PlayStation Move
PlayStation Move is a motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation 4, its PlayStation VR platform and the PlayStation 5. A revised model of the controller is not backwards-compatible with PS3.
Conceptually similar to Nintendo's Wii Remote and Microsoft's Kinect, its function is based around controller input in games stemming from the actual physical movement of the player. The Move uses inertial sensors in the wand to detect motion while the wand's position is tracked using a PlayStation Eye or PlayStation Camera. The device was generally well received by critics, but has not quite met Sony's goals for integration into the market.
Hardware
As with the standard PlayStation 3 wireless controllers, both the main PlayStation Move motion controller and the PlayStation Move navigation controller use Bluetooth 2.0 and an internal lithium-ion battery charged via a USB Mini-B port on the controller. On the PlayStation 3, up to four Move controllers can be used at once.Motion controller
The primary component of PlayStation Move, the PlayStation Move motion controller, is a wand controller which allows the user to interact with the console through motion and position in front of a PlayStation camera. It functions similarly to the Wii Remote.The PlayStation Move motion controller features an orb at the head which can glow in any of a full range of colors using RGB light-emitting diodes. Based on the colors in the user environment captured by the camera, the system dynamically selects an orb color that can be distinguished from the rest of the scene. The colored light serves as an active marker, the position of which can be tracked along the image plane by the camera. The uniform spherical shape and known size of the light also allows the system to simply determine the controller's distance from the camera through the light's image size, thus enabling the controller's position to be tracked in three dimensions with high precision and accuracy. The simple sphere-based distance calculation allows the controller to operate with minimal processing latency, as opposed to other camera-based control techniques on the PlayStation 3.
A pair of inertial sensors inside the controller, a three-axis linear accelerometer and a three-axis angular rate sensor, are used to track rotation as well as overall motion. An internal magnetometer is also used for calibrating the controller's orientation against the Earth's magnetic field to help correct against cumulative error by the inertial sensors. In addition, an internal temperature sensor is used to adjust the inertial sensor readings against temperature effects. The inertial sensors can be used for dead reckoning in cases which the camera tracking is insufficient, such as when the controller is obscured behind the player's back.
The controller face features a large oblong primary button, surrounded by small action buttons, and with a regular-sized PS button beneath, arranged in a similar configuration as on the Blu-ray Disc Remote Control. On the left and right side of the controller is a Select and Start button, respectively. On the underside is an analog trigger. On the tail end of the controller is the wrist strap, USB port, and extension port.
The motion controller features vibration-based haptic technology. In addition to providing a tracking reference, the controller's orb light can be used to provide visual feedback, simulating aesthetic effects such as the muzzle flash of a gun or the paint on a brush.
Using different orb colors for each controller, up to four motion controllers can be tracked at once on the PlayStation 3. Demonstrations for the controller have featured activities using a single motion controller, as well as those in which the user wields two motion controllers, with one in each hand. To minimize the cost of entry, Sony stated that all launch titles for PlayStation Move would be playable with one motion controller, with enhanced options available for multiple motion controllers.
On the PlayStation 3, image processing for PlayStation Move is performed in the console's Cell microprocessor. According to Sony, use of the motion-tracking library entails some Synergistic Processing Unit overhead as well an impact on memory, though the company states that the effects will be minimized. According to Move motion controller co-designer Anton Mikhailov, the library uses 1-2 megabytes of system memory.
Navigation controller
The PlayStation Move navigation controller is a one-handed supplementary controller designed for use in conjunction with the PlayStation Move motion controller for certain types of gameplay, similar to the Nintendo Wii Nunchuk, although it lacks motion-sensing technology, as dual-wield, independent two-handedmotion control is implemented with the use of another Move Controller. Replicating the major functionality of the left side of a standard PlayStation 3 gamepad, the PlayStation Move navigation controller features a left analog stick, a D-pad, L1 button and L2 analog trigger. The navigation controller also features and action buttons, as well as a PS button. Since all controls correspond to those of a standard PlayStation 3 gamepad, a Sixaxis or DualShock 3 controller can be used in place of the navigation controller in PlayStation Move applications.
Accessories
A number of additional accessories have also been released for use in conjunction with the PlayStation Move controllers.- PlayStation Move charging station could charge up any combination of two Move controllers.
