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Just in case you're not familiar with the phrase, a White Elephant is something that is more trouble and more expensive than its worth and therefore a liability. Sound familiar? Welcome to our 15 month appraisal of Sixaxis - PlayStation 3's controversial motion-sensitive controller.

After nearly a year and a half, it's hard to use the defence that it's 'still new technology'. There's a wealth of evidence by which to judge its success and second-generation games should have learned from the mistakes of the launch titles.

But we have to say, it's not a very convincing case file. While Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction used the tilt feature sparingly to decent effect, High Velocity Bowling actually used arm motions to control the swing's power level and in-car MotorStorm steering was a lot of fun, these are the few worthwhile efforts.

Who could forget Lair, which didn't only lack the sensitivity and precision to make control anything but a struggle, but forced the player to use tilt, even though the controller has two analogue sticks that would have worked just as well, if not better.

Formula One: Championship Edition had a large dead zone in the centre of the controller making fine direction changes near-impossible, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was a bit flaky when it came to lining up grenade throws with the pad.

We'd say it's not been the most successful start for the technology - unfortunate for Sony and its most popular spokesperson Phil Harrison who originally showed such enthusiasm for the concept. Who can forget the oft repeated quote from back in late 2006 where Harrison went on the record stating; “I think that the next-generation interfaces that can be created built on Sixaxis motion sensitivity give tremendous gameplay benefits that far outweigh a reactive vibration function.”

So nearly two years on, do the developers making games still agree with Harrison’s sentiments? Or does his recently announced resignation mean they can all forget about having to incorporate Sixaxis into their games now?

Derek Littlewood of Free Radical (the team behind TimeSplitters) is the Project Lead on forthcoming PS3 shooter Haze. He told us: "I think the feature itself works extremely well, but I think the implementation up until now has been somewhat haphazard. The problem with features like the Sixaxis is that there's always a lot of pressure to make use of them even if they're not right for the game.

"I think this situation is slowly changing though - the PS3 is maturing and so is the attitude of a lot of developers to the Sixaxis. They've seen what can happen when you put lazy Sixaxis support in a game and they've seen what happens when you insist on players using Sixaxis controls even when they plainly don't work so I think developers are becoming more thoughtful about their use of the Sixaxis. I think as a result you'll see fewer games supporting it but those that do using it well, which can only be a good thing.

"Anything that gives the player a different way to interact with a game is exciting to me. How many times have you ever seen a friend leaning their controller left and right whilst they attempt to steer their character in a game? That's the potential of Sixaxis, right there."

That's very true, but those friends were shockingly bad at games...

Hjalmar Vikström is Lead Gameplay Programmer at GRIN (best know for the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter games)

"I think that every attempt at bringing something new and creative to the gaming experience should be applauded, whether it is new ways of controlling the games, a new way of connecting gamers online or an exciting new rendering technique. We, as an industry, need to strive to expand our audience and renew ourselves. Anything else would ultimately lead to us doing the same games all over again, and even though it sometimes might look as if the buyers actually DO want to buy the same old games over and over again, I really think that people would lose interest in that with time.

"I think that the Sixaxis as a controller was hurt by the fact that it didn't have rumble support from the beginning in favour of the motion control. This put extra pressure on the motion control to work wonders, which it frankly did not do from the beginning.

"I think that most PS3 games are trying to be as advanced as usual with the motion control technique just added on. This will make them harder to play and also make the experience from the controller less good. In my eyes you can't demand too much detailed moves with the controller from the player in a stressful situation.

"Therefore I would say that playing MotorStorm with the Sixaxis motion control enabled would be a low point. Small implementations where the player can focus on the motion like, for example, running over the logs in Drakes Fortune would be a high, even though I think that you should be able to do it even better!"

Martin Gram is Lead PS3 Programmer for IO (makers of the Hitman series as well as Kane & Lynch).

"It's a neat feature. It breaks the mould and the control code, which is always fun. I personally think that it adds depth to the PS3. From a design standpoint it opens up opportunities to make game mechanics more varied, which in turn should lead to more interesting games. The high point for Sixaxis so far is how Ratchet and Clank seamlessly use the motion sensing. Low point is the grenade throwing in Uncharted. I've heard that Folklore is very good too.

"It's probably too early to say whether Sixaxis has been a success or not. I find that the feature is working well when used in its right element. Trying to achieve precision control with motion sensing is very hard due to the nature of the device. So finding the places where motion sensing is in its sweet spot is the key to success.

"From what I've seen and tried, the Wii-mote and Sixaxis are somewhat similar in performance. The Wii-mote does however have a completely different importance on the Nintendo system compared to that of the Sixaxis on the PS3.

"I'd preferably have both vibration and motion-sensitivity in a controller. I find that motion sensing has most potential of the two, and I like the lighter Sixaxis controller compared to the DualShock version. Forced to pick one, I would have go with motion controls.

Dave Dootson - Head of Technology at Traveller's Tales (makers of the Lego Star Wars/Batman/Indiana Jones games as well as Sonic R and Transformers: The Game).

"Obviously, the Wii remote was designed primarily for motion control, whereas it's a secondary feature of the PS3 pad. But the combination of analogue sticks and motion control in Sixaxis has potential, I'm sure, for unique and successful applications. There will definitely be some interesting new game interfaces created to make use of Sixaxis functionality. I'm sure its best days are yet to come."

Matt Southern is Game Director at Evolution Studios (best known for MotorStorm)

"When we are working on concepts we deliberately ignore technical / hardware issues and have an ‘anything goes’ philosophy. Only later when the concepts take shape and preproduction begins do we pull them into the real world, and Sixaxis becomes another tool in the toolbox. With Sixaxis, it does pay to consider it in the early phases, and we also brainstorm ideas that use it exclusively.

"I can only speak for MotorStorm, and MotorStorm has panned out successfully in the way we expected – an unusual mix of extremely hardcore players and ‘noobs’ both swear by Sixaxis control, and I'm sure this has contributed to the success of the game.

"I think Sixaxis plays a critical part of a bigger and more exciting landscape, where we steadily expand our audiences to include those who are new to games. The PlayStation Eye is also a part of that.

"I think we’re only just beginning to see what’s achievable with Sixaxis, and as a developer it’s simply a case of more options for us to be creative with. Its value will dramatically increase over 2008 and beyond. In fact, I believe in every sense this is going to be our year, then we’ll take it from there."

At GamesRadar, we're pretty sure too that 2008 will be a great year for PS3 in general. And, while Sixaxis has had its problems, been used in the wrong way at the wrong times and had Nintendo's more dedicated (and commercially successful) motion technology to compete with, we hope that lessons have been learned.

However. Looking at the release schedule for the year, nothing leaps out as being the sure saviour of Sixaxis. And it needs something soon as the technology won't be 'new' for much longer. It needs a game that proves its worth with superb, intuitive game control. Or alternatively a new application in a casual gaming product that makes the most of the lack of barrier to entry using Sixaxis - something Sony has already proved it is capable of with the SingStar microphone, Buzz controller and EyeToy. And when it comes, others will follow.

But if we find ourselves looking back in another 15 months and still no further forward, then maybe it wasn't meant to be. But we will have rumble again by then...


Is Sixaxis a white elephant?

Posted 633 days ago      0 Comments      PermaLink


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