ok good article, some good points. But, your not a major company nor do you think like one. cost will be irrelevant. Mini games, wand, and camera 60$ too good of a deal to pass up. Sony is also doing something you have't thought of nor did you mention. Sony has already started their Eyetoy push. games like eye pet, sing star, and fight night, etc have already incorporated this feature into the ps3. if you have played lbp you almost are certainly intised into going to get a eyetoy.Eye pet is alreaady a success. The wand will be a extra and with 3d coming later in 2010 it doesn't make sense to hate sony

The tone of this article is horrible. I mean, there are some fair points but some of the things the author has written are absurd, for example;

"A big question is: who, exactly, will actually buy a PS3 Wand? Some fanboys will throw their money at Sony every time they release so much as a new replacement game case."

Is it really neccesary to generalise a proportion of playstation owners as fanboys? Fanboys are few and far between and only appear greater in numbers because of the internet.

"There was also a Sony minion narrating the demo, who at one point waxed lyrical about the Wand’s 1:1 movement."

Seriously, do you really need to take a partonising tone over an employee just because he works for Sony.

"Meanwhile, this theoretical competition between Sony and Nintendo would hopefully encourage Microsoft to distinguish themselves as the console manufacturer with the most new and exciting joypad based games."

Havn't you heard of Natal?

That's just a couple of examples from the overriding derogatory tone. If you wan't to be a serious journalist work more on being indifferent, otherwise you made some fair points.

PS3 wand = Wiimote that works
Natal = EyeToy that works

I hope both fail. I won't be able to bear it if they start getting mass media attention and hype. "Ooh look at this new amazing innovative product..." no we've seen both of these before. And the games for them were only fun for a short while.

The main thing is that there's no point in them. Much like how MS is trying to push touch-sensitive tech. I can achieve the same results with a mouse, and with more precision, and it can be applied to more situations.

i hate motion sensing controls on all systems, the one and only type of game i would want it for is a sword fighting game.

pervert will imagin anything is a dido.
a cucumber is a dildo, banana is dildo, a mic is a dildo.

if they have the Wii they probaly will stick the Wii mote up thier ass.

if no one have any problem with the Wii mote, than what is the diffence with the wand except the wand is 1:1 ratio.

xbot soccer mom gonna buy one for herself. win win situation.

she will like the wand more than the xbot father.

Too late...Sony already put it where the sun don't shine.

Bots on damage control. Natal is going to fail hard.

i also dont understand what prototype means... quick rant on the internet!!

When Sony's motion controller was demonstrated at E3, they reminded us that the controller was only a 'prototype' and they were demonstrating what the controller can do.

People who wrote anti-sony articles are clearly nervous that sony will be king of console again.

People who write negative articles about the PS3 deserve to be hung, drawn and quartered.

lluuukkkeeeee, i am your father......

lol eyetoy is last gen, trying to stay relevant with natal. if im going to go motion i rather have nothing in my hands.

hes right, many here and at other sites all said the wii motion is ass and you wouldnt want it, then when sony announced it 3d space or not you all defended it, your all 2 faced but thats the way the world works so i dont care, and dont use natal in this, it has no controller in the hand.

Even if you won't use it, it is better to have more. Can't play is different from don't play.

piratethorn, fair enough but it did happen and now people will deny it .

both sides did it and i dont blame either side for I always want something new for my gaming experience, wand or natal, bring it on, but unlike many here i wasnt crapping on the wii idea and claiming i would quit gaming if sony or ms did this.

knavex because it wasnt how advanced it would be, it was the fact that everyone claimed they wouldn't use a wand period and now they would. its called being a hypocrite, something many here know about.

i agree pirate thorn. but i do like the prospect of natal, not just for the gaming aspect since the controller will always be needed for certain games but the way it can be used to control the console and such....

Geez, sony really let themselves go.

One thing that upsets me is I am a long time player of the ps2 and the natal is just the eye toy plus really, but you see no articles saying they coppied it. Also why can't microsoft come up with cool names for things? Natal? Sounds like nasal, that makes me think snot, and snot is green just like the main color for the xbox brand. Maybe that's how they came up with it.

I think you guys need to see the article the same guy wrote about Natal. It's also on N4G, here:

http://www.n4g.com/xbox360/...

Still think he's an Xbox 360 fanboy?

about how an unreleased Sony product sucks.

Sony must be doing something right.

if i was Wolverine, the unrelenting stench of fear emanating from the hater journalists out there would cause me to go into a berserker rage.

This is Sony's latest take on the motion controllers design which was up on the internet about a month ago http://www.slashgamer.com/w...

