‘Wii-killer’ Motion Sensing Control for 360 and PS3

October 20th, 2006, 17:34 Posted By: wraggster

Via Spong

You may remember In2Games for Real World Golf, the golf game where you have to swing a pretend golf club in a realistic simulation of the actual game. SPOnG liked the technology when we first played it earlier last year because it gave a good indication of the possible directions in which proper 3D motion-sensing controlled gaming was likely to go.

Since that time of course, Nintendo has moved into the innovative/quirky motion-controlled gaming market with the soon-to-be-released Wii. So, it was with some interest that SPOnG heard murmurings that the In2Games guys were developing very similar cross-platform controller technology for PS3 and 360.

Is this a potential Wii killer?

According to the blurb on the press release SPOnG just received, this “unique wireless motion sensor system” – codenamed Fusion – is going to allow publishers to develop true cross-platform titles incorporating full motion sensing control.

Unlike the Wii-mote, the Fusion does not involve pointing a controller at a bar on the screen, instead it is based on a combination of patent-pending ultrasonic and RF technologies with three-axis accelerometers that track the precise absolute position and orientation in 3D space of almost any wireless accessory (think golf clubs, baseball bats, tennis racquets, bowling balls) - any small plastic controller item you can imagine really.

Can you see where this is going now? Yes, that’s right. In2Games goes on to claim that games designed specifically for the Wii can now be ported to PS3 and 360 – which is clearly an attractive proposition for publishers, making it far easier for them to recoup their original investment.

“It’s great that the world is waking up to motion sensor gaming,” says Elliott Myers, Managing Director, In2Games (pictured here). “Since we launched the world’s first 3D motion-sensing games back in 2004, we’ve been developing this system for the next generation. Our goal is to allow everyone to enjoy this wholly immersive way of playing games, regardless of which gaming platform they own. We’ve got the best technology, with incredible functionality allowing developers to produce exciting new games specifically for the system – taking advantage of its unique features - or to allow titles which use motion sensing to be published on any platform. It’s an exceptional proposition – for the industry and for consumers. We can’t wait to begin showing it off.”

SPOnG will be getting a hands-on with Fusion in the very near future and we will be catching up with In2Games Elliot Myers for a full, candid interview about his take on the future of motion-controlled gaming.

We spoke to sources at Nintendo in the UK yesterday about In2Games’ Fusion proposition, but they dismissed the technology, saying merely that, “they just won’t have the software support that Nintendo has, end of story.”

Is it really the end of the story? Let us know your thoughts in the forum.

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