Sony Computer Entertainment researcher Richard Marks provided a glimpse of the prototype controller at the Japanese firm’s press conference at the open of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
“It’s more distinct and cool feature is a glowing sphere on the end that the PlayStation 3 eye can track,” said Marks, as a colleague wielded what looked like a pair of television remote controls with lights on the tips.<\/p>\n
The camera tracked the player’s movements, and software translated his movements to onscreen characters wielding swords, racquets, flashlights, maces, guns, baseball bats, and other implements.<\/p>\n
“We want to enable gamers,” Marks said. “We expect very casual players.”<\/p>\n
Nintendo is credited with opening the videogame market to new legions of “casual” players with family-friendly Wii consoles launched in 2006.<\/p>\n
Nintendo on Tuesday showed off Wii MotionPlus gizmos that enhance the precision of the consoles motion-sensing wand controllers.<\/p>\n
Wii offers controllers shaped like television remotes, car steering wheels, guns, and bathroom scales.<\/p>\n
Nintendo said it will release Wii MotionPlus gadgets, essentially cubes that plug into bases of the consoles’ wand-shaped controllers, in the United States on July 26.<\/p>\n
French videogame powerhouse Ubisoft is releasing a “Your Shape” videogame designed for Wii that uses a camera to scan players’ bodies and replicate them on-screen, where a virtual trainer coaches them through exercise routines.<\/p>\n
Ubisoft said it worked with Nintendo to develop a camera to scan players’ body shapes into consoles for an exercise game that gauges what shape people are in, lets them set fitness goals and tracks progress.<\/p>\n
“Your Shape” is to be available in time for the year-end holiday shopping season.<\/p>\n
Microsoft revealed on Monday that is has been secretly developing technology that lets people play videogames using natural body movements instead of hand-held controllers.<\/p>\n
The US software giant behind Xbox 360 videogame consoles revealed a prototype of a project code named “Natal,” a system that combines cameras and voice and face recognition software to recognise people and their actions.<\/p>\n
Natal lets people play driving games by simply moving hands as if turning a car steering wheel. In-game characters in boxing, skateboard, soccer and other sports titles mimic the body movements of real-world players.<\/p>\n
The system scans faces and voices to determine who is playing, a demonstration showed.<\/p>\n
Xbox 360 consoles equipped with Natal will be able to respond to spoken commands for actions such as playing movies or connecting online with friends for video chats.<\/p>\n
An expected completion date for Natal was not disclosed, but Microsoft on Monday released a software kit for videogame makers interested in designing titles to take advantage of Natal’s capabilities.<\/p>\n
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime on Tuesday said “physical reality has become the new proving ground for videogame innovation”.<\/p>\n