- PlayStation Move shooting attachment adapts the Move controllers into a handgun form. The motion controller is fitted into the gun barrel so that the motion controller's T trigger is interlocked with the trigger on the gun attachment, while leaving all the topmost buttons accessible through an opening in the top. Its functions are similar to the Wii Zapper.
- PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter attachment adapts both Move controllers into a submachine gun form, which features an adjustable shoulder support. The motion controller is fitted into the gun barrel, while the navigation controller is clipped into a holder below this gun barrel. This accessory also adds several buttons to the controller. Several games, including Killzone 3, Dead Space: Extraction, SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs and Resistance 3, officially support this peripheral.
- The PlayStation Move Racing Wheel allows players to simulate driving in video games. The accessory features vibration feedback, paddle-style gear shifters and twist throttle controls. It supports games like LittleBigPlanet Karting, Gran Turismo 5, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Burnout Paradise, and MotorStorm: Apocalypse.
Bundle packages
Though the games with the bundles vary in each region, most bundles come with the PlayStation Move Demo Disc which contains demos for eleven different games. The bundles in Europe and Oceania however, come with the PlayStation Move Starter Disc with a setup tutorial and nine demos. The demos included are for the games Beat Sketcher, Echochrome II, EyePet, Kung Fu Rider, Sports Champions, Start the Party!, The Shoot, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, Time Crisis: Razing Storm, Tumble, and TV Superstars.
In North America, bundles are available with the game Sports Champions or the PlayStation Move edition of EyePet. In Japan, bundles with Beat Sketch!, Biohazard 5 Alternative Edition, or Big 3 Gun Shooting are available. All bundles, as well as the stand-alone controller will also include the demo disk for a limited time. In Europe, a bundle will be released with a demo disc. In Asian countries outside Japan such as Singapore, the bundles are available with the games Sports Champions, Start the Party!, and Kung Fu Rider.
History
PlayStation Move stems from early work on the EyeToy, a webcam-based controller for the PlayStation 2 conceived in 1999 and released in 2003. Early in the EyeToy's inception, developers experimented with color-based 3D wand tracking, including prototypes using spheres. By the time it was released, the EyeToy's focus was on hands-free applications. With the emergence of affordable inertial sensors and the success of the Wii Remote motion controller wand, in 2008 Sony began work on productizing its own motion controller wand, revisiting the sphere-tracking concept for use with the PlayStation Eye, integrating inertial sensors, and refining the device from an engineering and a design perspective. The Move's internal development codename was the "Y-con", so called because three groups — the hardware team in SCEI in Japan, the software engineering team at SCEA, and Sony's Worldwide Studios — worked together to develop the hardware, with the three points of a "Y" indicating the three teams coming together. This was the start of a new form of development at Sony, where hardware had previously been developed separately from software teams and later delivered along with technical documentation for software teams to get to grips with themselves; this move was continued with the development of the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4.The motion controller was revealed at Sony's E3 2009 press conference on 2 June 2009, with a live demonstration using an engineering prototype. Tentatively referred to as the PlayStation Motion Controller, the device was originally stated to be available in Q1/Q2 2010. As of August 2009, the controller features and design had not been finalized.
Soon after revealing the motion controller to developers, Sony indicated that it was exploring the possibility of using the motion controller in combination with a standard PlayStation 3 gamepad, such as having the player use "the motion controller as a sword and use DualShock 3 as a shield." One combination control scheme was demonstrated in September 2009 at the Tokyo Game Show for Biohazard 5: Alternative Edition, making particular use of the DualShock 3's analog stick. Although users found the setup to work well, some found holding a DualShock with one hand to be somewhat awkward. At the time Sony was already rumored to be in the design phase of a supplementary controller akin to that of the Nunchuk controller for the Wii Remote.
In January 2010, Sony announced a revised release target, stating instead that the motion controller would launch in Q3/Q4 of 2010. On March 10, Sony revealed the official name and logo at the Game Developers Conference, showcasing the final motion controller design, and unveiling the PlayStation Move navigation controller, to be launched concurrently with the motion controller. The logo is a colored squiggle-like shape, representing a light trail from the sphere of a PlayStation Move motion controller being waved.