Hirai says more Sixaxis iterations on the way
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 20th 2007 at 3:20PM }
Hirai points out about the controller, "I mean, as you know, that's also an evolving peripheral, if you will, in that we started out with the original PS1 controller with no analogue, and it's come all the way to this point, so obviously, as we go forward, it's not the final model for a PS3 controller, so we'll see what comes down the road." It is impressive to think that the same controller, with minor tweaks every few years, has been a staple of the PlayStation going on 15 years. So, when will we finally hear about what's going into the next Sixaxis? There's still plenty of conventions left this year.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
The3rdNuisance @ Jul 20th 2007 3:26PM
Heres hoping that when they update the internals, they update the design.
Sony controllers have always been extremely uncomfy...
horngreen @ Jul 20th 2007 3:27PM
Gee I was under the impression that rumble "was last gen technology."
Night Elve @ Jul 20th 2007 3:29PM
It is and so is Nintendo Wii but everyone is buying it so it's ok.
Kye @ Jul 20th 2007 3:26PM
I've got £20 that says they will have a (Wii like) pointer/cursor.
Ant takers?
Fernando Rocker @ Jul 20th 2007 3:32PM
Actually, Im with you... as always, Sony is going to copy Nintendo. If is not in this gen, the nex gen (PS4 and Xbox 720) will have motion and pointer capabilities.
Im %100 sure. And as always, Nintendo is first the evolutionary company. The other two just add power to the same formula.
Noshino @ Jul 20th 2007 7:23PM
just like their revolutionary cartridges? oh wait, they aren't revolutionary...oh wait, wasn't Sony the first one to implement CD's? and DVD's?
Sorryt o burst your Nintento bubble again Fernando :(
The3rdNuisance @ Jul 20th 2007 8:23PM
Ever hear of Sega CD, Noshino?
PC Fanboy btw :D
Noshino @ Jul 20th 2007 8:41PM
yah, I have
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playstation
Fernando Rocker @ Jul 20th 2007 3:27PM
Maybe the D-Pad in the place where the analog joytiq is, and viceversa.
Better diagonals.
Heavier.
JodyAnthony @ Jul 20th 2007 3:49PM
mattb, traditional rumble doesn't bother the wii remote
3cubedminus3squared @ Jul 20th 2007 4:19PM
They should just copy the 360 controller. They had no problem copying the SNES controller and giving it handles.
Andrew @ Jul 20th 2007 3:28PM
But, I though Sony said the lack of rumble had nothing to do with the lawsuit and that it wasn't possible because it would interfere with the motion technology.
Triforceowner @ Jul 20th 2007 3:31PM
I hope someone makes a you tube where they are trying to play the PS3 with a rumble controller, but their hands start to bleed or something. :)
Kye @ Jul 20th 2007 3:40PM
Dude, you actually believe somethign Sony says?
Hey guys, come look at who I found!
Matt B @ Jul 20th 2007 3:44PM
Traditional rumble would mess with the SIXAXIS, that is why they went with Touchsense to vibrate the buttons and sticks instead of the whole controller.
Rumble 2.0
Fernando Rocker @ Jul 20th 2007 3:56PM
Matt B
Traditional rumble doesnt affect the Wii Remote, and it have motion AND pointer.
ThornedVenom @ Jul 21st 2007 12:47AM
I thought that the main reason was battery life. Heck, you have any idea how much juice it takes to run a wii remote, with their AA batteries?
Perhaps they deemed it to be a better marketing strategy since motion sensing in the Sixaxis seem to only serve a secondary function, thus not justifying the shorter battery life unlike the Wii whose primary concern is motion sensing.
KawF @ Jul 20th 2007 3:33PM
"wasn't possible because it would interfere with the motion technology."
What they said was that they could not figure out a feasible way to include rumble (without violating any patents that they could not license) in the then and now, current generation of SixAxis without it interfering with the motion sensing.
vidGuy @ Jul 20th 2007 3:34PM
Does the give us the renewed opportunity to discuss wild-and-crazy controller ideas like we did when the Revolution was announced? Hot-and-cold touch screens FTW!
Seriously, though, I think if they swap the left analog with the Dpad and add rumble it would be a much better controller. Maybe add a little size and let the rumble add some weight, too.
Trev @ Jul 20th 2007 5:14PM
So you want it to be an xbox controller?
I think the shape and arrangement are fine, especially for games that require four fingers for the shoulder buttons. The triggers could use a little hook to them; I find I press them way up by the top so my fingers don't slip. Other than that, I like the way it is now. Rumble will be nice, but I haven't missed it so far.
Freeze @ Jul 20th 2007 3:36PM
They need to come up with a new design for the PS3. I mean it's the SAME design going back to the PS1 now with more guts and gravy.
