Sony Keynote Part Three: The Controller and Launch Date

So, here's the big news. Sony had it's boomrang looking controller set for a long time. Not too far back they announced plans to redesign the controller based on negative consumer feedback. So, today they show the new controller. And it's...

the PS2 controller.

But there's a twist. The controller is lighter, completely wireless, and 6 degrees of freedom as another controlling interface. Tilting the controller in the X, Y, or Z axis will interact with the games accordingly. Apparently they gave a pretty sweet demo of some airplane game that this works extremely well with.

So, the Xbox 360 is the only next-gen console without controller movement being a control method (check out the review of Nintendo's Wii that I'll post shortly). Wonder what they'll do, if anything, to amend that. Looks like being the first batter up might've hurt the 360 more then helped. The extra development time may have given them hardware benifits, and the rush to get it out there shows some lack of confidence on Microsoft's part in their system's ability to hold up to the competition.

Finally, shipping details. November 17, 2006 (in the US). Two options, a 20 GB and 60 GB hard drive, for $499 and $599 respectively in the US (Same numbers when buying with Euros, 59800 Yen for the 20 GB model in Japan and stores get to pick their price there for the 60 Model).

That's a wrap. Microsoft and Nintendo get to go tomorrow. I'll be sure to post on those.