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Move over Wii, The Sony Playstation Move has Arrived

Tom Pretty — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:01:23 +0000

Sony Playstation Move Logo

After so much rumour and speculation Sony have finally unveiled their motion controller, named the Playstation Move. Before the event at GDC 2010 many industry commentators had believed that the device would be called the Arc, these beliefs turned out to be wrong however as Sony spokespersons gave the official name as the Move.

The Playstation Move will hit the shops later this year and will be available in a range of different bundle options. Customers that already own a PS3 and Playstation Eye will be able to buy the Move as a sole peripheral to complement their existing set up. Customers will also be able to buy the entire package of a Move and Eye with a game and finally a bundle with a PS3 console and all the peripherals will be available. According to reports the Playstation Eye, Move and game package will sell for under $100 (£66).

At the GDC event Sony demonstrated a number of different games that will work with the Move and Playstation 3. One was a sword and shield fighting game, another was a table tennis game and finally a party style game was shown to highlight how the Move is able to augment reality by overlaying different items over the Move controller. Each of these games showed the deftness of the new Move controller, particularly the table tennis where slight adjustments in force and angle place spin upon the ball. It was also shown how the new controller may be used with existing titles Little Big Planet and EyePet.

As well as the single Move controller a second ‘nunchuk’ style sub-controller was demonstrated with an analogue thumb-stick and buttons. Expect to see a massive marketing effort prior to launch with all mediums from online through to PR and billboard campaigns as well as further information on how the Move will be incorporated into other titles at E3 later this year.

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Sony Playstation at GDC 2010: What we can expect

Tom Pretty — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:55:41 +0000

GDC 2010

This week sees the annual Games Developers Conference (GDC 2010) and all eyes on Sony ahead of the event despite the fact that they are not providing a keynote speech. The reason behind this intense interest in Sony is predominantly down to some of the rumours that are currently circulating in online and traditional media.

One of these rumours, now well established is that Sony is to announce the official name for the Sony Motion Controller that has been dubbed the ‘Playstation Arc’. This name has not simply been plucked from thin air however; industry commentators have taken everything from the acquisition of the PlaystationArc.com domain by Sony, the filing of a trademark for the name within Japan and even comments by Sony employees and external agencies who are now referring to the motion controller as the ‘Arc’. Sony are to hold a talk at the GDC titled “Introducing the Playstation 3 Motion Controller”, hopefully providing a real insight into how this new device will operate with the system and within games.

Another rumour that is now gaining traction is the GDC 2010 will see an announcement concerned with the sequel to Little Big Planet. After buying up the development company of the original title Media Molecule, speculation was rife that this would lead to another title in the Little Big Planet series. Despite Media Molecule refuting the rumours of LBP2 late last year we may see a new version of the fun platformer sooner than first thought.

Certainly GDC 2010 will be an interesting event. The eyes of the gaming industry will be on the Moscone Convention Centre in San Francisco, especially the Sony press conference on March 11th. Stick with Sony Insights for all of the latest GDC developments in the world of Sony Playstation later in the week.

Sony Playstation Arc to be Confirmed Next Week?

Naomi Roberts — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:32:41 +0000

The Playstation Arc controller

Rumours are still abounding that the PS3 motion controller will be labelled as the Playstation Arc. As previously reported, the Games Developers Conference next week is likely to be the place any official announcement will take place but in the last few days there has been further fuel to the fire due to one interesting development.

According to various reports Sony have now trademarked Playstation Arc in Japan; leading many to believe that Arc is going to be the name of Sony’s new motion controller device. Adding to the speculation reports are also filtering through that Konami have filed a trademark for a new game titled ‘Gradius Arc’. These latest developments join the newly registered PlaystationArc.com and hearsay evidence that some employees have been using the Arc title as the most forthcoming evidence for the name of the new Sony Playstation motion controller.

Due out in the autumn this year it seems that the rumours are gaining considerable ground with increasing evidence that Arc will be the name for the device. Our guess is that gamers and industry commentators will have to wait until the Game Developers Conference for any substantiated information on the title, if we are lucky we may even get to see more demos of how the “Arc” will be used.

Sony PS3 Motion Controller Announcement due at GDC

Josh Tait — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:01:17 +0000

the Sony Playstation 3 Motion Controller

Rumours about the Sony motion controller have been rife for some time. Since the launch of the ‘unnamed’ product at last year’s E3 show, gamers have been eagerly awaiting this accoutrement to their Playstation 3 consoles. Recently a name has even been thrown up, the result of Sony purchasing the internet domain PlaystationArc.com. Some of the rumour however may be settled next month as Sony Playstation has announced a special panel at this year’s GDC (Game Developer’s Conference).

It is likely that this panel will provide game developers and the world’s media with some updated information on the Sony Motion Controller. Whether an official name will be provided is still a matter of conjecture but it is likely that we will see new software for the device as well as ways in which it can be integrated by game developers in new titles.

The session has been scheduled to last an hour allowing for enough time for journalists and developers alike to have a proper look at the device. Hosting the panel will be two SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment America) members of staff, David Coombes (Platform Research) and Kirk Bender (Developer Support). What is certain is that this will be an important event for Sony Playstation as they hope to produce a device that will create serious competition to Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Project Natal.

With Sony Playstation stating that they will have around ten games ready at the time of shipping the motion controller (believed to be sometime in the latter stages of 2010), all eyes in the gaming industry will be on the GDC on 11^th March.

The Arc of the Convenient – Is this Really the New Name for the Sony Motion Controller?

Josh Tait — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:24:00 +0000

The new Sony Playstation Arc

Regular readers will be aware that here at Sony Insights we have been keeping a close eye on the Sony Motion Controller for the Playstation 3. A previous post reported that the release date of spring this year had been held back until the autumn, ensuring that the system will be ready and that the launch of the device will coincide with Microsoft’s launching of Project Natal.

At that time, the name of this new controller interface was still a mystery, rumours had been circulating that the device was to be labelled the “Sony Wand” although this seemed more like chatter in the blogosphere rather than a fact based upon any official information.

An official announcement however has still not materialised, that said, the wires are buzzing with the codename ‘Arc’. Rumours of this name had been in existence already, although the sources for the information were dubious at best. Now it seems that more concrete evidence has arisen that the Sony Motion Controller will be named the Arc. Sony has now registered the domain name PlaystationArc.com; this occurred last year and has now been creating rumours throughout the gaming industry.

Of course this could be subterfuge, it could be mere coincidence, it could simply be a very convenient way for Sony to keep the true name for the device a secret. Gamers and those involved in the gaming industry will simply have to wait until an official announcement materialises.