Sony to launch motion controller "next spring", says Yoshida

Shuhei Yoshida says that Sony plans to launch its new motion controller in spring 2010.

Among other things, the peripheral will have a zero learning curve, because it tracks movements that are already natural to the human form.

"The first thing we thought about was how to make the interface seamless and easy for consumers," he told CVG. ""We're trying to make it so precise that what you do is exactly what get in the game. You don't have to learn any specific moves; how you move already is how you move in the game.

"But as we learn to use this tech, more and more ideas are coming from studios that would be great to use in an adventure-type experience, or a firstperson shooter. So we're not limiting ourselves to certain types of audience or experience."

Yoshida also added that Sony is currently at work with a tech company in Tokyo on the possibility of integrating it alongside the DualShock for some games.

Compared to Natal, he feels the two differ because buttons and triggers have to be taken into account in certain respects.

"I saw the [Natal] demonstration and it's a very sweet video; it's more futuristic and I felt like I was watching some Consumer Electronics Show event.

"However, we know from working with camera technology for a long time that just using the camera without precisely detecting what the consumer wants to do, with buttons and triggers, is quite difficult, especially when bringing it into the game context. So while it's very interesting, what we're providing with our technology is very different.

"We're looking to launch this technology in spring next year."