's Tilt and Tumble came out for the Gameboy, but today it's just a hillariously half-assed attempt to replicate Nintendo's strategy. None of the gameplay examples demonstrated for the Wii would work with Sony's controller... the sword chopping, the fishing, the gun aiming, the RTS pointer controls, EA's weird footbal mechanics. It can't even handle jumping system in the Wii-styled Monkeyball.

It's completely half-assed. An afterthought. And of course, the fact that none of the games being shown for the ps3 actually use the tilt technology calls even more attention to how obviously chucked-in this feature was. Tilting and rotation alone have a drastically limited potential compared to the full range of motion used in Nintendo's controller, evidenced by the fact that none of the Wii developers are limiting themselves to tilt and rotation alone in their own games.

The Wii may wind up being a huge failure, but as heck it sure won't be because of this development. This is weak sauce. I would usually expect much more competent theivery from Sony. I don't think anyone needs to feel particularly sorry for Nintendo right now.
Last edited by Esrever on Mon May 08, 2006 10:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Ngangbius »

If anything, Sony just pulled an "old Nintendo" with this conference. =/ N64 using carts = ridiculous high prices for a 2 Sku console. Heck, this could at least cost them Japan--especially if Nintendo annouces some hot new "non-games" for the Wii.

The only thing that was exciting in the 2 hour snoozefest were the Heavenly Sword, MGS4, and the FXIII footage and the unintentual hilarity of the revealings of Dual Shock Wii and the pricing points. I was also disappointed in that there was hardly any talk about the PSP games other than the PS1 emulation("Riiiidge Racer") and connectivity.

Here's hoping Nintendo's and MS conferences will be much better than this.

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Post by Delphine »

Green Gibbon! wrote:I assume Memory Stick refers to the PSP Memory Stick, for data transfer. You probably save actual PS3 games on the hard drive.
Ah. I don't pay enough attention.

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Post by Ngangbius »

There also haven't been any details if the PS3 tard version also have slots for those old PS1/PS2 memory cards, but Sony can't be that stupid not to include them...

...can they?

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Post by James McGeachie »

Well regardless of whether or not it has all the functions or not, this could've pretty much killed Nintendo's hopes, simply because Sony will be able to plaster "motion sensors" all over their advertising campaign now and most people aren't going to know the difference.

I guess we'll find out the exact situation with Nintendo's conference later.

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Post by Squirrelknight »

Huh. If you're gonna steal somebody else's idea, at least try to improve upon it. Or at least make it work just as well.

What's the point of a tilt sensor without a motion sensor? Is every game going to have an option to tilt my gun sideways gangsta-style? Outside of a motorcycle or flight sim game, I really see no point to this.

Also: 500 dollars for the retard pack is the stupidest shit I've ever heard of, but I'm sure it'll sell a shitload. I mean, if Microsoft can sell a retard pack for a system that barely works at a premium price, Sony can too, can't they?

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Post by Esrever »

It just occurred to me that Sony has basically made the controller we all thought Nintendo was going to make, back before they had unveiled it... a standard controller with gyroscopic movement detection inserted. At the time, I remember how critical we all were about what an insignificant and gimicky addition that kind of addition was on its own.

But maybe that was when Sony first started planning their own motion detection system. It may have been designed to match the controller we speculated Nintendo would make, rather than the one we actually got. That might explain why they didn't replicate any of the more ambitious movement sensing capabilities of the wiimote.

I just have a hard time believing that Sony threw all this together since the Wiimote's unveiling. Even if it is just a dual shock with the tech crammed in, they still would have had to react awfully quick to get it conceptualized, constructed and running smooth in only 8 months. Would they really have bothered to scramble that hard just to piece together an inferior detection system?

I guess some people will be pissed about the loss of rumble, but honestly, I never really cared about that feature anyway. Not that it really matters, since I highly doubt I'd ever drop over a week's salary on a game player, but still!

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Post by Segaholic2 »

I think it's pretty smart of Sony to play it a bit more conservatively regarding the motion sensor feature. Rather than the controller being defined by the function, it's complemented by it. This could play very well in Sony's favor depending on the public's reception (or lack of it) to its addition.

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Post by Dash »

In regards to the "motion sensor", I think Esrever has said my piece for me. This is just another last minute "HOLD ON GUYZ WE HAV THAT TOO" development. And the unvieling on the press conference video? Those guys sounded like total jackasses while demonstrating it and the applause afterward was quite minimal(I believe I even heard a "Boo"). I truly think they underestimate Nintendo. If anything, they just ruined a farily decent showing with this weak retort.

Is it just me, or does Sony's advertising plan seem insanely retarded? At least Mirosoft and Nintendo have the decency to pretty much stick to their main idea(360's networking, Inventive control on Wii), but Sony seems to be changing thier plan constantly, copying thier competitors' notes, and stating "We're all that and a bag of chips!". Their arrogance knows no bounds at this point.

In fact, this reminds me of an article I read on 1up not too long ago. It is a couple months old, but near the end it offers an interesting perspective comparing the PS3 strategy to the N64 strategy:
So, is it desperation or arrogance that's keeping Sony quiet and gamers in the dark? Either way, it's hard to disregard a nagging sensation that Sony is putting itself in a situation awfully similar to where Nintendo was ten years ago. Once upon a time it was Nintendo who was reviled by publishers for its draconian third-party policies, who was criticized by its customers for over-promising and under-delivering on its hardware, who cockily stood atop the industry and expected its brand name to do its hard work for it. And ten years ago, Sony knocked Nintendo's standing in the console race from a strong first to a distant third.

Now Sony seems to be setting itself up for a similar fall. PS3's hardware is rumored to be too complicated for many developers to utilize to the fullest. Worse, the console exclusives that set PS1 and PS2 apart are slowly vanishing as publishers hope to maximize their returns on the rising cost of game creation by releasing key titles on multiple platforms. There's a very real danger that the PS3 could become Sony's N64 -- an impressive, but flawed machine plagued by eroding developer confidence and expensive proprietary media (in this case, BluRay).
Now I doubt it will get quite this bad considering how much of a presence the Playstation brand has, but I do believe Sony has flaws in it's plan as of now(The top one being a lack of real focus) and that could leave it suspect to being bitten in behind by Microsoft's, or even Nintendo's, Junkyard Dog.

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Post by Team Mecha »

None of the gameplay examples demonstrated for the Wii would work with Sony's controller... the sword chopping, the fishing, the gun aiming, the RTS pointer controls, EA's weird footbal mechanics. It can't even handle jumping system in the Wii-styled Monkeyball.
I can see most of those working with just tilting. Especally RTS controls, tilt in 1 direction the cursor goes up, tilt in the other & it does down. As for jumping in monkeyball, there's always the X button. & any additional movement needed could always be taken care of by those stubby sticks.

It's funny, before reading your post, I was thinking the exact same thing as you, but the examples you gave just made me realize how wrong we both are.

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Post by Hybrid »

Actually, Esrever is pretty spot-on when it comes to the lack of ability in the PS3 controller. You can't slash your sword, I can't imagine fishing and if any of you guys have seen those new EGM Twilight Princess scans, you'd know that it would be impossible to do that whole bow aiming thing with a controller that comes in only one piece. I'm not even sure if you can tilt up and down, if you can't that pretty much makes this addition twice as worthless as it was before.

EXTREME TILT PS3 Pinball is about as cool as this feature can get.

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