Phil Harrison, the President of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, spoke with GameDaily BIZ about the PS3. The interview covered a wide range of topics (including some good discussions of costs and pricing of the PS3, and the relative success of the console at retail). There was also this exchange about rumble and motion control:

BIZ: A lot of gamers, including myself, enjoy the controller’s motion sensing at times, but we still miss rumble. If gamers want it and are vocal enough, will Sony reintroduce the force feedback at some point?

PH: We have no plans to do so in the standard controller that ships with PlayStation 3. I believe that the Sixaxis controller offers game designers and developers far more opportunity for future innovation than rumble ever did. Now, rumble I think was the last generation feature; it’s not the next-generation feature. I think motion sensitivity is. And we don’t see the need to do that. Having said that, there will be specific game function controllers, potentially like steering wheels that do include vibration or feedback function—not from us but from third parties.

Read the whole interview here.

The Xbox and gaming blogs have picked up some statements from Peter Moore at Microsoft Game Studios and are running with the thought that motion controllers will be a next step in the evolution of the Xbox 360 platform.

Here’s key quote from an interview in Game Informer:

“It’s actually not games. It’s more experiencial than that. And again, since the day I saw Iwata-san pull the nunchuck controller out from under his podium a few years ago at TGS, I’ve always realized that was the right thing for Nintendo to have to do for what they needed to do to be successful in this next generation. And it was always going to be a challenge for us. So, we have plans. This does not come as a surprise. Our strategy has been laid out for us years in advance, and you’re going to see some of that this next holiday and beyond.”

We’re not sure if this we’ll take this as an announcement of intent, but we do believe that the Wii has opened a lot of eyes to the benefits of motion-sensing and motion controllers.

Read the full interview here.

The bloggers at Patent Monkey and CruchGear recently rooted out a patent issued to Sony in January for a new type of motion controller (they’re calling it the GripMote) which uses both motion- and pressure-sensing to control game play in a “computer” environment.

While Sony hasn’t staked nearly as much as Nintendo has on motion sensing, this patent would seem to indicate that the company’s long term strategy definitely includes further iterations of the technology.

Interestingly, the patent itself doesn’t specify game consoles; we’d like to see Sony incorporate this type of technology within their broader consumer electronics portfolio. A good place to start might be the IP-enabled Bravia TVs shown as CES.

Read CrunchGear’s blog entry here, and see the patent itself here.

Analog Devices released its first quarter 2007 earnings this week, and received a big boost from its MEMS business. Analysts have estimated this business grew more than 20% for ADI last year, and similar or greater growth was expected this year, based on wins such as Nintendo’s Wii business.

ADI CEO Jerry Fishman was quoted during the earnings conference call as saying “I think what we have seen over the last year is a fairly radical market development to include MEMS devices in a myriad of different end equipment”, growing beyond ADI’s traditional MEMS markets in the auto industry.

ADI’s earnings release can be found here. Forbes’ article on the release can be found here.

A professor at U.K.-based Liverpool John Moores University (performing some Nintendo-funded research) found that kids playing active games on the Wii platform burn 40% more calories than their peers. According to Professor Tim Cable’s research, teenagers playing the average 12 hours a week of games could lose up to 27 pounds in a year!

Read about the research on  the BBC Web site here.

New Scientist has a new article online exploring some academic efforts to leverage motion-sensing technologies to assist in restoring balance in individuals who’ve lost their own ability to do so due to disease or injury to their inner ears.

Charles Della-Santina, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine is developing three-axis gyroscopic devices which have already been successfully tested on chinchillas. The end game will be accelerometer-based, and will need some advances in batteries and packaging to be truly implantable, but the concept has already been proven, at least in animals.

A bit far from our usual TV, gaming, CE fare, but very interesting (and no doubt a potential godsend for those suffering from balance problems).

Read the article here.

The market for motion-sensing chips for mobile devices is growing from the bottom up as two vendors have announced new devices in this arena.

At 3GSM, amidst a flurry of announcements, Analog Devices displayed  handsets using both its ADXL330 and ADXL323 accelerometers, demonstrating applications like screen/keypad deactivation, game control, automatic landscape/portrait mode and even use of the phone as a pedometer.

Freescale has also began discussing its ZSTAR triple axis motion sensing reference design. ZSTAR is designed for integration into mobile handsets, as well as toys, gaming and media players.

Analog Devices release is here; information about Freescale’s new reference design can be found here and here.

That’s what a recent study by the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) says.

The group surveyed a group of fitness trainers and academics about the impact of “exergaming” and “exertainment” facilitated by motion-sensing controllers like the Wiimote and found that these active games may help get  kids (and adults) up off the couch and provide an means of encouraging a less sedentary lifestyle.

Money quote from  Dr. Josh Trout, Professor of Kinesiology at California State University Chico, who specializes in video game technology and exercise movement: “Exergaming can provide excellent health benefits, but so can a Stairmaster, lifecycle or treadmill, if you do it. If a person has chosen a sedentary lifestyle, there is not much a new technology is going to do for them. On that note, exergaming, and exertainment, is an excellent way for getting kids hooked on physical activity, producing good exercise habits that can last their lifetime.”

Read the whole thing here.

The folks at Nikkei Electronics/Nikkei Business Publishing in Japan ran a usability test of Playstation 3 and Wii consoles and found that both platforms (despite their use of “intuitive” motion control) were not entirely intuitive for users.

A panel of first-time users was brought in to install, configure and use both platforms, and in both platforms issues popped up with simple tasks like entering a name into the console’s memory, inserting discs, connecting controllers — even tasks as simple as turning the console on and off. As the Nikkei writers note, simple interface issues like this may not seem like big deals, but they can be big roadblocks to consumer satisfaction.

Our take on the issue is this: even if you make your motion-sensing devices almost completely foolproof, you’ve got to think of the bigger picture of the user interface. Relying upon users to read the manual and figure out the obscure, non-intuitive steps they need to perform to get up and running isn’t a good way of showcasing your user friendliness. The UI extends beyond just game play (or Web browsing or email or TV viewing or whatever app you’re controlling) and  needs to be refined and intuitive for the entire soup-to-nuts user experience.

Read the article here.

We recently had a chance to sit down and talk with the two of the founders of emerging startup, ThinkOptics – Gopal Panchanathan (CEO) and Anders Grunnet-Jepsen (CTO). San Jose-based ThinkOptics’ approach to motion control differs from most competitors in that it is a wholly optical solution, without the inertial (gyro, accelerometer, etc.) tracking that is all or part of competing solutions. We had a chance to test out their system at CES where they were exhibiting that product for the first time, and recently followed up with them post-CES.

Motion Applications Report: How big is ThinkOptics, and how are you funded?

ThinkOptics: We started the company two and a half years ago. Three of us started the company, ourselves and John Sweetser, VP of Engineering. Beyond that core, we’ve got a group of consulting engineers with whom we contract for development, and an Advisory Board.

We launched as a self-funded company, and have since taken on an angel investor. We’re currently in the process of seeking Series A financing.

Motion Applications Report: What market you are pursuing?

ThinkOptics: Pointing devices, navigation of media, digital entertainment – any market in which a solution vendor brings a set top box or similar device to bear, or as part of the whole foodchain… So our focus is the so-called ‘ten feet interface’ between the TV and the sofa… it could be part of a solution from any number of players in this space - Apple, Microsoft, AT&T, Comcast, or a gaming subscription solution. We’re focused on anyone bringing convergence to this market. We are not tied to Media Center Edition or any specific UI. We can integrate to any platform – we are offering it on Windows, Mac and Linux.

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