Notice how before they said it was strictly a 'PROTOTYPE' hence the design change in this new patent even the design I posted above has probably already been upgraded and changed.

Bots never listen and another thing Natal will seriously fail with all it's lag even something as simple as scrolling through the NXE didn't work properly without lag, Natal lags more then Gears 2 online.

To be honest, neither the Wiimote, PS3 Wand or Natal interest me in the slightest, I will be sticking with my DS3/360 controller for a good while yet.

Awwwww sheit biatchez, the sucksaxis successor is almost here!! Hey, 480p looking dashboard, hideous friends lists, nongames about pets, broken motion controls, no good games..............gee sony, just rename it to Wii and be done with it:/

sony is looking into the future of gaming people hate it.
microsoft still struggling with hardware issues going 4 years, have yet to introduce anything new this generation and left first xbox owners in the dark, people still continue to support them. I dont get it.

Heh Heh....

...they said "hard"!

HEH HEH!

"We’re finding it hard to get excited about the PS3 ‘Wand’.

The device itself has the appearance of a chunky microphone with a neon coloured top, making it look like a cross between a raver’s glostick and a pervert’s sex toy. That’s not so much a problem for us. We care about how the thing is used, not how it looks; and besides, what we’re talking about here is a prototype, which could theoretically differ almost completely aesthetically from the final product. So no, the laughable look of the thing isn’t what’s dampening our enthusiasm.

What is, is that it’s basically just a Wii remote wearing an unconvincing moustache.

This presents something of a problem to Sony fanboys. Forum crawlers who previously spent hours typing badly spelled criticism of the Wii and its control system, now find that one of the ‘proper’ (sigh) consoles is to embrace the idea of a handheld motion sensing stick. Insecure people with an unhealthy attachment to their PS3 are now saying a) that Sony will show Nintendo how motion sensing ought to be done, or b) that Sony have betrayed them by following Nintendo’s lead. Of course, the issue is much more complicated than either of these ideas.

The Wand was demonstrated at E3 (as seen in the video above) by a chap named Anton. The Wand that he was holding was transformed into various objects such as a tennis racquet and a stop sign on – screen in the tech demo. Despite the fact that Anton would have spent hours practising with the hardware and software prior to appearing on stage, he missed the virtual ball he was supposed to be hitting time after time after time. This despite the comedy sizes of both the ball and whatever he was using to hit it at the time. Whether this was down to technical issues or Anton’s incompetence was unclear; but it certainly didn’t get the demo off to a particularly impressive start.

Nonetheless, the demo’s audience gave the demo and the man demonstrating it almost constant, and completely unwarranted, laughter and/or applause. You might be mistaken for thinking that the footage we’ve posted here has had the soundtrack from a Big Brother eviction night, or possibly one of Hitler’s rallies, spliced into it. Sycophancy? Sony plants? Sitcom audience mentality? We’ll probably never know.

There was also a Sony minion narrating the demo, who at one point waxed lyrical about the Wand’s 1:1 movement. “You’ve never seen this before” he whooped. Erm, maybe he hasn’t, but we’ve seen the Wii MotionPlus. 1:1 motion tracking will be old news by the time the Wand makes it into stores; but kudos to Sony for ensuring this level of accuracy will be available straight out of the box.

The second part of the video is the slightly more interesting one, where our good friend Anton wielded two Wands at once to use a sword and shield, and then bow and arrow, on – screen. He seemed to genuinely be having fun, which is what video games are (or at least should be) all about. The problem is, all the ideas for the Wand shown at E3 have already been used in Wii games. It’s nothing new. In addition, there are several problems Sony will face that Nintendo don’t, that nobody seems willing to discuss.

|First of all, there’s the problem that Nintendo have been there first, which we’ve emphasised quite enough already. Secondly, there’s the issue of cost. The Wand is tracked by the Playstation Eye, which means you have to buy two pieces of kit in order to be able to play Wand only games. And of course, if some games require two Wands per player (on the Wii, the cheaper Nunchuk usually plays the role of a second remote), the prospective cost to the consumer goes up still more. This problem could be easily sidestepped by making the Wand and the camera incredibly cheap, but come on people – it ain’t gonna happen

The camera’s tracking of the Wand presents another potential problem. Many gamers like to sit close (too close sometimes, like us) to the TV while they play. Though it may be hard for those too scared to play a Wii game to believe, we’ve never come across a Wii title that couldn’t be played just a short distance from the TV. Will the Playstation Eye’s small lens, in comparison to the Wii’s wide sensor bar, mean gamers will have to sit or stand further from the TV than they’re comfortable with? Time will tell. It’s not healthy to play too close to the screen, which may end up being Sony’s primary defence against criticism if this becomes an issue.

