Among several expected announcements at Sony's E3 keynote, the company also introduced a surprise, the Wonderbook, which serves as a complement to the PlayStation Move system. The device, designed in conjunction with Harry Potter author JK Rowling, serves as an input device for interactive augmented-reality features in virtual books and other educational content.
Sony is introducing two new Move-related PlayStation bundles for the holidays. The first combo packages the motion controller with Sports Champions and Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest. The second package bundles a PS3 console with accessories and Everybody Dance.
Sony is ramping up production of new PS3 bundles for the holiday season. SlickDeals has leaked shots of outer boxes taken by a Sony worker of several of the new console and gaming packages. They are expected on store shelves in time for Black Friday promotions the day after Thanksgiving.
Sony as promised has taken its developer kit for the PlayStation Move live. Move.me lets users create custom uses for the motion controller using a combination of a computer, a PS3, and the requisite PlayStation Eye camera. Examples of the uses can range from pure gaming to educational and even rehab programs where the controller can retrain muscles.
An unconventional rumor on Monday has Sony being much closer to the release of the PlayStation 4 than once thought. Foxconn and Pegatron would reportedly start production in late 2011 with the expectation of a launch sometime in 2012. The system described by Digitimes' supply chain sources would copy Microsoft and introduce a Kinect-style full body control system.
Sony's E3 keynote saw it bring out a surprise TV designed specifically for PS3 gamers. The 24-inch 3D Display is intended to make 3D gaming cheap and costs just $499, even with active shutter glasses in the box. It also carries a trick still rare for 2D players: it can show separate images for players on the left and right sides, allowing split-screen on one display without either easily snooping on the other.
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) today announced that the cumulative sales of its PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system has reached a milestone of 50 million units sold worldwide, as of March 29. SCE also announced that sales of the PlayStation Move have surpassed 8 million units worldwide as of April 3. First introduced back in November 2006, the platform now boasts 75 million registered users and tens of thousands of game, music video and movie downloads available through the Playstation Store.
Khronos today established a standard that would provide a common platform for touch and motion controls. StreamInput would be a royalty-free programming interface for not just touchscreens but haptic (vibration) feedback, motion sensors like the PlayStation Move or Wii remotes, and even depth camera systems like Microsoft's Kinect. Augmented reality apps, games, and others with advanced controls could keep every device in sync and use extensions to easily add new methods as they come about.
Sony's PlayStation 3 accessory, the Move, will get a devoted app that will help developers extend the usefulness of the motion controller. The company made this announcement at the Game Developer's Conference on Thursday, and the Move.Me app will give hobbyists and academics access to the Move's technology. With this access, new applications can be developed using a PC, the Move controller, the PlayStation Eye and the PS3.
Razer had an unusually strong presence at CES this year and brought two big devices: its Hydra motion controller for computers and its Switchblade handheld PC, both of which we saw first-hand at the show. The Hydra was the truly functional example and impressed us with a specially optimized version of Valve's Portal 2. The new version had a handful of new objects and puzzles designed around the controller's dual motion, dual analog stick setup.
Vudu has begun rolling out its new version 2.0 User Interface for its online streaming movie rental service. The first device to receive the update is the Sony PlayStation 3, which only a month ago began offering the Vudu service to its users. Also added to the update for PS3 users is the ability to now use the Move controller in addition to the DualShock 3 controller as a remote.
Sony rolled out its Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity streaming service in the UK and Ireland on Wednesday, adding it to the PS3 console. It is due to arrive in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, New Zealand and the US sometime next year. Previously, it was only available on the PSP and Bravia TVs, and in limited regions such as the UK. The expansion should help Sony reach its newly announced target of selling 15 million PS3 units in its fiscal year, which ends on March 31.
EA chief John Riccitiello in a new interview called on Nintendo to cut the price of the Wii in half. The launches of Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's PlayStation Move meant that Nintendo could no longer count on motion gaming and its own games to sell systems anymore. A drop to $99 would reverse the recent slump, Riccitello said in the Industry Gamers chat.
Following up on Microsoft's announcement that it has sold 2.5 million Kinect body motion controllers for the Xbox 360, Sony revealed that it managed to sell 4.1 million Move controllers for its PS3 since the add-on launched in September. It didn't say how many of these were attached to PS3 bundles versus stand-alone consoles.
Children 12 and under want an iPad even more than the game consoles that have almost always topped their lists for several years, Nielsen said today. About 31 percent of those aged six to 12 wanted an iPad, trumping both computers and the iPod touch at 29 percent each. Nintendo's DS line was stopped at 25 percent, while the PSP was well behind at just 14 percent.
Nintendo has regained the top spot in US console sales after four months of Xbox 360 leads, according to NPD data. The DS got back its top spot in October and, along with the Wii, made Nintendo the only console maker to see its average sales per week go up. The DS and Wii were likely to see big jumps this month and in December as the holidays were likely to give Nintendo a boost.
