Its becoming pretty clear that motion controllers that are actually sensitive are going to have a huge impact on the gaming industry, with people of all ages becoming interested again.

So the Wiis fully motion sensitive, while the PS3 has tilt.

Is there patent/copyright issues in the way stopping say PS3 from fully implementing it or Microsoft bringing out one of their own?

It starting to look more and more like this is going to be a big deal, if MS or Sony cant fully implement it in the future they could be missing out in a big way.

I would imagine that there are patent/copyright issues involved (just look at the legal battles that are raging over Bluetooth atm).

That said, the whole deal with a patent/copyright is that as long as your implementation is far enough removed from the original, they cannot challenge you. This means that for Sony and MS to get in on the game they just need to come up with a *different* mechanisim for recording and relaying the movement information back to their hardware.

Tbh if I knew MS was going to bring out a motion controller I probably wouldnt bother getting a Wii.

While the games look fun on the Wii, they probably wouldnt have longevity in terms of the kind of games I like.


Another example of the whole legal crap is with the vibrating - Sonys a bit shafted here. But thats just a licensing issue with Sony not wanting to cough up....

Has Nintendo licensed the tech of a small company or developed it themselves? If its like the vibrating, then MS would just need to be a license fee.

Quote from: KunalTbh if I knew MS was going to bring out a motion controller I probably wouldnt bother getting a Wii.

Lets be Honest... A Star Wars Lightsaber Games will sell Consoles. Prob 100 times the amount Street Fighter 2 sold Super Ns & Xwing sold 486s.

 If one was being developed/in development, then I doubt if MS would let Sony/Nintendo have both bites of the cherry.

Im pretty sure that Nintendo have the copyrights fully written up on their controller. TBH, if they have done it right, it would be very difficult to produce a similar item that doesnt break their patents.

It also depends on previous knowledge and patents.

Quote from: KunalIs there patent/copyright issues in the way stopping say PS3 from fully implementing it or Microsoft bringing out one of their own?

Microsoft brought out a tilt gamepad for the PC years ago. It was called the Microsoft Sidewinder Freestyle Pro



I dare say that if MS wanted to, they could bring out something similar for the Xbox in a heartbeat. A full motion controller would obviously be a different kettle of fish

Quote from: NorphyMicrosoft brought out a tilt gamepad for the PC years ago. It was called the Microsoft Sidewinder Freestyle Pro

(Image removed from quote.)

They were appalling things, I had one and the only useful thing it did was let you programme macros for cheats in games. The motion-sensing was random, the d-pad (look at the angle of it, up is at around 1 o-clock) and buttons were all over the place, and it was huge.

I heard either sony or ms (cant remember which) were working on a wii-style controller. Probably just a rumour but I wouldnt be surprised at all.

I didnt say they were any good, just that they existed. A friend of mine had one, I quite liked it as a joypad but the tilt function was a silly gimmick.

The company tht holds nearly every single patent for these type of things is partially owned by Nintendo and Microsoft.  They bought in when the court cases where brough against them, Sony stuck 2 fingers up and as a result lost the ability to put rumble in, I gather they already had a licencing agreement with the motion sensing.  

MIcrosoft would have a hard time succesfully bringing motion sensiong to the 360 now. It would need a game to make it worthwhile and youll find developers generally dont make games for "special" controllers as they artificially limit the potential number of sales to those that bought the special controller in the first place.

@Kunal - for longevity you can always get Zelda Twilight Princess. That is a helluva big game.

Quote from: Norphy

I didnt say they were any good, just that they existed. A friend of mine had one, I quite liked it as a joypad but the tilt function was a silly gimmick.

I know, Im just bitter cos I spent Ã,£50 on one  :-)

The PS3 controller is like a cut down Wii oddly enough.

They both use accelerometers to detect pitch and turn but the Wii uses IR in conjunction with the bar you put on your TV to work out where your pointing too.

AFAIK the tilt technology is licensed from the accelerometer manufacturer so can be used by anyone (A-la the PS3 and the MS freedom) but the IR bar thing is propriatary. The bar lets the Wii know where the controller is in space and the accel let it know what your doing with it. From what weve tested at work you need both to do a good sword/lightsabre job so if they can get one itll be kick ass on the Wii but not so hot on the others.

Oh yeah, and the speaker on the Wiimote means your sabre sounds will come from your hands and not the tv which would roxor.

Quote from: sdp

Quote from: Norphy

I didnt say they were any good, just that they existed. A friend of mine had one, I quite liked it as a joypad but the tilt function was a silly gimmick.

I know, Im just bitter cos I spent Ã,£50 on one  :-)

Ha ha so did a friend of mine. Average pad but the tilt feature was horrible!!

Motorcross madness was fun with that controller (I think it came free with it ) but apart from that... meh

Quote from: DoomsMotorcross madness was fun with that controller (I think it came free with it ) but apart from that... meh

...for about 3 mins then you realised you had to use the D-Pad to actually have any control!!