Sony Has its Own Magic Wand in the Works

Details about a patent (need Adobe Acrobat to view) Sony filed for a gaming wand back in December 2004 have surfaced. We’re not sure how this stayed under the radar for so long, but according to the document, this device is shockingly similar to the Nintendo Revolution controller. It appears to have been initially developed for the PS2, but has either been shelved or is pending release on the PlayStation 3.

The gaming wand interacts with a web cam, which feeds into the console and is designed to read only certain light effects (given off by the wand) and will ignore ordinary room lights. The web cam will then map the movements of the light (i.e. the wand) and incorporate them into the application that is running on the console. Looks like both Sony and Microsoft have been toying with their own magic wands for a while now, but unlike Nintendo, neither has been bold enough to whip it out.

Details about a patent (need Adobe Acrobat to view) Sony filed for a gaming wand back in December 2004 have surfaced. We’re not sure how this stayed under the radar for so long, but according to the document, this device is shockingly similar to the Nintendo Revolution controller. It appears to have been initially developed for the PS2, but has either been shelved or is pending release on the PlayStation 3.

The gaming wand interacts with a web cam, which feeds into the console and is designed to read only certain light effects (given off by the wand) and will ignore ordinary room lights. The web cam will then map the movements of the light (i.e. the wand) and incorporate them into the application that is running on the console. Looks like both Sony and Microsoft have been toying with their own magic wands for a while now, but unlike Nintendo, neither has been bold enough to whip it out.