A big question is: who, exactly, will actually buy a PS3 Wand? Some fanboys will throw their money at Sony every time they release so much as a new replacement game case. Others will never touch the Wand with a barge pole, their existing anti – Nintendo prejudices having now put them off the idea of a motion sensing controller forever. Less idiotic PS3 owners will now be carefully watching what games are announced for the thing , and this is of course very much the dark horse of the whole business. The only thing anyone can confidently predict is a tidal wave of mindless mini game collections, designed to milk the casual gamer cash cow. But how many casual gamers own a PS3? Not many at all, judging by the relatively small selection of such games currently available for Sony’s latest console. When the Wand is released, there will still be the standard Wii set available at £180 or less, offering them everything they need to start playing in the box (though they’ll need to buy another remote to play with somebody else, and at least one nunchuk to play boxing). The standard PS3 set will almost certainly be more expensive, plus they’ll need to buy a Playstation Eye, at least one Wand, and a game.

We’ve doubtless come across as a group of grumpy old men who take great pleasure in breaking children’s legs with their walking sticks. Nonetheless, we do believe that the PS3 Wand gives cause for optimism. Despite its worldwide dominance of the video games market, the Wii doesn’t enjoy a huge library of games developed by western companies. If western developers tend to prefer making games for ‘hardcore’ gamers, then perhaps the Wand will encourage them to explore motion sensing. More developers could mean we start seeing this control method used in ways we’d never thought of. This, combined with the new found wiggle waggle control competition, should poke Nintendo into action, once again putting time and energy into exciting new IPs. Meanwhile, this theoretical competition between Sony and Nintendo would hopefully encourage Microsoft to distinguish themselves as the console manufacturer with the most new and exciting joypad based games.

That’s a helluva lot of ifs and buts. With only one demonstration to go on – live, but carefully choreographed – it’s far too early to make a judgement of any value on the PS3 Wand. What we certainly can say however, is that the E3 presentation didn’t promise enough to make us want one."

What happened to SUXAXIS will happen to Wand.

Same as the decision to cut rumble. And first had the banana prototype controller and when the public went apesh!t crazy about it, they had to use the non improved PS2 controllers (and yes, a 10 year old design should be improved and no PS3 fandroids the PS2 controller isn't perfect, far from it).

Sony has no clue what to do with their controllers this gen. Every decision failed, and PS3 dildo will fail again, stuck up Kaz his ars.

someone is feeling hurt by sony's new device but not from 360 natal... I smell fanboy here >_>

touch little milo...he likes to Natal that lil milo guy. huh critical gamer ? huh!?

it does have rumble was on a dev vid

What happened to the SUXBOX 3FIXME will happen to FLOPTAL .. a RUSHED 54% failure rate with another FORCED Billion dollar warranty for FAILTAL.

Not a fan of this article. I think the wand is the best motion controller that has been announced, mostly due to the fact that it is so accurate and diverse. Whatever though, this article is just 1 guys opinion, and the market will dictate its actual success.

reason the title of the article doesnt say put it away MS, is because MS got them xbox boys with gapping holes.

I read the article and agree mainly with MGOelite.

I was knocking the thing, even though it's in an early stage.

Ok so the demonstration didn't work completely right, but at least it was live and it showed.

And also, the Wii will not have HD graphics and if by chance they release a Wii HD, most won't buy it.

But as the PS3 comes down in price and if the wand is included in some bundles and with decent games, remember HD graphics. I think you'll notice alot of wii gamers hooking up on PS3.

And that is SONY'S angle with this. Casual Gamers, mainly and then anyone else.

before sony presents it at TGS.

it's accurate,it works excellently with the camera and allows you to change objects and see it onscreen.it leaves it open for devs to bring their games from wii or create new franchises.

that right there means games are coming and will support the wand.

it has been already stated"there is a lot of hate for sony and ps3."but time and time again,sony knocks them right on their butts with punches.they hate sony's successes.and want to rain on their parade.

bluray,hdmi,reliability,games ,graphics,HOME,firmwares,psp,ps 1,ps2,etc,etc,etc.they hate that sony is continuing to do so well.

so,don't worry about it ps3 fans.you've weathered the storm of blows from haters and the media.they are more vocal,but it will not stop sony from still being successful.TGS is coming.KAZ will amaze,and they will hate some more as they go out and buy ps3s like we said some would since launch.

in the end,we are going to have to get along with some of these hidden haters turned playstation owners.

I'm not reading =/ im tired of praising and bashing motion sensor technology without it having been tested by the writer...its stupid..