Alex S. @ Jul 20th 2007 3:45PM
I have one of these. No joke.
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PS-890&cat=GAM
Only problem is the right analog stick isn't as sensitive as i'd like :-\
Kye @ Jul 20th 2007 3:41PM
I've been saying that for years man, years.
Kye @ Jul 20th 2007 3:41PM
That was at you, Fernando.
Jenova @ Jul 20th 2007 3:43PM
Why did they scrap the boomerang style controller for the PS3?
Kye @ Jul 20th 2007 3:45PM
PS3 = PS2 + Darth Vader + Duct tape
elmer @ Jul 20th 2007 3:46PM
"It is impressive to think that the same controller, with minor tweaks every few years, has been a staple of the PlayStation going on 15 years"
It's not impressive, it's depressing.
Alex S. @ Jul 20th 2007 3:46PM
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=HC-PS3027&cat=GAM
Enjoy your boomerang. (theres a wireless one for a few bucks more)
Bluebrake @ Jul 20th 2007 4:41PM
That's awesome. Now bring back the official boomerang!
Ghaleon @ Jul 20th 2007 3:46PM
Yes, impressive that for 12 years they've stuck with a D-pad that LOOKS cool but feels like shit.
Imagine if Nintendo had stubbornly said "Yes, we feel the SNES pad is the pinnacle of gaming," and did nothing to it besides add rumble for 3 generations.
Crono @ Jul 20th 2007 4:08PM
Dude, what do you think the playstation pad is?
Kye @ Jul 20th 2007 3:46PM
Joystiq, the reply button doesn't alwasy work.
My previous comment was in reply to Freeze.
hvnlysoldr @ Jul 20th 2007 3:58PM
Which browser do you use and do you hit the plus minus or digg it buttons?
Freeze @ Jul 20th 2007 3:49PM
________________________________________________________
Originally Post: Jenova
Why did they scrap the boomerang style controller for the PS3?
________________________________________________________
Because they didn't want to get laughed at for having it made in Jenova.
Jason @ Jul 20th 2007 3:49PM
Sony's loyal early-adopters=beta testers
Thanks guys, now I can buy a better console at the same price with an improved controller, all within the first year! ahahaahaha
Kye @ Jul 20th 2007 3:52PM
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PS2-To-Xbox-Controller-Adapter/dp/B0007IQEIM
Or, we can use one of these.
Jake @ Jul 20th 2007 3:55PM
Sony controllers just copy whatever features Nintendo controllers have invented. It's always been that way.
Sony did this with the PS1 controller. Halfway through, you had to buy new controllers or you couldn't even play certain games. I doubt rumble would ever have that same impact, but it is still annoying.
I don't like the PS3 controller. It is too light and the triggers feel stupid. Add some weight and give it real triggers. Actually, make it identical to the 360 controller. I love that thing.
Vidikron @ Jul 20th 2007 4:02PM
Whatever. They certainly do copy ideas from other people, but most of Nintendo's ideas aren't actually their inventions either. They are just the first to bring them over to consoles.
Also, Sony has done some good things. Perhaps they are just extensions of existing ideas, but things like dual analog and multiple shoulder buttons have been good things they have brought to the table.
cc123 @ Jul 20th 2007 4:27PM
Man I'm sure glad Nintendo brought back analogue sticks and started using them in a dual stick configuration like has become standard in most modern games!
Oh oops...that was Sony!
Man if I had just said all Sony does is copy Nintendo controllers I would feel like a complete fucking jackass right now.
WiNG @ Jul 20th 2007 4:05PM
Good news: controller will be better
Bad news: now you have to rebuy all your controllers
Worst news: you own a PS3
Digi Smalls @ Jul 20th 2007 4:21PM
how about some actual non-convex, non-squishy "triggers" that don't make your finger slip off gradually in racing games? i don't know what they are trying to emulate there, certainly no gun trigger is like that.
for a bunch of copiers, Sony doesn't copy nearly enough (XBL, 360 controller configuration, Wii positioning)
.
Hirsbrunner @ Jul 20th 2007 4:23PM
"...they're "obviously looking" at what do do with the Sixaxis..."
At first I thought it was a typo, but I think it makes sense.
WiNG @ Jul 20th 2007 4:27PM
After using the xbox360 controller on my PC, I have to say it is by far the best controller i've ever used in my life.
wiimote is a close 2nd, except the c button feels flimsy to me, and I feel the dpad should be moved a couple (5-6) mm closer to the A button, so "up" is easier to hit when holding as a remote
REUYL @ Jul 20th 2007 4:51PM
I personally can't wait for PS3 Bowling. Why? Sixaxis has no wrist strap, of course!
