Tretton: We 'Ushered In Motion Control'

SCEA President and CEO Jack Tretton believes that Sony 'ushered in motion control' with the PlayStation 2's EyeToy, and that the platform giant is now ready to take the technology to the next level.

[respawnaction]

I suppose in actuality it does make sense, but, if it wasn't so big now he wouldn't be saying this. He is only saying it b/c of Wii and Move. He wasn't so proud when eye-toy was first out.

[-Alpha]

http://www.computerandvideo... That was this month!

Nintendo truly mainstreamed it. The only reason Eyetoy received any success was because of how mainstream the PS2 was. Eyetoy did make motion control more popular that way, but it never really "ushered" in until Nintendo showed how to build a console around it. The fact that he said this and people buy it is downright sad and blind fanboyism at its finest.

I really don't like How Tretton is bringing out Sony's arrogant side. First he arrogantly equates Natal to Eyetoy when the irony is that that same ignorant comment can be made for Move with Wii. Deliver the games, the products, and at worst let fanboys tug at the company's ego.

[BeaArthur]

I mean who does he think he's fooling. If it weren't for the Wii there wouldn't be a Playstation Move.

[Christopher]

I'll give him ushering in motion control if he'll admit that they failed to follow through with it and fumbled the ball, let Nintendo pick up the ball and run with it for 80 yards with the Wii, and then Sony took the ball from Nintendo to run the last 10 yards with Move.

Move is definitely an advancement over Wii and Sony definitely had a hand in starting the motion gaming technology, but you can't discount the fact that they fumbled the heck out of the ball and Nintendo was right there to pick it up and run with it like crazy.

I think Tretton is a great guy, one of the few people you can get some brutally honest answers from in regards to Sony's issues. But, it's occasional comments like this that really don't make him look all that great.

[Therealspy03]

I remember playing a virtual reality shooter game back in the early 90s at disney world.

it had 1 to 1 motion recognition. so if jack really wants to look at it like that, then no, they didn't usher it in. it's been around for 2 decades or more.

[-Alpha]

Well said, but no company would admit their failings, not until they've succeeded or are 10 years down the road looking back :)

Take how Insomniac bashed themselves over Resistance 2 or how Epic admitted to how much they failed at Gears 2 online. Incredibly noble, but not something fans want to hear after the games have been forgotten about.

Sony's just trying to get some attention for the motion wars by reaffirming that they are experienced with the trade. Personally I find that everybody before Nintendo failed to ever make motion control successful on consoles. Blame it on the technology or the lack of interest, but motion control only really took off because of Nintendo. Basing a whole console around motion control was a risky move and because of it Nintendo has made motion controls so important.

Sony was not the first of the three to make motion control nor were they the ones that made it mainstream. Eyetoy was relatively successful to the PS2's popularity. So Tretton really has no grounds here. I absolutely hate it when leaders have to dip into fanboy pools to promote their companies because it's crap like this that keeps fanboys going.

Still, I find that Move has the most capability to cater to hardcore games, and if that happens then Sony could make that claim, much like how they ushered in a new audience of gamers with the original Playstation. However, they have never ushered in motion controls and that is a downright arrogant thing for Sony to say.

[raztad]

Hey alpha why so much fuss? you are quite sensitive, arent you? EyeToy was before the Wii, and had some real games. It never was mainstream because the PS2 was dominating the market and probably Sony never feel like pushing it, instead they focused on better, more mature content and I'm glad they did.

EDIt: WOW, 2 disagrees before I even had a chance to finish my post.

@alpha

See bro, I dont even care. I just was wondering why so sensible, it's not like Tretton attack you personally.

[-Alpha]

"EyeToy was first"

Dude, come on, you can't be serious. Look at the comments below from Soda Pop, chris, sevir04. It's not even first out of the three since Nintendo did motion first. It's not first on consoles. It is first on consoles against MS and Nintendo maybe, but that is a seriously desperate attempt to try and give credit to Sony. You have to discredit and ignore so much facts just to conclude that Sony is "first". Is it that important for Sony to get recognized for this when they clearly have to jump through loopholes to validate the soundness of this claim?

