WiiMote vs DS3 (Wii Controller vs PS3 Controller)

“Teh intarwebz” is in an uproar over the announcement of the PlayStation 3 controller. I myself was laughing myself silly during the announcement, imagining the chaos that would ensue. What stands is that Nintendo fanboys are screaming their heads off about Sony copying Nintendo’s idea while Sony fanboys are denying that they ever called the WiiMote a “useless gimmick.”

Those of us who have got past this stage can look at it more closely. The two controllers really are not the exact same thing. What’s the big difference? One is limited in its function and the other isn’t. The limited one, for those wondering, is the PS3 controller.

The PS3 controller senses tilting.
The Wii controller senses motion.

This means that although you can swing a sword (Dragon Quest Swords), aim a gun (Red Steel), throw a ball (Madden Wii), or swing a racket (Tennis Wii) with the WiiMote, you cannot do the same with the Dual Shock 3. What can the DS3 do? It can do little functions like acting like a fishing rod, as a steering wheel for racing games.

In short, the DS3 can be used for minigames or in racing games. It will not have entire gaming experiences built around it. It is Sony’s way of 1up-ing Microsoft, not Nintendo.

What will be most interesting is how Microsoft will respond.

Picture by Emil G. Ryderup back in September 2005. I just found it a bit amusing.

“Teh intarwebz” is in an uproar over the announcement of the PlayStation 3 controller. I myself was laughing myself silly during the announcement, imagining the chaos that would ensue. What stands is that Nintendo fanboys are screaming their heads off about Sony copying Nintendo’s idea while Sony fanboys are denying that they ever called the WiiMote a “useless gimmick.”

Those of us who have got past this stage can look at it more closely. The two controllers really are not the exact same thing. What’s the big difference? One is limited in its function and the other isn’t. The limited one, for those wondering, is the PS3 controller.

The PS3 controller senses tilting.
The Wii controller senses motion.

This means that although you can swing a sword (Dragon Quest Swords), aim a gun (Red Steel), throw a ball (Madden Wii), or swing a racket (Tennis Wii) with the WiiMote, you cannot do the same with the Dual Shock 3. What can the DS3 do? It can do little functions like acting like a fishing rod, as a steering wheel for racing games.

In short, the DS3 can be used for minigames or in racing games. It will not have entire gaming experiences built around it. It is Sony’s way of 1up-ing Microsoft, not Nintendo.

What will be most interesting is how Microsoft will respond.

Picture by Emil G. Ryderup back in September 2005. I just found it a bit amusing.