This is one of many posts you will see from me based on what I call ” Six Degrees of Sony (shamelessly stolen from Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, or The Oracle of Bacon take your pick). Since Sony as an entity is so large and it’s reach extends so far, if it touches the Sony multiverse, in a logical way it will be covered. Don’t worry, I won’t cover a bagel shop in CA because, a friend of a guy heard from a dude that Jack Tretton ate there once…well not unless Jack asked me to personally And now back to your regularly scheduled article.
Netflix Watch Instantly has become what I call a “virtual video appliance” to me and I am not sure when it even happenned. Whether it’s watching a movie, tv show, or just picking a film to watch a certain clip of on the PS3, it’s one of those many things I just use and don’t even think about anymore. And Watch Instantly is about to get a big upgrade, one that will make a lot of PS3 users happy.
As originally sourced by cnet Watch Instantly is set for a big upgrade sometime this year: 5.1 streaming and closed captioning. No details have been provided on when this will be available and what titles will be included, but it’s nice to see Netflix advancing their technology with no mention of a price increase for said upgrade. For those of us where the PS3 is the central part of the home media center, aggregating all sorts of different content, this is a welcome addition.
Now all we need is a standalone PS3 client which can’t be too far behind…
As promised, more on the PlayStation Move. At The Engadget Show which aired this past weekend, Dr. Peter Marks and Anton Mikhailov arrived to chat and show off the move.
From the show, you really get a sense for all of the different applications that the hardware can be used for, and why Sony chose to bring it to market now. One of the most amazing tech demos shown is hard to describe. Imagine a 3D environment comprised of live video, photos and a map that you can bend, move, resize and place almost anywhere you want in this virtual space. Creation of images, shapes, and screens are all done using gesture based control converging on the same screen (think John Anderton). I can’t honestly see augmented reality ever getting old.
Now imagine being able to use the Move controller to manipulate the camera, looking up, down, left, right and being able to zoom in on any part of this virtual room/display. It sounds out there, but it’s not. And it all runs amazingly well on what are just tech demos. It’s easy to see a future where, instead of just a virtual tour of the U.S. Supreme Court, you actually walk through it, interact with it, and pick up items and read them. The multitouch demo was easily one of the most impressive things I have seen in a long time. To see it all in action, check out the replay of the show and fast forward to about the 43:34 second mark:
Dr. Marks also addresses why, from the time he started working on this type of tech back in 2004 until now, it finally arrived on the scene. Of all the factors involved, one of which was CPU consumption. Apparently the PS2 Eyetoy consumed aproximately 25% of the consoles power right off the top, making it more difficult to present this as viable option to developers, when the accessories market was a tough one to compete in. He also explains that Sony investigated the same type of tech Microsoft is using for Natal, but chose to go a different route because it was felt that to offer the type of experience they wanted, hand and body based gestures only would be too limited.
During the conversation the subject of lag came up (at round the 1:03:34 mark), and Dr. Marks commented on the latency delay of 22 ms that was seen on screen. He added things such as television delay and display delay are things that are out of their control. Anton later added that what we are looking at now is just raw output before any filters or tweaks have been applied. Given how well things ran, I can’t wait to see what happens when the development community really starts understand exactly how to use the Move system and make compensations if required.
After the event, Engadget went one on with Anton Mikhailov. After playing a full game of Move Party, they had a brief, but informative interview. He revealed several key things such as the multitouch demo was literally written by himself and Kenny Hoff the day before, and that they are able to generate this content fairly quickly. The tech demos are included the SDK he went to say, so developers are able to see what can be accomplished. He also reiterated the same thing Dr. Marks eluded to earlier: the power of the PS3 is making this possible. Given the computational abilities of the Cell Broadband Engine, the PS3 is handling the image processing since it excels in that area. This allows a lot more more processing power to still be available to developers in generating their content. I definitely suggest watch the interview video below:
With E3, just around the corner, if Sony is releasing this much now, we can be sure they will have something exclusive to show in the coming months. It’s time to go look for my standing in line/camping gear again..
The launch of what Sony describes as their new “virtual platform” continues to gain steam: The PlayStation Move. Since the announcement at GDC 2010, it’s clear Sony is placing itself squarely in the versus position against the motion rivals of Nintendo and Microsoft. Adding to the “It Only Does Everything” marketing slogan since the launch of the PS3 Slim, a whole new segment of users seeking a motion experience are now looking at the PS3 as a viable option. And the existing install base has yet another to reason to be happy about their PS3 investment.
