Sony Thinks Arc can Stand up to Natal "PR Barrage"

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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Sony Thinks Arc can Stand up to Natal "PR Barrage"



Microsoft may have the edge on rival Sony when it comes to press buzz surrounding its upcoming motion control peripheral Project Natal, but Sony thinks the Arc doesn't need any fancy-schmancy PR to win over audiences.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft has the leg up on Sony when it comes to debuting their fancy motion control devices. After all, there's a ton of buzz surrounding the House of Redmond's Project Natal, whereas Sony's motion controller (what we're calling Arc) doesn't even have an official codename (not even a outsell Arc 5-to-1 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96690-Sony-Motion-Controller-Gets-a-Truly-Outrageous-Name].

When IndustryGamers [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/ps3s-motion-control-approach-speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick/] spoke to SCEA Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations Bob Dyer, they called the executive out, bluntly saying what we're all thinking: Natal seems to be winning the fight thus far. Naturally, Dyer doesn't think so - he sees the "PR barrage" around Natal as being all bark.

"From Sony's perspective, rather than go out and do a whole PR barrage to give everybody the 'happy, happy, joy, joy' news, we're going to show up and have a line-up of products to show people rather than having a lot of great statements to say, 'This is what's going to happen,'" said Dyer. "And rather than us go there and pat ourselves on the back, and send out press releases talking about this, we're going to be Missouri; it's going to be 'show me.' And that's the deal."

Dyer pointed out that the Arc was similar to existing motion control like the Wii, meaning that existing software could be more easily ported over to the PS3 unlike Natal, which would require completely new code. But the Sony executive doesn't believe that this will result in a flood of shovelware like the one plaguing the Wii. "I can assure you that's not what you're going to see. The fact that we use a camera changes everything. I think the press has forgotten that Sony has been using a camera [for a long time] ... I think Natal will have some great games on that system that'll work well without implements, and we're going to have what we think are better games because we have a lot more learning from [the camera]."

Nor does Dyer worry that the foray into motion control will alienate the hardcore. According to the man, Sony's research has shown that if the motion control makes sense for the game, then it absolutely makes sense to include it in a title like Uncharted - and that's what consumers want.

[blockquote][T]here are probably certain franchises that should never ever use the motion controller. But then there are some where you might go, 'You know what, this would be pretty cool if I had a real gun' or if I could really swing a baseball bat, or swing a golf club. When you get MLB and play it with the motion controls, it'll be like an epiphany. Angels will start singing and you'll have a very different experience.[/blockquote]

Big talk, Mr. Dyer. Let's hope Sony can back it up - we're likely to see more of what the Arc and Natal can do at next month's GDC '10.

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delet

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Whoever wins, we loose. Why the hell can't we concentrate on the normal controllers, with the normal buttons that I've spent my life growing accustomed to and loving? Damned Wii started this trend, and that makes me quite sad.
 

SniperWolf427

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That has got to be the ugliest peripheral (read:anything) I have ever seen in my entire life.

Odd, Sony is usually pretty good about making tech that is aesthetically pleasing.
 

grimsprice

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Jun 28, 2009
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Finally, they're not turning the hype factories on full production. This gives me the most hope...

"From Sony's perspective, rather than go out and do a whole PR barrage to give everybody the 'happy, happy, joy, joy' news, we're going to show up and have a line-up of products to show people rather than having a lot of great statements to say."
 

Jared

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Jul 14, 2009
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Quad08 said:
Looks like just another Wii-mote to me
With a flash light, lol.

And of course Sony will say it can survive it, after all, looks whos developing it, lol
 

SnootyEnglishman

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May 26, 2009
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Bah i wont be getting any of those...i'll stick to Nintendo they did it first...and not with the Wii they first attempted motion with this...

