Report: Sony briefing PS3 motion control to developers

Sony is currently showcasing the PS3’s new motion controller to its development partners, providing extended information on the device’s properties.

The new PlayStation Eye-trackable peripheral will integrate force feedback, according to an article at news site Kotaku. The report adds that Sony has already provided “face-tracking and head-tracking capability in the PS3 SDK”, providing developers with “powerful tools for new types of user interaction.”

The direct rival to Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Microsoft’s Project Natal is targeted for launch in under twelve months, with a “Spring 2010” release date pencilled in.

According to a document sent to developers, Sony wants the launch to be complemented with “a range of first-party and third-party content” and is hoping studios will together provide the device with a range of games that cross between casual and core.

The peripheral is also expected to work in tandem with the PlayStation Eye’s built-in microphone for voice input and recognition. Again, offering a direct alternative to Nintendo’s underused Wii Speak mic and Project Natal’s own voice recognition technologies.

Much like motion control itself, voice input/recognition may now play a notable part in the future of game design, with all three home consoles (particularly the PS3 and Xbox 360) providing necessary technology for third party developers and publishers to create voice-enabled multiplatform games.

Motion control tracking currently has a notable effect on the PS3’s performance, according to Sony, in that the "motion-tracking library has some SPU overhead and has an impact on memory as well, although these will be minimized."

Despite this, Sony claims that the PlayStation Eye can withstand inputs from four motion controllers simultaneously, and is even suggesting that the PS3’s standard controller could be used in tandem with the new peripheral (using the example of the controller as shield and the wand as sword).