Eurogamer have posted up an interview they had with Michael Tombroff from Softkinetic… don’t feel bad if you don’t know who he is though as most wouldn’t have heard of him.
Apparently Softkinetic have been working on a motion detecting peripheral for quite some time which not only is better than Kinect but can also be easily integrated with any existing console or electronic manufacturer.
While none of that is overly interesting or backed up with any evidence what is interesting from the interview is when he was asked by Eurogamer if we will be seeing his technology included with the PS3 or PS4 he had this to say
“Maybe. As long as I say maybe I don’t commit to anything. But yes, maybe.â€
and then when probed as to whether or not he has spoken to Sony he answered
“I’m under NDA. I cannot tell you. By saying that, the answer is yes, but we cannot talk about itâ€
So basically yes he has spoken to Sony and it’s possible that they will take him up on his offer and include his motion controlling technology in the future.
I think it’s becoming obvious that whether you like it or not motion control is here to stay and all the consoles in the next generation are going to be motion enhanced in some way or form.
Source: Eurogamer
Last Updated: August 25, 2010
Fox1
August 25, 2010 at 11:46
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wii HD grabs this tech first :pouty:
Bobby Kotick
August 25, 2010 at 11:54
Dear god no! :pouty:
RSA-Ace
August 25, 2010 at 12:41
I still think a combination of Kinect and Move is the way to go. I mean Move is already using a camera. You may as well stick a depth sensor in it…
Grant Hinds
August 25, 2010 at 13:51
Well, they kinda have to right?
AC!D
August 25, 2010 at 21:42
The PSeye already has depth on the Z axis. Didnt you watch the Dr Richard Marx tech demos? The one where he reaches into the level to place lego blocks on top and adjacent to each other. Also the demo with the flashlight showed this. The PSeye has voice recognition and head tracking capabilities also e.g peak around cover in Killzone 3. Those are the 3 features that seperate the Move gameplay from the Wii mote. The only thing Kinect does that PSeye cant is recognize the skeletal structure and map the 23 or whatever number of joints Kinect tracks. This was downgraded by the way because Kinect was originally touted to be able to sense the joints in your fingers also to allow for games like an FPS. Unfortunately it seems all that tech was too expensive and Kinect has been downgraded a lot.
AC!D
August 25, 2010 at 21:47
Well technically if they wanted to they could. I really dont see what they would need this company for though since Sony pioneered most of this casual hands free gaming with R&D into eye toy though, which makes me skeptical about the article unless this does something extra we dont know about.
RSA-Ace
August 26, 2010 at 07:41
The PSEye doesn’t have a proper depth sensor. The Move can be seen in a 3D space because of the glowing ball (it measures the size to know how close the person is). All camera’s can have head tracking capabilities.
AC!D
August 26, 2010 at 09:39
@RSA-Ace: The Move controllers are therefore by extension your limbs, weapons or tools to play on the Z axis so whats your point? What other type of depth gameplay could possibly be better and even confortable? Do you want to be moving around your small limited kinect area of operation in fron of your TV to pretend your moving in a room? That sounds uncomfortable to me. Gamers are already conplaining they dont want to be standing so i struggle to see what kind of implementation in games you are looking for with this depth sensor? Just because the tech sounds cool it doesnt mean it will play cool. Now depth in virtual reality is cool but thats years and years away. All cameras can have head tracking except the Wii which was what i was trying to get at not to make it out as some kind of cool feature but to educate ppl on Move because everyone seems to have some agenda for Kinect and against Move here.
By the way the Ruse Devs have also come out and said they prefer move input vs mouse and keyboard input just as Brian Crecent on Kotaku also prefered them. Another win for Move and RTS gaming. Im also busy playing Dead Space Extraction at the moment and the accuracy to dismember enemies is unbelievable. You guys are going to love Dead Space Extraction in HD with Move. I highly recommend you guys order the Limited edition for Dead Space 2 if you have the Move controller.
AC!D
August 26, 2010 at 09:41
Also well dont to Move for beating out Kinect and winning tech of the show at Gamescom.
RSA-Ace
August 26, 2010 at 11:30
I can’t wait to try RUSE out with Move, and I already have MAG so that should get a patch soon so I can see what a FPS is like with Move. I’ll also definitely be getting the Dead Space 2 LE.
I think the site is actually favouring Move. The amount of negative press Kinect has been getting (deservedly) has opened some eyes…
Kinect as a User Interface controller, as apposed to a gaming controller, is where my interests are.
Oh and btw I preordered 2 Move and 1 Sub-Controller about 2 weeks ago :tongue:
Geoffrey Tim
August 26, 2010 at 11:41
I’ve neither seen – nor written – anything on this site promoting a Kinect agenda over move. At all.
Gavin Mannion
August 26, 2010 at 11:46
You got a link to the story about Ruse developers preferring the Move vs Mouse/Keyboard?
RSA-Ace
August 26, 2010 at 12:13
http://iwaggle.blogspot.com/2010/08/ruse-senior-producer-move-experience-is.html
Nick de Bruyne
August 26, 2010 at 12:23
Isn’t the Move ball like a big version of the those tiny ones they use in Motion Tracking? Makes sense no? Or does it work differently?
RSA-Ace
August 26, 2010 at 12:53
It’s exactly the same. But the Move also has internal sensors – “a three-axis linear accelerometer and a three-axis angular rate sensor, are used to track rotation as well as overall motion” and an “internal magnetometer”.
AC!D
August 26, 2010 at 13:48
Just follow RSA-Ace’s link.
If this piece of news surprises you then wait till you play a FPS with Move. The accuracy and precision of movement in my opinion kills the mouse and keyboard. Ever wonder why Sony arent adding Move support for old FPS games like KZ2 and Resistance? Because the games would become too easy. AI and enemies would have to be completely reworked. This was confirmed by Retro studios before they released the Metroid Prime trilogy.
They had to do a lot of tweaking and rework a lot to make Metroid 1 and 2 work.
Like i said though dont take my word for it go try it out for yourself. I keep writing these Move comments because there seems to be a lot of mis-information going around. Like Wii motion plus has nothing to do with FPS and pointer games. It improves gesture gameplay like swinging a club. The amount of lag when playing a FPS shooter with MOVE/Wii Mote ( Without motion plus ) = the amount of input lag from a Dualshock controller in that same FPS. Gesture lag like in the Fight lights out is an entirely different story and thats where developers and the media are reporting that Move has less latency in gesture lag than the Wii remote with Wii motion plus attached.
Also lastly id just like to say that im one of you guys and id like to keep my motion controls out of most games like Uncharted, The Last Guardian, inFAMOU2, GT5 or GOW et. But i hate to see the potential this device offers for FPS, and RTS get a bad rap because Move works brilliantly in those genres. Also think how much easier the play, create share genre will be using Move to build tracks and levels in LBP2 and ModNation Racers. Move will work with the right games e.g MGS Rising, Portal 2, Resident Evil 5, Silent Hill, Dead Space 2, Ruse, Command and Conquer, Civilization,Red Steel, Flower, action RPG’s like sorcery and many others.
Lets hope Valve hear us and add Move support because that would be awesome with Portal 2. Hopefully steamworks on PS3 helps us get this point across to them.