Edit: ok so you edited to say it was before the Wii and had real games. Well guess what, there were others before Eyetoy that also had games. "Real Games"? Really? That's such an ignorant attempt to manipulate Eyetoy's superiority. I take it that you never used Nintendo Camera, because it had "real games". How could you say real motion controlled games didn't exist before Eyetoy when the arcades were FILLED with them?? I don't understand Sony fans constant attempt to try and act as if Sony innovated motion controls

"It never was mainstream"

You just proved Tretton wrong. Sony DIDN'T usher in motion controls first with the eyetoy then because by your admittance it wasn't even that mainstream, just like all the other motion attempts by other companies before Wii. Tretton flatly states they ushered it in which is absolute horsecrap. There is no fuss, except on the end of Sony fans that can never disagree with Sony despite blatantly being wrong.

Edit: Well raztad if you dont want to debate it then fine, but don't appeal to my emotions as a cover up. You know Tretton is wrong and you tried to defend him on some level, so I think you do care, but you just cant argue it.

@bigpappy
Exactly, he's just a mouthpiece, yet people will STILL eat up what he is saying even though he is wrong.

@Guntrol
There is a fixation to be "first" and its driven by fanboyism that wants to constantly tout a company's horn. People just care about keeping score at home. Trying to force themselves to believe Sony was "First" scores points under the "innovation" category. It's a silly agenda.

[Bigpappy]

May be Jack doesn't know "Jack". Think about it. Jack is a suit, not a gamer. He sits in the office and sign of on other peoples ideas and sets budgets. He has no idea what happen in the gaming world before he got his new gig. I doubt he is aware he is lying. The people around him should pull him aside and them him to modify his statement.

[Hideo_Kojima]

In my eyes just because Nintendo released analogue sticks first it doesn't mean that their analogue sticks are better.

This is the same.

I do believe that Eye Toy was quite a major leap in motion controls. It was also the first that put you in the game.

[ryhanon]

The sad truth is that you're probably spot on with that assessment.

The bottom line is it's all marketing and sales talking points that they feel they can get away with, no matter how untrue any of the statements happen to be. As far as I'm aware Nintendo was the first, not with the Wii, but with the Power Glove in the 80s. I suppose it's possible somebody did it before them, but it sure as hell wasn't Sony.

In any case, why would anyone in their right mind want to take credit for this crap? I'm trying to stay cautiously optimistic about Move and Natal, but so far I have little reason to believe either of these will perform any better than the Wii. I suspect people will gobble them up at first, and just like the Wii, will stop supporting the platforms after realizing it's all a gimmick for ridiculously shallow games.

[Neo604]

it's come down to who get the best quality and don't tell me you truly don't know.
Maybe some still prefer old CPU instead of duo core or quadcore.

[soxfan2005]

PS3 fans hate Aaron Greenburg for comments just like Jack Tretton is making.

[kwyjibo]

...the wheel, the concept of time, and the Abrahamic faiths.

Motion control is nothing.

[pixelsword]

/thread

[Sevir04]

there is some truth but motion control was around long before the ps2 came to the market

[TheoreticalParticle]

There were motion control games in arcades, and for the Webcam before the Eyetoy. But he's right that the EyeToy was the first major effort at motion control by any of the current Big 3.

[Chris399]

Lame, but true.

[DelbertGrady]

Microsoft had the Sidewinder Freestyle Pro back in 1998.

[ryhanon]

And Nintendo had the Power Glove way back in the late 80s, over 20 years ago. In fact, thinking back on it, I'm really surprised this motion control craze didn't begin 15+ years ago.

[PhilipLarkin]

EyeToy wasn't really motion control, as it is today...

[wollie]

eye toy did suck, but as far as i know no one did motion control on a console before it.

