GamePro Sports

Sony dropped a bombshell at E3 yesterday with its demonstration of the Playstation Eye's new motion sensitive controller that combines the technology of the Wii-mote and the Eyetoy. The result is true one to one control that even accounts for depth and distance of the controller relative to the screen. After watching this demo, you can’t help but be impressed by the technology. This seems to be what we all dreamed of when we first heard about the Wii in 2006.  But what does this mean for sports games?

Watching the controller in action makes me salivate as a sports gamer. Baseball, golf, and tennis come to mind immediately as sports that could be recreated very accurately with the new device. The potential for very realistic and accurate swinging of bats, rackets and clubs is obviously apparent. The fact that depth is taken into account means that players can physically move closer or farther away from the TV which solves the Wii's auto running annoyances. The additional accuracy with depth is why this controller might be more advanced than the Wii’s Motion Plus accessory. This seems like the first step into into a larger world of virtual reality gaming. However, if you cut through all Sony excitment you'll realize there are some serious questions to be raised.

Go fetch it Fido! This screenshot is from the upcoming Wii Sports Resort.

First, who has enough room in their living room to run around a space equivalent to a tennis court?

The distance of the measured depth would have to be cut off or limited, otherwise you are better off outside actually playing the real sport. But if the area of movement is approximated or proportionately shrunk, that ruins the one to one illusion that the Playstation Eye tries so hard to establish.

What about sports where the player isn't always holding something?

This type of control is only realistic control with games where the player’s character is meant to be holding something.  A basketball game using this type of controller realistically seems out of the question since basketball is all about your hands touching the ball, as lots of sports are. Of course nothing will have the correct weight and resistance either. To that end, all these ideas for semi-VR sports games might simply fall flat.

Can I still live vicariously through Madden?

Part of the appeal of sports games is that you can do things that you cannot do when you play sports yourself in real life. Forget being like Mike, you can actually be Michael Jordan in a sports video game. With the motion controller's realism, you are limited to your own skills and the inherent limitations of the technology. In other words, if you suck at sports in real life, you’ll probably suck at sports games played using this new controller. Just look at the guy whiff at the ball over and over in the demo if you want to see what you could look like.

A lot of sports gamers play because they want to control their favorite teams with accurate attributes and statistics. Again, if the actual abilities of the player are measured as accurately as the Playstation Eye claims it will measure them, than you are stuck with your own skills and nothing else.

Shot during the demo, you can see the new controller at the top right is controlling the character. The sword and model move just as the controller does.

Is Playstation Eye > "Natal" > Wii?

The closer technology gets to true VR,  the more credence the following criticism has: “Why don’t you just go outside and play the sport for real." Of course not everyone has easy access to the equipment and area for playing certain real sports and these games could be a great indoor alternative.

Wii Sports was so successful because it simplified sports into familiar motions that were dumbed down enough to not be unforgiving but realistic enough to be fun. Sony's motion controller has the potential to take Wii Sports-type games to the next level of realism just like Microsoft's "Project Natal." The potential for great golf and batting sims is there. Perhaps a fencing game might be what the system's controller is best suited for. However, from watching Sony's demo at E3 it's hard to imagine the Playstation Eye -- or Natal for that matter --  being able to deliver the realism necessary for some of the faster paced sports.

Are sports gamers too prideful to jump around a room pretending to play a sport?

Plenty of avid sports gamers are athletes or ex-athletes and most don't embrace the nerd inside them. Thus you find a demographic that enjoys playing video games but at the same time is embarrassed to say they do; Closet nerds if you will.

There is certainly a market for this new motion controller and a future in VR gaming. Will it ever replace the way we currently play sports games? Possibly, but not for quite some time. Regardless, the Playstation Eye and its motion controller represent a huge opportunity for Sony and a big step forward for the gaming industry.