Rumor: Sony's 'break apart' PS3 controller in the works

by Nick Doerr { Jun 13th 2008 at 3:00PM }

A little while back, we heard inklings of a Wii-like controller for the PS3 making its rounds in focus group testing. It seems those rumblings have been moved into the next stage: working units of said new remote may have already been delivered to some developer partners, sources say.

The reasoning behind this controller is simple -- create similar games that made the Wii such a huge hit and perhaps the PS3 will gain a bigger audience as well. The system's got pretty much everything else under the sun as a feature (insert in-game XMB stab here), but is creating their own Wii-mote a bit too far for Sony to step?

Tags: controllers, sony, wiimote

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Devin @ Jun 13th 2008 3:05PM

With only 1.7 years into the 10-year lifespan for the PS3 I think that Sony is making a good decision to try and offer a controller like this. Let's just hope they can offer software that can support it unlike the PS EYE and it's cool demos.

Wayne @ Jun 13th 2008 4:51PM

Yeah what's with the PS Eye? I want more games for that thing!!

Dante @ Jun 13th 2008 3:10PM

i think it should be cool! if peopel dont htink its a gd idea, they dont have to buy them, but if they are into the idea! it could be really cool!

deaftly @ Jun 13th 2008 4:52PM

wow.......

PS3Fanboy @ Jun 13th 2008 4:02PM

Exactly, only people who will complain about Sony stealing from Nintendo will not want this. Heck, even 360 is supposedly having something similar in the works. Thats a good thing, competition. With the motion sensing thing on the PS3, who wouldn't want a HD-Wii.

mahunoy @ Jun 13th 2008 4:00PM

Since you asked for it... and here it is!

http://kotaku.com/5016071/

[MXL] Billy @ Jun 13th 2008 3:29PM

interesting

Jerses @ Jun 13th 2008 5:37PM

bluetooth :P

shooter_mcgavin @ Jun 13th 2008 3:23PM

i think that the fact that you can connect your Wii-Mote to your ps3 has somthing to do with this

Devin @ Jun 13th 2008 4:02PM

Holy crap! You can connect your Wii remote? How do you move the mouse? What does the sensing if the sensor bar doesn't connect to the PS3? How does it work?

Devin @ Jun 13th 2008 4:03PM

How does that work? Where does the sensor bar plug into the PS3?

ViagraFiend @ Jun 13th 2008 4:05PM

You dont need the sensor bar to plug in to the PS3. The remote does all of the calculation, you just need to give the sensor bar power as a guiding point for the wiimote. Using Nyko's wireless bar works great.

shooter_mcgavin @ Jun 14th 2008 1:29AM

there is no sensor bar just put your Wii mote in discory mode and go to register a bluetooth device on your ps3 and it will accept it as a bluetooth device

Herby @ Jun 13th 2008 3:38PM

I think this is a very good idea. Wii-like games with better graphics and a better all around system to go with it. This is a good move Sony.

Mattchewie @ Jun 13th 2008 3:49PM

I think its a good idea. Then you have one system all around for the family. Teenager Tony gets his blood and guts games, little billy and sally get their casual games (lump mom and dad into there too) and you also have a nice BRD player for mom and dad (family).

Win Win I say. My only caveat(sp?) is the controller shouldn't mimic the wii-mote....be original in styling and you have no argument from me :D.

coster127 @ Jun 13th 2008 3:49PM

That would be amazing

Nick @ Jun 13th 2008 3:56PM

If Sony uses it like they use the PS3 Eye it will be good. I don't want to have the Sony-mote replacing the standard controller, but I would like to see it used in creative ways like the PS3 Eye. I can't wait to hear all the claims of "Sony stealing from Nintendo" from the Nintendo fanboys.

Dan Davis @ Jun 13th 2008 4:24PM

Yeah, the Eye and it's 16 games.

Worst 40 bucks I ever spent.

Haohmaru @ Jun 13th 2008 10:45PM

You don't have to be a fanboy to call it like it is.. Not that it would be a bad move, as long as it doesn't end up another Eye and they actually manage to publish games that use the "borrowed" controller.

baby sea tuna @ Jun 13th 2008 4:02PM

Great, so does that mean the DS3 I bought yesterday is already on its way to becoming obsolete?

