The Geek Church

For years, Nintendo has dominated the gaming market of wireless controllers with the Wii Remote for their console. Now Microsoft and Sony are both plotting to dethrone the Wii with new wireless controllers for their own gaming systems and convert Nintendo fans over to their side. Microsoft calls their master plan, Project Natal. However, Sony has already unveiled their concept for a new wireless controller this past Wednesday, hoping to take an early lead on toppling the Wii Remote’s popularity.

At the Game Developers Conference, Sony presented their new concept called the Move. This new wireless controller resembles a microphone but has a ball-shaped object on top of it that contains a LED inside. According to Sony, the Move is their next step in continuing the motion controller era that they believed started with their Eye Toy. Set to be released this fall, the Move will be available for about $100 or less and a PlayStation eye camera and a game will also be included with it. This wireless controller will also come with an accessory called an sub-controller, which seems to be PlayStation’s version of the Wii Nunchuk.

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Since its release quite a while ago, the Nintendo Wii has been offering gamers the chance to play with the use of full body motion to make gameplay more interactive. Some players also find the Wii very helpful for getting an actual workout to exercise and improve their own health. In recent years, we’ve seen fitness games and products released for the Nintendo console such as WiiFit and game developers like EA Sports have also joined the fitness gaming genre. Now EA is preparing to give us their latest fitness development.

Last year, EA Sports released a fitness game called Active, which included jumping, arm motion and cardio-style workouts for those gamers looking to get more exercise. Now EA offers a new follow-up called Active 2.0. At this time, it is still in development but upon its release in the fall, it will be compatible with the Wii, PS3, iPod and iPhone. The program for Active 2.0 promises to deliver “true fitness” through a new wireless control system using leg and arm straps with motion sensors, a heart rate monitor and an online hub to track and share information from exercise.

However, available sources do not explain how the iPod and iPhone will be involved in the use of this new fitness gaming program. Furthermore, it is also interesting that Active 2.0 seems to have excluded the X-Box 360 as a game console for compatibility. Personally, I have to wonder how well EA Sports will do in keeping their promises concerning this new development. Unanswered questions about iPod and iPhone use and 360 compatibility could be just cause for reasonable doubt about the credibility of Active 2.0.

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Good day to you, customers and fans of PlayStation Network!  Yes, it is actually a good day for those of you who own Sony’s game console.  Whether you were personally affected by it or only read about it in the last couple of days, it seems that the crisis of Error 8001050F is now over.

The latest reports from Sony indicate that this problem which prevented PS3 users worldwide from logging into their online accounts and playing online game has been resolved.  Apparently, the problem started with the console clock of the older PS3 models.  It was a leap year this past February and the console clock is set automatically to switch over to the next calender date by day.  Instead of adjusting them to read the following day as March 1 after February 28, the console clocks thought the next day was February 29.  As a result, this confused the PlayStation Network servers and caused the consoles themselves to lock out.

Since then, Sony has been quick to reassure their customers that the problem is completely solved now with no significant, lasting damage to the consoles.  However, Sony did inform gamers that there may be some minor issues left over from the crisis such as strange glitches and loss of trophy and save data.  Thus, customers now find their online service and consoles functioning properly again.

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Yesterday, a new crisis of global proportions began to sweep over the earth, resulting in confusion and frustration for a number of people.  Experts on the problem are currently scrabbling to find a solution and bring relief and satisfaction to those who have been afflicted.  The actual problem itself may surprise you.  However, it truly is global and the search for a cure remains unsuccessful at this time.

Of course, you’re probably have some obvious questions right now.  What is the crisis?  Who has been afflicted by it? Why hasn’t an answer for this crisis been found yet?  Currently, there’s only enough information to answer your first two questions unfortunately.

Folks, this crisis does have a name.  It’s called Error 8001050F.  That’s what PlayStation Network is calling it.  That’s right, folks, I said “PlayStation”.  So, of course, the afflicted people are gamers, the loyal customers of PlayStation who rely on their latest console, the PS3 for regular entertainment and communication with online friends.

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It would appear that the Wiimote will no longer have the monopoly on motion-control, as Sony has formally announced that they will have a Motion Controller for the PS3.

This Motion Controller will use motion sensors, and will required the Playstation Eye camera in order to make it work. The camera can recognize and track the player’s face, as well as their voice and body motion. It also has motion sensors, three axes gyroscope and three axes accelerometer to tell the Motion controller’s current angle. As you see from the picture, it resembles the Wiimote, save for the sphere on top. Apparently, the ball on top glow in various colors depending on where the user is in the room, and there even rumors of a rumble feature.

So far, there hasn’t been any word on what video games that it will work with. Perhaps Sony will have to set up a whole new line of WiiSports-ish games that are designed to work with this lollipop-shaped controller.

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While I was at PAX, Sony Playstation had an amazing demonstration of a new game for their new EyeToy camera accessory. The game was simply known as EyePet, and it was pretty much the coolest thing that I saw all that day.

Eyepet allows the user to play with a virtual pet that will only appear on the screen. The eyepet is simply a lovable furry creature that is often found in most “pet” games. What makes it interesting is how the player interacts with the pet.

The player holds up a plastic rectangle the size of a piece of paper, and it has a paw print in the center of it. This serves as sort of an odd sort of controller to this game that really thinks outside the box. With this controller, I was able to wash the virtual pet by moving the rectangular controller to change the angle of spraying. As you can see from the video above, that rectangle comes in handy for a lot of other fun things like an x-ray. You can read more about the EyePet here.

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