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Sony Previews PS3 Titles Adapted For Motion Controller

New York
– Move over Wii,

Sony

is preparing
to enter the motion-controller market this fall, and by the look of a couple
early-launch title previews for the East Coast press here this week, the
powerful game platform may have come of age.

During a prelaunch demo event, Sony Computer Entertainments’
developer team previewed three first-party launch titles that are expected to
be popular with earlier purchasers of PlayStation 3: The Move kits that will
bring full motion-sensing control to the gaming platform, via add-on wand-like
accessories and PlaySation3’s The Eye video camera that mounts on the top of a
TV screen.

Some configurations of the Move kits are expected to start at less
than $100. A variety of bundled options are expected, though no details have
been released as yet.

Sony is also expected to offer a bundled version of the PS3
console with the Move motion controllers and a game.

The handheld wands control onscreen action by using The Eye
camera to monitor the movement of an RGB light-emitting diode shining through a
soft bulb on the tip of the wand. The color of the LED light can be changed to
any hue the player desires, and an included wrist strap on the wand protects
players and equipment from accidental releases.

Sony said the system was designed to be more responsive and
accurate than competitive gaming systems with motion-sensing attributes.

The company expects to have at least 20 first- and third-party titles
adapted to the Move between the fall launch date and the end of the next fiscal
year in March 2011.

Launch titles on display at the press demo included the
following:

SOCOM 4:

the fourth
installment of Sony’s popular shooter franchise, which is set in South East Asia in The Straits of Malacca, uses both the
Move wand and a second hand-held “sub-controller.” The latter is
added for intuitive navigation of in-game characters and objects. The new game
takes full advantage of the Move’s precise motion and aiming attributes and
enables trajectory calculations for arching the throw of a grenade or
determining the location of enemy targets for called-in air strikes.

Move Party:

an
assortment of motion-controlled party games, including an onscreen barbershop
game where players give o-screen characters haircuts that match a constantly
changing pattern, a shape-painting game where players rapidly outline and fill
in various onscreen shapes, and a balloon-popping game featuring balloons that
are actually land mines.

Sports Champion:

a collection
of action games that includes table tennis, gladiator fighting, archery and
volleyball, among others. One of the most physically active of the new games,
Sports Champion requires players to literally move the controller like a
racket, ball, weapon or other object.

Although none of the demonstrated games had any 3D attributes to
take advantage of the PS3 system update that will bring 3D capability to the
console, the capability was said to be in development and may be presented as
an add-on patch for some titles going forward, though nothing official was
announced to that effect.

Among other Move-compatible launch titles that have been
announced to date are the following:

Third party titles: EA Sports Active 2.0; LOTR Aragorn’s Quest; Resident
Evil 5: Gold Edition; Tiger Woods 2011

First party titles: LittleBigPlanet, The Shoot, Motion Fighter, TV
SuperStars, Eccentric Slider, Ape Escape, Brunswick Pro Bowling, Under Siege, Flower
Eye, Pet Pain, High Velocity Bowling, Hustle Kings, Echochrome 2.

Although it is not part of the Move-enabled titles, Sony also
previewed the upcoming E-rated Mod Nation Racers (due May 24), which is a cart-racing
game that allows players to build their own racetrack courses in a variety of
virtual exotic locations and to populate those environments in a wide variety
of imaginative objects. The game will handle up to 12 online racers and will
allow online contestants to vote on the most popular track creations, in
addition to racing online.

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