 

Snotnarok

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Aby_Z said:
Whoever wins, we loose. Why the hell can't we concentrate on the normal controllers, with the normal buttons that I've spent my life growing accustomed to and loving? Damned Wii started this trend, and that makes me quite sad.
I agree, I don't like motion controls, or really understand them because in the end, you're just an idiot flailing your arms about infront of a TV. It works for Wii bowling but I hate it for shooters, and sword swinging it's just as bad. I felt the same way with the eyetoy, an idiot infront of a camera flailing about, it was even better watching people play the demo in a gamestore. "What's that weirdo doing? Someone's having way to much fun flailing about.. Oh, he's playing with an eyetoy..."

I played Twilight Princess on the Wii (still own it) and it's just stupid swinging the controller to slash, it's not accurate or responsive like a controller is.
 

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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Aby_Z said:
Whoever wins, we loose. Why the hell can't we concentrate on the normal controllers, with the normal buttons that I've spent my life growing accustomed to and loving? Damned Wii started this trend, and that makes me quite sad.
Honestly, I find this a very narrow-minded point of view. Motion control works very well in some cases. Not ALL cases, and it shouldn't be shoehorned into everything, but it works excellently now and then.
 

Gigaguy64

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Apr 22, 2009
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it just looks like a really Falic wii-mote.

OT:We will just haft to see if both Natal and Arc are "all that and a bag of chips" when they come out.
 

delet

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John Funk said:
Aby_Z said:
Whoever wins, we loose. Why the hell can't we concentrate on the normal controllers, with the normal buttons that I've spent my life growing accustomed to and loving? Damned Wii started this trend, and that makes me quite sad.
Honestly, I find this a very narrow-minded point of view. Motion control works very well in some cases. Not ALL cases, and it shouldn't be shoehorned into everything, but it works excellently now and then.
It's not like I'm speaking from a completely ignorant stand point. I've tried the Wii a fair amount and found it to be horribly inaccurate for my liking, especially because the games I tried required accuracy. I admit it could work well in some cases, but I don't want to see motion control take over every aspect of all 3 consoles, and if Natal and Arc see the same success, or even just a small piece of that pie then I'm afraid that could become a very true reality.
 

JaredXE

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"I can assure you that's not what you're going to see. The fact that we use a camera changes everything. I think the press has forgotten that Sony has been using a camera [for a long time]
*Snort* What, the EyeToy? You mean the peripheral that was even more useless than the Wiimote and only the crappiest games were put out for it? Sony, it is NOT in your best interest to remind the game-buying public of that.

And again, the damn thing looks like a sex toy, is Jessica Chobot gonna lick that one too?

These fad controllers are just ruining it for the consumers. The only thing that can properly replace a button controller would be a direct neural link, where we think it and it moves.
 

JaredXE

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SnootyEnglishman said:
Bah i wont be getting any of those...i'll stick to Nintendo they did it first...and not with the Wii they first attempted motion with this...

I love the Power Glove.....it's so bad.
 

Premonition

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Interesting strategy. Rather than go head to head with Natal's PR, they decide to just wait and blow us all away when they show their stuff. Could work. Let's hope the showcase will indeed by mindblowing enough to warrant this info drought.
 

Doug

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Apr 23, 2008
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I wish they'd just on with it and release the gimmicky pieces of crap for the XBox and PS3 so we can have done with it and stop having to listen to them badly talking smack about each other.
 
Apr 28, 2008
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Perhaps this could be a good thing. People won't expect as much from it, and if they push out really good titles, then it could do better than Natal, especially with the "hardcore" crowd. After all, imagine playing a game like Oblivion with those things, they would need to add some new animations and code and whatnot, but look me in the eye and tell me it doesn't sound like a fun thing to do.

I'm just really scared of these motion controls becoming gimmicks...

SnootyEnglishman said:
Bah i wont be getting any of those...i'll stick to Nintendo they did it first...and not with the Wii they first attempted motion with this...

That thing was so god damn awful...

looks cool though
 

Casual Shinji

Should've gone before we left.
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Jul 18, 2009
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That's right, Sony, keep thinking that why.

To Hell with PR, see how far that gets ya.