Sky Shark @ Jul 20th 2007 5:01PM
Sony will probably just take an Xbox 360 controller, stick a Sony logo on the guide button, stick Tilt sensing onto it and call it innovative. Seriously though for you PS3 owners I hope they change you L2 and R2 triggers it must be total suckage for FPS games. They'll probably add a speaker into it and try and say it was in development before Nintendo's. I me this is Sony the kings of copying ideas at the last minute and trying to dismiss key features that they lack as last gen only to put it in a year later.
samfish @ Jul 21st 2007 12:38AM
cc, try actually reading the god damn links you post. Jesus fucking christ on a stick. You literally have no idea what you're talking about, do you?
Nintendo brought back and standardized analog sticks on consoles. That in itself a revolutionary act.
Sony, as usual, said, "Well, we can do it better" and introduced the Dual Analog pad.
THAT is what Sony is GREAT at. Taking other people's ideas and seeing them to their fullest, logical conclusion (before anybody else manages to, at least). They're great at evolution...not so great at revolution.
See also: Home, rumble, shoulder buttons.
Is there anything wrong with that?
Yes and no. On the one hand, it pushes technology forward faster. On the other hand, it's shady and is akin to someone copying an essay you wrote, putting it in a clear plastic binder and saying they wrote it first.
elmer @ Jul 20th 2007 5:45PM
If the industry were left to Sony, then in decades to come we'd be interfacing with the matrix the the same crap cross hair d-pad.
"Man I'm sure glad Nintendo brought back analogue sticks and started using them in a dual stick configuration like has become standard in most modern games!
Oh oops...that was Sony!"
Does this actually make sense? Nintendo DID bring back analogue. They DID invent the thumbstick version of an analogue control. They DID pioneer FPS gaming on consoles (which is pretty much what you're talking about, isn't it). Sony would never have released an analogue thumbstick controller if Nintendo hadn't done it first and you know it.
With their typical "we can copy you and make it sound cooler" attitude Sony threw in a second analogue stick which went practically unused on PS1.
Dual stick configuration is far from ideal, and you've got it all backwards. The games have been squeezed on to the controls, not the other way around: There was no genius insight on Sony's part, otherwise for FPS gaming (the only games which generally necessitate dual directional controls) they would have sold a mouse and keyboard instead of a dual shock. Coincidentally this is also why every usual console genre EXCEPT FPS works on PSP.
Besides which, Sony's dual stick configuration has been consistently inferior to all others thanks to Sony's insistence on form over function. They put the d-pad in the primary ergonomic position (under the thumb) because it makes the control look symmetrical. Even Microsoft, who learnt everything they know about controllers from second hand Sega and Sony design, was smart enough to make their layouts asymmetric.
cc123 @ Jul 20th 2007 6:01PM
It makes perfect sense if you know the history of it or knew wtf you were talking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analogue_stick
Sony brought it back first. Stop giving Nintendo credit for shit they didn't do.
Wow. You make dual sticks sound like they are so crappy yet they were adopted by other companies and have been around for a decade.
And no I wasn't talking about just FPS games, a lot of 3D games benefit from having one stick for movement and the other for camera.
tactics @ Jul 20th 2007 6:43PM
cc123: do you even read the fucking links you post? don't be a dipshit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Flightstick
those are not analog sticks, jackass. respect the n64.
-"superfan" tactics.
Vidikron @ Jul 20th 2007 6:56PM
You're going to knock Sony over their d-pad while ignoring Nintendo? I'll give Nintendo the d-pad on their older systems, they worked pretty well. But look at the Cube, why was it so fvcking small? It was almost too small to be useful. Now look at the Wii and the Wiimote. Sure, it works OK, the problem is that many of the games that make use of the d-pad heavily require you to hold the Wiimote sideways. That would be fine except for one problem... holding the Wiimote sideways has to be one of the most non-ergonomic controller schemes in the history of gaming. It's total crap. That damn thing is too small and one side is thicker than the other. It works, but it's sure as hell isn't very convenient or a good controller design.
Also, the dual analog controls work just fine. I don't what the hell you're griping about there. I also find it amusing that you're trying to write off anything Sony brought to the table as a mere idea born from necessity instead of something innovative. You could make the exact same arguments for pretty much anything, including many things Nintendo has done. It's how technology works... technology evolves and one idea flows into another.
Dual analog has had a HUGE impact on console gaming and it was Sony that brought it to the table whether you want to give them credit for it or not.
Also, I'd like to know why/how you think Nintendo pioneered FPS gaming on consoles. Rare made the first big splash, but that's Rare, not Nintendo.
About the only thing you said I agree with is that I too think Sony needs to put the left stick in the primary position... most of the rest of what you said is crap.