Devin @ Jun 13th 2008 4:04PM

No.

Nathan-DTS @ Jun 18th 2008 2:50PM

you must be new to the world of fanboy-ism, we get rumours like this on a daily basis

groovemachine @ Jun 13th 2008 4:11PM

If its a direct copy of the wii mote then that aint gonna bode well but if its detachable to 4 body parts than that will easily be enough to separate it from the wii

Managua_Green @ Jun 13th 2008 4:16PM

4 separate parts? How many hands do you have?

KUV1977 @ Jun 13th 2008 4:17PM

Now id only Sony had sticked to its original Plan of having 2 USB Ports at the back of the console so you wouldn't have ugly USB-cables hanging around in front things would be way cooler...

Or maybe there is some device that gets plugged into the former USB-Port and neatly moves USB to the back?

Anyway, the controller sounds nice...

Geph @ Jun 13th 2008 4:18PM

Both sides are right.

If the PS3 does incorporate a Wiimote-like controller, the Wii will have no exclusive selling points and the PS3 will probably eventually grow a brain and wipe out all sentient beings.

But Sony has my allegiance because of all the cool shit they produce. They're not known for ripping off ideas, and I just hope they're not going to make a habit out of it.

acefondu @ Jun 13th 2008 4:20PM

*sniff* I smell a lawsuit.

Kenology @ Jun 13th 2008 4:24PM

FIrst the Wiimote is a gimmick, now everyone wants one. I don't get it.

Even still, I think the IR pointing is a great feature, and I don't see anything wrong with Sony and MS following suit. The only problem is, it's not the Wiimote that makes the Wii so interesting. I don't think either of them realize that.

Dahk @ Jun 13th 2008 4:23PM

Well luckily, the 2-port USB thing isn't TOO harmful, because I'm assuming that in the future, everything connects via Bluetooth.

Only problem with this is that I already have 5 controllers =(. Will Sony make me buy another several controllers to play some sorta awesome party game? Aiyah.

b-way @ Jun 13th 2008 4:29PM

Thats just a fan mock up picture. It sounds like they are making a dual shock that can snap off into dual waggle mode, which seems kind of cool. You get the wii wand waving stuff, and the awesomeness of the dual shock in one remote.

Andrew @ Jun 13th 2008 4:38PM

Ima huge sony fan and i think that this will be a good step

PlasmaSnake @ Jun 13th 2008 4:39PM

I think if Sony gets this controller on the shelves the 360 is done. Peace.

Andrew @ Jun 13th 2008 4:41PM

ima huge sony fan so i think that this is a good step.

davivman @ Jun 13th 2008 4:42PM

Leave it to nintendo to come up with a neat way to control a game, and watch the world improve upon it. Nintendo gave us the modern controller with a d-pad and 2 buttons in the original NES. Sega then made a genesis controller with a d-pad with diagonals on it and a third button. Nintendo then goes and makes a controller with shoulder buttons on the super NES. Sony then makes a playstation controller with a second set of shoulder buttons. Nintendo brings back the analog stick in addition to the d-pad on the Nintendo 64. Sony responds by making a dual analog pad. Nintendo was probably on to something when they made the wii-mote. Now watch somebody make it better!

Diortem @ Jun 13th 2008 6:46PM

Thats EXACTLY why Nintendo has to live on before iether of it's competitors!

And that said, I have to laugh with the guy who commenting about when the Wii hit, this was just a gimmick. Obviously their glorious leaders thought different. GO TO WAR FANBOYS! TO WAR!!!!! (Im going to get the popcorn and a good seat!)

Oh, and that picture may be fake, but it's been around since before the systems were out... literally a month after Nintendo revealed the controller (at most). Theory confirmed.

required @ Jun 13th 2008 5:14PM

discs?

Iain @ Jun 14th 2008 1:53AM

Discs were nintendo's idea too. Sony was going to make that part for them... then stuff happened boom PS1 and so on.

So I say nintendo gets some credit for that too.

Great idea with the motion idea. Lets see some innovation sony.

Phantom25_95 @ Jun 13th 2008 4:51PM

Welcome to the world of competition , if Sony doesn't do this than the Wii-Mote will never improve . Why would Nintendo pay to improve it if the one they have is already working without competition . Sony by doing this are helping advance motion technology . Then Nintendo will make something better and advance tech more too .

