PS3 Controller
The Sony PS3 Controller Controllers has now been officially unveiled. The Sony PS3 was unveiled with great surprise at e3 2005. Gamers went ecstatic at the consoles sleekness and the graphical possibilities of the games. However, one look at a gamers face upon his first impression of the PS3 controller could tell you all you wanted to know about its look. People were horrified at the controllers design. It retained the basics button layout and overall design of the previous Playstation dual shock controller, but there was one major change, the PS3 controller looked like a boomerang.
Initial perception of the PS3 controller was of a large boomerang or banana. Although it may look like a boomerang, the controller is not oversized or large. It is actually quite convenient and the size is very good. However, in response to the controller’s likeness to a boomerang, Sony Computer Entertainment chief technical officer Masayuki Chatani has stated that the PS3 controller is still in its development phase and can easily be changed around a bit. This most likely means that the controller will retain its original button layout, but have its overall architecture altered to appeal to the general gaming industry.
At 2005’s GDC (Game Developers Conference), it was announced that the original PS3 controller design was taken away from the drawing boards and a new controller concept will be displayed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2006 starting May 9, 2006.
Sony PS3 Final Controller Unveiling at e3 Electronic Entertainment Expo 2006
Sony came out with a nice surprise for fans for the final controller. The controller is now back to the original Dual Shock 2 appearance. At first glance, the controller’s appearance and features are identical to last generation’s controller, but the differences are abundant:
- The controller is wireless, with Bluetooth capabilities and a USB plug for charging.
- The controller is very light, most likely because of advanced technology from six years ago
- The controller has a ‘Home’ button at the center of the controller, much like the new Xbox 360 controller. No function for the button yet though. So we will see.
- The controller takes another feature from the Xbox 360 controller – the L2 and R2 buttons are now analog triggers. FPS’s should be much better.
- The controller now sports motion-sensing gyroscopes, sensing tilting from left and right and moving up and down. The trade-off is the rumble feature.
Vgescape Analysis of the Sony PS3 Playstation 3 Controller
The PS3 controller takes on many different features of the last generation and from the other consoles of this generation. Complains of most gamers are no rumbling and that Sony is stealing from others. These should be dispelled because many of these features could’ve been brainstormed by Sony before and not unveiled until today. Sony is definitely the last company to reveal their console --- by a whole year.
The rumble feature should not be missed. The Nintendo Wavebird controller did not sport a rumble feature, yet was widely touted as a great innovation. The motion sensing feature is a much better idea for games that could benefit from it. These include flight sims like Warhawk (the game demonstrating the feature), racing games like Burnout, and arcade games like Super Monkey Ball. Sony made a wise decision to include this technology that they had first though of before 2000 (even if they had the idea down before 2000, some say Sony only included the technology after seeing the Wii). This will definitely make a few games more special, but more importantly, this motion feature should take some attention away from the Wii’s remote controller.
The decision to have the L2 and R2 buttons be triggers may be an obvious steal from the Xbox 360 controller, but Microsoft also took a page from Sony’s book by moving the black and white buttons to the shoulder, which essentially imitated Sony’s controller. All is fair in the gaming controller world.