Microsoft's Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360 may outsell Sony's competing Move controller for the PlayStation 3, according to a forecast published by research firm IDC. Kinect sales are expected to fall somewhere between 2.5 million to 3 million units in the US for the fourth quarter, while Move shipments could fall between 2 million and 2.25 million.
Sony today said it had shipped 2.5 million PlayStation Move controllers in just a month. About one million have arrived in the US while another 1.5 million reached Europe. The sales rate was also billed as very high, to the point where Sony's hardware marketing lead John Koller told the LATimes the Move was often at or near shortages.
Sony took advantage of the wake of the PlayStation Move launch to launch a new PlayStation Move EyePet bundle. The kit includes the primary Move controller and PlayStation Eye from the original bundle but drops in a copy of the creature care game EyePet. Sony pitches it as a way for PS3 owners to get their children started on Move.
No sooner had Sony’s marquee peripheral, the Playstation Move, hit North American shelves today, it has immediately been stripped by the iFixit team. The teardown yielded two significant surprises. The motion controller is very easy to dismantle by comparison with most devices, the repair team first said.
Two days ahead of its official promised launch, the PlayStation Move peripheral is already listed on Amazon. Included in the $100 package is the PS Eye camera, one motion controller and a copy of the Sports Champions game. Amazon can ship the bundle locally within one day, so users can get it before the official release date on Sunday.
Microsoft managed to repeat its rare lead in console sales again in August as it outsold Nintendo's DS in the US, according to NPD data for the month. The slim Xbox and its new Arcade counterpart moved 356,700 systems last month where the DS fell well behind, at 342,700 systems. The gap was widened partly by Madden NFL 11, which sold over 920,000 copies just on the Xbox 360; the best-selling game for a Nintendo system, Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii, only sold 124,600 copies.
Hillcrest Labs this morning revealed that it's responsible for the motion technology behind the remotes with LG's LX9500 HDTVs. The Magic Wand remotes the TVs use to support mouse-like pointing are based on the same Freespace motion sensing used in Hillcrest's own Loop pointer. The system is relatively accurate, compensates for Wii-like jittering and uses RF wireless to eliminate any need for a direct line of sight.
Sony used the Gamescom expo today to bring its 160GB and 320GB PS3 systems to the US. Both are direct replacements for the 120GB and 250GB consoles and use the same slim design as before, although they will ship only in black where their Japanese counterparts have a white option. The 160GB model is already shipping and will cost the same $299.
Sony is reportedly preparing to introduce a lower-price PS3 bundle containing a Move controller, Eye camera, DualShock controller, and a game. The confirmed bundle features a 320GB PS3 with the same Move gear for $399. The unannounced package is said to include a 120GB PS3, bringing the total price down to $349, an unnamed source has told Gamervision.
Sony at its E3 keynote detailed the PlayStation Move and a paid subscription service, PlayStation Plus. Move will come in several different options that include a $50 stand-alone controller, a $30 navigation controller add-on, and a Sports Champions bundle that includes the necessary PlayStation Eye camera, a Move wand and the namesake game for $100. A PS3 bundle will carry the game, Eye, Move controller and Sports Champions for $400.
Sony is planning large refreshes of the PS3 at E3 this week in sync with the launch of the PlayStation Move, last-minute tips confirmed today. Capacities would roughly double from 120GB and 250GB to 250GB and 500GB, and both would be available in Move bundles. Wi-Fi should get an upgrade at the same time with a boost to 802.11n from the earlier 802.11g.
Microsoft hopes to sell "at least" five million Project Natal controllers this year, two insiders said late Thursday [subscription required]. The sources didn't provide the exact launch date or price but implied to the WSJ that the target was aggressive, as the motion controllers would only ship late in the year. Microsoft has publicly touted Natal as one of its most important launches.
Sony may have revealed some of its plans for E3 next week through a promo page for its new wave of 3D-capable home electronics. The PS3 category shows the line starting at $200, or a full $100 less than it does today. Clicking through or visiting other sites still shows the original pricing, but the splash page makes no indication that the price is temporary.
Microsoft's Project Natal could be an expensive peripheral if a rumor from a "trusted" insider is true. The device could cost as much as $149 by itself and might make the most sense only as part of an Xbox 360 bundle, where it would cost $299 for an Arcade console with the motion controller. The Edge source added that it was targeted for an October 26th launch, consistent with earlier rumors, but that it could move weeks forward or back depending on conditions.
Nintendo could change the multi-player gaming on the DS and Wii to follow the Xbox Live model, the company's development head Shigeru Miyamoto said in an interview on Friday. While the current system is free both to browse and to play online, the Super Mario creator floated the possibility to Edge of either charging for most content or offering extras to those willing to pay. Nintendo is " less active than [it] should be" in the online subscription space, he said.
Sony at its GDC keynote this evening finally unveiled the PlayStation Move, the finished version of its long-in-progress PS3 motion controller. The end product has the design shown from before but lets players pick one of four colors for the "orb" the PlayStation Eye camera uses to track movement. It now also has a companion Move Sub-controller with a directional pad that, much like Nintendo's Wii nunchuk, provides regular control for menus or games that need a d-pad and motion at the same time.