Welcome to the system . (Advancing society equals an advancing wallet , buissneses might seem greedy but it's for everybody's good in the end.)

Wrathbringer @ Jun 13th 2008 5:06PM

Meh, I don't really like the Wiimote so I HIGHLY doubt I'm buying this abomination. Not to mention that some of the better games on the Wii (Brawl, Mario Kart) hardly use the Wiimote anyways, so I suspect the same will happen here.

Vcize @ Jun 13th 2008 5:56PM

As long as they don't ruin any games that would otherwise be good by basing it off this, whatever.

Make it a shape that's comfortable to be held like a bat, get rid of the lagtasticness that the wii-mote has, and give us MLB The Show with it and that's enough for me.

Eggy @ Jun 13th 2008 6:02PM

Imo a wrong move, the Wii titles are crap with a few exceptions. it's not a console a real gamer buys.

Terry @ Jun 13th 2008 6:22PM

I really wish this is for real.

and if similar rumors with M$ are true too this console race will get much more interesting with Wii being unable to shy away from direct competition anymore with these two giants.

although honestly I don't necessarily want to see Wii-level of games on my PS3, maybe theres a possibility of combining peripheral like the PS Eye with this new controller capabilities can take interactive gaming to a different level?

Omen_20 @ Jun 13th 2008 7:29PM

Honestly I see so much potential in PS Eye and very little being done with it. Now that we have online distribution we should see all kinds of cool stuff coming out on Thursdays for it and we should see support being implemented in first party titles to encourage the hardware's purchase. Instead we see Sony sitting idle and wanting to copy the Wii which from my view point hasnt done much in respect to game play. Sony needs to improve on what it has, not wish it had something useless that just so happened to grab the attention of middle aged women.

Haohmaru @ Jun 13th 2008 10:49PM

Exactly. It's hilarious that so many of the naysayers who called the Wii remote a "gimmick" are now saying what a great step this is for Sony.

Sony, you have your audience, and many of us already have a Wii. We don't need another one. Give us what we bought your system for - GAMES.

Terry @ Jun 14th 2008 3:53AM

I think I speak for a lot of those "naysayer" (myself probably included in that group) when i say this:

To based a whole machine off solely with the Wii motion sensing capabilities is gimmicky.
But for a system like PS3 to attempt to implement motion sensing into "real" games the machine is capable of (not collections of minigames thats found on the Wii that frankly some looking very terrible)...
thats why many saying its a good idea.

Haohmaru @ Jun 14th 2008 11:14AM

There's lots of shovelware on the Wii, but you obviously haven't bothered to even glance at the whole library if you think that's all it's got. "Real" games indeed - come on, I like my PS3 as much as the next guy, but to say that the Wii doesn't have any great games is just pure, fanboy drivel.

Terry @ Jun 14th 2008 12:31PM

If you'll look up to my previous post, I am also all for Xbox360's similar rumors of looking into motion controls to be true also.
So there was no sony-fanboism involved when is said "real" game. Simply put IMO Xbox360 and PS3 simply have much more existing capabilities in their machines to make games more interesting by adding motion controls.

Also, one of my good friend owns and enjoy his Wii a lot.
Good titles (ie. Brawl), like Wrathbringer also mentioned, hardly require motion controls to still pull off entertaining results.
So another reason why I put "real" game was because the ones that put motion controls into good use either can obtain similar results with tradition controls (like some half-baked sixaxis functions also)... or they introduce brilliant motion controls but usually in a form of a minigame thats shortlasting (ie.Wii Fit & Mario/Sonic Olympics).

was just stating my opinion and defending it from being brushed off as fanboy rant.

seetrapp @ Jun 15th 2008 12:15PM

So, what about Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Okami, Resident Evil 4, and No More Heroes? I would say that those are all long-lasting titles with brilliant controls. The wiimote isn't best used for Cooking Mama or petting ur Pony'z, rather it's best use is when it's waggle as an extra button that allows for deeper controls (LoZ:TP, SMG) or as an IR pointer (MP3:C, Resi 4). Just because Wii has different controls doesn't mean that everyone stopped making games and started making "Wii games."