One thing is previewing or speculating on a game, or a trend, but a physical experience like motion control can't be commented on like this without test time first...

air1 that wasn't lag as you could clearly see that the virtual bat was tracked at pin point accuracy with the movements of his hands and the first 2 times he completely missed the ball due nervousness.

If you can't tell the difference between lag ana a humans mistake then you have some serious mental problems and you need help.

@Mart. No one liked the banana controller and it almost made people not want to buy a PS3 especially Me. Sony just went back to the PS2 controller because everyone's already use it so why change something that's not broke. Since they've already gone with the PS2 controller they might as well keep it now but I do want to see them come out with a new controller when the PS4 launches because by then the design will be dated.

i havn't even heard of the ps3 wand in like what 2-3months but these sony bashers need something to flame they havnt had anything to bash in a while so they attack something thats in its early stages and not set for release untill late next year, great article critisizing the appearence of a prototype model.

I have never cared about how a gaming device looks. The font used for the name, the shape of a boomerang controller, the boxy shape of a console. As long as the thing works and is not uncomfortable to use, I'm in.

He predicted that PlayMasions would come out in droves to defend the wand and he was right. You all bashed Wii for ''gimmicky'' motion control...but now that your almighty sony is doing it then ''WOW, its gonna be awesome, they'll show Ninty how its really done with true 1:1 bla bla bla'' You all loved the articles that said Wii was a fad but now that the shoe is on the other foot, you're moaning and calling it Ps3 hate. Grow a freaking back bone. I'm gonna post this each time someone defends the wand or cries PS3 Hate because this same guy also didn't have nice things to say about natal but you don't see anyone crying X360 media hate http://www.criticalgamer.co...

@callahan09 Ps3Eye, Ps2 Eyetoy. Are these products the same thing? Learn to read. I asked how Natal was a copy of an Eyetoy which has none of those things.
Next time you address something to me, read my comment properly and reply accordingly.

Another "Sony give up" article. I makes me wonder if everyone is really afraid that Sony might succeed. Sony has had two very successsful systems before the PS3. So just because this one isn't stomping Nintendo and Microsoft's systems into dust this time around they should give up? When the original Xbox, and Nintendo's systems were floundering no one said "Microsoft and Nintendo give up". Even when the Dreamcast was dying no one said "Sega give up". Now an article telling Sony to forget the wands because they might not work out. Sony is on the verge of trumping Nintendo and beating Natal before it even has a chance to be born and they should just junk it because it might not work? No one even mentions that the kind of gamers that play the Xbox 360 would not be the kind of people who would want to use the Natal.I don't think the people who play Gears or Halo will want to jump up and wave their arms around, run in place or shoot pretend guns. I think Sony has more experience with causal gamers then Microsoft.

Exactly that's the thing Sony didn't know how to improve on a well designed controller the only thing I could probably think of is making the hand grip a little fatter but that's about it the rest is good and doesn't need much changing. The analogue sticks are placed exactly where your thumbs are without having you to stretch for one or the other like on the 360 controller making your left thumb stretch for the left analogue stick.

and the 'rumble is last gen' comment was said just to make it look like Sony took it out on purpose but then they later admitted that they had some lawsuit problems and they were taken to caught. Sony couldn't implement rumble until this issue was settled.

Remember the PS3's launch was already planned for November 16th 2006 and the controllers before the lawsuit issue must of had rumble but then were taken out about 3-4 months before launch due to this problem that occurred.

Well i have neither a ps3 or a 360 but this wand seems FAAAAAAAAAAAR better than natal or the wii, being 1:1 like it is. Thats the sort of thing that would make me buy a console. Natal just looks stupid, theres no way it will work properly and definately no where near 1:1 and i dont want to get rid of the controller and use my entire body to control stuff i just want to sit down and at most wave my hands around which is why the wand is perfect!

But I want to SIT when I play games and not flail about like an idiot. I work all day, come home and am tired. Standing up and swinging ANYTHING in ANY-D is retarded.

Now, instead of using all this money for stupid fads, they should focus enhancing the game itself. Just like that guy in the Direct TV add says...we broadcast in a million80p. That would be sweet.

Definitely old tech. Natal is the future. Play Beyond indeed.

Sony should have simply bought the licence to this controller.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1...

http://www.sixense.com/

Looks awesome and does everything the wand does with magnetism. Look at the videos of the controller being used for codmw, Hl2 and l4d. No arms flailing about as the deluded ignorant whingers keep complaining. Plus the controller retains the analog stick(which all motion controllers should btw) so you have the option of still playing analog only - if the developers allow it.

The PC is getting a version in December.

