@ the thread title it should be: "Sony copies Wii"
Nintendo laughs last on Sony's PS3 announcement
Posted May 09, 2006 at 08:34AM by Kristine S.
Listed in: News
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," said a Nintendo spokesperson to CNN Money.com's correspondent. Indeed, PS3's announcement with regards to their exclusive controller is something to laugh at. The two exclusive controllers look exactly the same but is said to be entirely different. Sony tries to explain that the new controller "is of industry standard." Consoles can come up with the same thing because it's already a given. It's almost saying that nobody owns the rectangle shaped controller and anybody can use the same idea. On one hand, Sony is right, however, could this be a sign of lack of creativity on Sony's end or it could be as complex as corporate espionage.
As E3 dawns another day, we can only wonder if the Xbox360 too will have something like the Wii Mote. More than the controllers, in the end, the question is the prices. With the prices of the Xbox360 and Playstation 3 at $400 to $500, maybe Nintendo will have something up their sleeves if they do announce that their console would only cost the rumored $250. I guess the best option for most of us is to wait for Nintendo's announcement in a few hours. Maybe they might have the last laugh.
Now that E3 is here, one of the things that has fanboys and girls on their toes is the possibility of an up-close look at Nintendo's next-gen console Wii. More than it's controversial name, Wii's controller has really spawned a 'revolution'. Aside from motion-sensitivity, the Wiimote will also contain a small amount of memory, which can be used to store sound files. These sound files can later be heard via the controller's internal mini speaker.
Now how is that a good thing? Example, while playing a FPS game, one can simulate gunshots from the Wiimote; this plus the force feedback is sure to give you a game experience that will surely blow your mind. Or perhaps you can use this feature for communication? Maybe we could just whisper into the controller and send audio via the console to another player's controller.
Hey, some of these may be pure speculations, but we're pretty sure, once you play around with Wii, you'll find other uses for the Wiimote's speaker.
"Teh intarwebz" is in an uproar over the announcement of the PlayStation 3 controller. I myself was laughing myself silly during the announcement, imagining the chaos that would ensue. What stands is that Nintendo fanboys are screaming their heads off about Sony copying Nintendo's idea while Sony fanboys are denying that they ever called the WiiMote a "useless gimmick."
Those of us who have got past this stage can look at it more closely. The two controllers really are not the exact same thing. What's the big difference? One is limited in its function and the other isn't. The limited one, for those wondering, is the PS3 controller.
The PS3 controller senses tilting.
The Wii controller senses motion.
This means that although you can swing a sword (Dragon Quest Swords), aim a gun (Red Steel), throw a ball (Madden Wii), or swing a racket (Tennis Wii) with the WiiMote, you cannot do the same with the Dual Shock 3. What can the DS3 do? It can do little functions like acting like a fishing rod, as a steering wheel for racing games.
In short, the DS3 can be used for minigames or in racing games. It will not have entire gaming experiences built around it. It is Sony's way of 1up-ing Microsoft, not Nintendo.
What will be most interesting is how Microsoft will respond.