Terry @ Jun 15th 2008 3:36PM

I haven't played Mario Galaxy and No More Heroes so I won't be able to comment on those.

*points to my first statement*
"ones that put motion controls into good use either can obtain similar results with tradition controls"

Twilight Princess/Metroid Prime 3-
first let me get this out, personally something doesn't look right when a launch title for a next gen console (Wii) have a version for your previous gen console (Gamecube) also. In fact rating compilation sites like metacritic and gameranking show that Gamecube version (with traditional controls) received slightly higher acclaim. Most is the same with Metroid Prime 3 in comparison with the previous 2 in that series with. IGN reviews state, despite Wii controls the game "Metroid Prime 3 was too similar to its predecessors."

Okami/RE4 -
Originally released for the PS2 and thats the version you should really be enjoying instead of the port for Wii. Don't believe me even though I've played both? Nintendo Power themselves had similar opinion in regard to Wii version's controls, and I quote: "Though you can overcome the drawing and attacking issues with practice (and by sticking to whip-style weapons), it's a hurdle you shouldn't have to leap."
As for RE4... you can hardly call that a Wii game at all, only a Wii port or version at best. Originally for the Gamecube then ported to PS2 and PC and then Wii. It did have brilliantly designed motion controls I'll admit having played it before. However, it all have similarly reached results with the previous ports/versions of the games through traditional controls. Meaning the brilliant control schemes are just so it can be called a Wii motion control game, if I'm not mistaken I remember you can basically play whole Wii version through with just traditional controls.
Let me ask you this btw where's the Wii version of RE5, the true next installment of RE series? Hmmm...

In Conclusion, when you strip away motion controls from Wii what do you get? Gamecube 2.0 I would argue. But the notion of adding motion control to either PS3 or Xbox360 seems much much more. Thats basically what my initial post in this entry was suppose to express.

I won't be visiting this particular entry as this entry gets buried by newer entries so won't be able to respond any further.
Also like to clarify that I am NOT trying to convince anyone to hate or not buy the Wii nor am I promoting the other next gen consoles. This is totally what I feel through personal experience and information available.

Terry @ Jun 15th 2008 5:55PM

I haven't played Mario Galaxy and No More Heroes so I won't be able to comment on those.

*points to my first statement*
"ones that put motion controls into good use either can obtain similar results with tradition controls"

Twilight Princess -
first let me get this out, personally something doesn't look right when a launch title for a next gen console (Wii) have a version for your previous gen console (Gamecube) also. Can you imagine how negative it would be if PS3 or Xbox360 did the same thing?
But worst of all according to rating compilation sites like metacritic and gameranking show that Gamecube version (with traditional controls) received slightly higher acclaim than the Wii's version...
And you can't say that there hasn't been any other excellent Zelda games in past that were great also using regular controls (ie. Wind Waker)

Okami -
Originally released for the PS2 and thats the version you should really be enjoying instead of the port for Wii. Don't believe me even though I've played both? Nintendo Power themselves had similar opinion in regard to Wii version's controls, and I quote: "Though you can overcome the drawing and attacking issues with practice (and by sticking to whip-style weapons), it's a hurdle you shouldn't have to leap."

RE4 -
As for RE4... you can hardly call that a Wii game at all, only a Wii port or version at best. Originally for the Gamecube then ported to PS2 and PC and then Wii. It did have brilliantly designed motion controls I'll admit having played it before. However, it all have similarly reached results with the previous ports/versions of the games through traditional controls. Meaning the brilliant control schemes are just so it can be called a Wii motion control game, if I'm not mistaken I remember you can basically play whole Wii version through with just traditional controls.
Let me ask you this btw where's the Wii version of RE5, the true next installment of RE series? Hmmm...

In Conclusion, when you strip away motion controls from Wii what do you get? Gamecube 2.0 I would argue. BUT the notion of ADDING motion control to either PS3 or Xbox360 seems much much more. Thats basically what my initial post in this entry was suppose to express.

I won't be visiting this particular entry as this entry gets buried by newer entries so won't be able to respond any further.
Also like to clarify that I am NOT trying to convince anyone to not buy the Wii nor am I promoting the other next gen consoles. This is totally what I feel through personal experience and information available.