Sheez, Sony annoys me how they want to do everything itself. They better look out as this controller is being shopped to M$.

so yeah how about that instant-on 1080p? whoo.....yeah.....(pause)...wa it, does anyone actually believe that. I think Sony took what nintendo had and gave it the z axis ( for those who don't know, it means depth). I'm personally, elated about the ps3 "wand", and can't wait for more information at TGS '09. Sony's internal studios have never let us down so when it drops next year, expect alot of first party games to follow.

Must be easy to write an article bashing an unreleased product based almost solely upon its looks.

Wow, it looks like ndibu is like, the only person to have read this article! This is why I stopped coming to N4G, because of 99% of the posts above me. The only difference in the comments on this site since the last time I was here is that instead of M$ fanbois fitting till they sh!t themselves, it's PS3 retards doing it now.

Seriously guys, I thought the PS3 crowd we're better than this. You lot make me ashamed to be a PS3 owner.

And while Nintendo have been riding the money train they have somewhat neglected their fans, no doubt does the Wii have amazing game's but they are a rare commodity and seemingly all the more scarce in comparison with Sony's and MS's line-up.

People still buy the Wii despite knowing that they don't offer as strong of a line-up, why? I think it's because people are scared of using a controller because it seems complex to use and it's something that requires a lot of skill to learn. (try to teach your grandma to play using a controller and you'll see how alien it is to them and how reluctant they will be to continue). With motion controls however Nintendo has made it easy to use, i.e. flailing your arms with produce a result and this is what attracts a new demographic to gaming.

Why wouldn't Sony and MS want a piece of that pie? Is it a cheap tactic, I don't think so, it's just business, If Sony manages to make good games using the motion controllers which will undoubtedly have a bundle with both the eye and the controllers then thats all we need to worry about. I mean wouldn't it be cool to finally have a working RTS on console or a with accurate and fun sword fighting in HD graphics?

I think they should hold their tongue until it's release.

Now that Jim Ryan is gone just need to remove Herman Hulst from his position! And maybe give Shuhei the position he deserved.

This gen hasn't been the best for games, last gen consoles are still out there and now there's been talk of the PS6 and Xbox Two for a year or so. Many games this gen will be ported to next gen and the cycle will continue. The re-release of the Neo Geo AES+, games on cartridge for £70 ($95), gaming is going back in time. Gaming has gone pricing mad with the high cost of games, consoles and controllers. The men and women at the top are clueless.

It’s always interesting to hear behind-the-scenes stories like this, especially involving veterans like Shuhei Yoshida and leadership figures like Jim Ryan. That said, there are usually multiple sides to decisions at that level. It could be less about not “listening” and more about differences in long-term vision for PlayStation. Yoshida played a huge role in shaping the brand, so whatever the reason, his impact is undeniable.

If true, and I'm inclined to believe it is, it goes to show that Sony lost their way when they became more western/didn't respect the PlayStation origin story. Andrew House and Jack Tretton did great work, but they also didn't try to fundamentally change the PlayStation DNA. Ryan oversaw the death of Japan Studio and a live service direction.

I already figured this, good lord imagine if Shuhei took over instead, would've been a platinum era 😩

I miss the first three generations of PlayStation. The way they turned PS3 around, we knew they meant business. We were all worried for a bit there around launch. Eventually from 2008 they started shifting slowly. But since Yoshida was fired, it's never been the same. Still enjoy my PS5 daily. I got a backlog dating back to PS2 lol So I'm fine but new games aren't as appealing anymore.

It seems like we were thrown on to the worst timeline possible where everything is too expensive and the wrong people were put in positions that makes the world a shitty place. We could have had Shu as the head of PS but we got the shitty alternative. Same goes for everyone in power around the world. Doesn’t matter the company or country the majority of us got the shitty picks and the world is declining like never before. I do think PS can come out of this because of their studios, talent and IP but they need someone more in touch with gamers leading things like Shu was. They’re still the best place for console gaming imo but it could be much better than it is especially without the massive live service failures. The rest of the world I have a lot less hope for right now. Hopefully the pendulum swings back towards the good ole days but I’m preparing for the worst.

There goes illuminati distraction story

So now there's certifiable proof that Ryan was in fact "fired", as opposed to when it was first announced that he "retired", in order to save face.

There's another guy who recently "retired" as CEO of another large gaming company, after doing a dismantling job as lead for well over a decade.

seems legit, the business man, fires the one who has ideas to move the business forward.

Jim Ryan is the reason why we are entering year 6 since the PS5 launch and many of us don't feel like the PS5 has gotten started as yet.

I hope going forward, we will see a return to form.