With news updates, and changes always constant, this will be more of a follow up, hitting the high points, and defining what we know and what we don’t. If you are considering a motion gaming solution, or have questions about if the Move is for you, this should help. I will try to aggregate as many links as possible, to give our casual readers a high level overview of what this is all about.
In a Nutshell what is the PlayStation Move?
The Move is Sony’s entrance into what is being defined as the “motion gaming” category. This allows having a players actions made with the controller to be analyzed, and then translated into gameplay on screen. Interactive titles such as tennis, bowling and racquetball can now be carried out (as they are on the Wii) by performing movements similar to the actual action. As the underlying technology is much different than that of the Wii, it allows movements to be more accurately translated in the gaming space. To get an idea of Sony’s direction, I would suggest watching the Sony GDC 2010 press conference located here:
What additional hardware is required?
Initially, just The Move and the PlayStation Eye. The Move will connect via Bluetooth to your PS3 and the PlayStation Eye is connected to any available USB port. To take full advantage of the experience however, the additional Sub controller should be added, and it connects using Bluetooth as well.
What are those colored balls on top?
Inside the ball is a light that the PlayStation Eye camera uses to track the controller. The ball can emit any red, blue or green color, depending on design, but this is not yet clearly defined. From the demos shown thus far, it appears just a random color is being used.
Do I really need all the devices for this to work?
The Move has a ball on the end that lights up and is tracked in real time by the PlayStation Eye which is crucial for the system to position and track in 3d space. The Move also has a three-axis gyroscope and three-axis accelerometer which also work in conjunction to figure out your orientation and movement. From what we have seen thus far, the majority of games absolutely require at least 1 of these devices.
As the PlayStation Eye does the real time tracking and relaying dating back to the system for processing it’s an integral part of the system, and what sets it apart from it from other devices. Adding an Eye also gives you the ability to use it on the PS3 beyond just the move, for things such as video conferencing with friends and family who have internet access and also have an Eye. All in all a good utility and it’s set to be bundled with the starter kit.
PS3 Eye Camera
The Sub controller is slightly different. While it doesn’t have any of the same motion sensing hardware inside, it does allow for a subset of movements (hence the name) that can’t be done with the just the Move. For example, bow and arrow target shooting requires the action of holding the bow (using the Move), but also the action of creating tension to propel the arrow by pulling back (using the Sub.
How does the differ from the Wii?
From a technology standpoint, the implementation and design of the systems are completely different. Both systems offer motion gaming, but given the power of the PS3 in comparison to that of Wii, it allows for a more realistic experience to be created on the PS3 (especially in area of providing HD graphics). Further given the stronger online infrastructure of the PSN, users could feasibly play against each other online, as well as be able to purchase additional content or mini-games as they are created.
What games will be available at launch?
At this point, we aren’t entirely sure. A unnamed game is set to be part of the starter kit and it could be anyone of the following shown from the conference. Here is the assumed list based on what was displayed:
Move Party (working title)
Sports Champions (working title)
SOCOM 4
Slider
The Shoot
TV SuperStars
Motion Fighter (working title)
Brunswick Pro Bowling
Jack Tretton/President and CEO of SCEA stated that the move is being supported by over 36 titles, so be assured there will be more announcements before launch.
How much will it cost and when it is available?
A firm date hasn’t been provided beyond by the “holidays” which could really be anytime between now and December.
Sony did go on record stating the starter kit would be below $100 dollars and it would include the PlayStation Eye, The Move and an unstated game (which I imagine to be Sports Champions). No word has been given yet on the cost of additional controllers or if they will be bundled in any fashion (such as Move and Sub pack). There will also be a PS3 bundle including the Move, Eye, and a game bundle.
Any current issues or concerns with the hardware?
The lag of the device has been a topic of concern. Sony had stated the lag to be under one frame. In an attempt to verify this Digital Foundry did their own analysis of lag at GDC by making a fast on screen movement and then counting the frames between when the action is carried out after filming it on a Kodak Zi6. Admittedly not the most accurate test, but it put lag at 133ms.
Given the nature of the test and how it was performed, it’s hard to say what if any impact this will have on the device. Keeping in mind that some of what Sony showed were tech demos and or pre-alpha code, it’s hard to take the initial test and apply it to what will occur when the device finally ships. From what we have seen, even at this early stage, games appeared to be responsive, and for the most part fluid. Sony plans on having this become an integral part of their strategy moving forward, so I am sure any issues will be addressed prior to launch.
Hopefully if you weren’t familiar with the Move, you are now. As more and more details continue to surface, much like McFadden and Whitehead, we will continue to be on the Move.
And now back to your regularly scheduled article.