[SpoonyRedMage]

Oh there was plenty before it. The Dreamcast had motion controllers and there was the Power Glove and U-force(3D infrared camera) for the NES. There's probably plenty of examples earlier than that even.

[mjolliffe]

Yep, there were a load out there before it. Eyetoy was what Wii is, but for the last generation; family fun!

[Nicaragua]

Motion controllers gao waay back to the 8-bit days.

[GIJeff]

and play mortal kombat by kicking and punching?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[yewles1]

I wonder how many people remember EyeToy: Antigrav by Harmonix? THAT was a sketchy first attempt at motion control...

[mrdxpr2]

yes i remember and i still have it lol... it was ok but had a lot of bugs ... but hey that was when the eyetoy was in its prime now its more mature and is ready for all that

[SpaceSquirrel]

Gotta love PR people.

[scruffy_bear]

Can't wait for PS Move

[TheBand1t]

Tretton, I love PlayStation, but do shut up if you're unwilling to give credit where credit is due.

[keysy420]

really there system is the system of the future wether you got internet or not. they arent dependent on that.

[DlocDaBudSmoka]

activator thing or whatever it was called that u could use with eternal champions. hmmm explain that tretton.

[aviator189]

Tretton, you guys didn't do that.

[ukilnme]

I want what Jack was drinking.

[Gamer7l]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Tony P]

He said the same BS at GDC and it still holds no water. To say that EyeToy did it first or even laid the foundation is not PR. It's a straight up lie.

Stop trying to take credit for a movement that's existed since before you even thought of joining the industry.

[jalen247]

I think he is stretching the truth but he has a little bit of a point.

Sony was the first of the Big 3 to usher in a motion control solution.

Eyetoy last gen was Sony's first attempt.
The WiiMote this gen was Nintendo's first attempt.
The SixAxis this gen was Sony's second attempt.
The PS Eye this gen was Sony's third attempt.
The PS Move with PS Eye this gen is Sony's fourth attempt.
Project Natal this gen is Microsoft's first attempt.

There are older motion control solutions but none of them were by the big 3 (Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft).

[SpoonyRedMage]

Actually MS had a sixaxis style controller for the PC in the 90s and even though they didn't manufacture it Nintendo was involved with the Power Glove(it being in The Wizard is a clue) then again Sony didn't make the Eye Toy, Logitech did.

[GIJeff]

spoony, that wasnt created by the xbox division, so, guy above isnt really wrong... of course, you can tell me i'm wrong because when the ps2 was launched, sega WAS part of "the big 3" and had a history of motion.

[mcgrawgamer]

you're losing me jack. see the dreamcast dreameye and shut up!

[BigKev45]

Jack must have been drinking some Jack Daniels. lol

[air1]

ushered in? wtf? they more like whispered it in then treated it they way they are doing right now with psp go. terrible job! dont try to take credit for something you couldnt turn into a success, you failed the first time, thats how i see it...

just cause you put the product out now a days dont mean jack, jack.. its who make it better, wii did it better than ps2 and now some years after the wii move will be better.

so please stick to the "we do it better" i can agree with that but dont try and act as if you had any part in making motion a success like nintendo has with there first try.

now... im ready for that next level bring it sony and micro i guess ill wait till next gen for nintendo, tired of all these ds's give me a next gen power house console!

[Oner]

I posted this before but it fits here for the most part so I adjusted it a little. Hopefully someone can post/link to it here (you have my permission to do so) as I got restricted for saying a bad joke in the Gamer Zone the other day ~

The amount of false information being thrown around in here is astonishing

"Microsoft SideWinder was released around the late 90s" ~

The SideWinder is a controller FOR PC (not CONSOLES) with SixAxiS features but they were not the first. Multi Axis accelerometers and Motion Input devices have been around for years in Aviation and in many other areas (especially for PC). So "yes" the MS Sidewinder was before the SixAxis...this is correct....but to say Sony copied MS is falsely ladened with incorrect information as it has been done before MS. Plus if anyone forgot this was for PC and NOT consoles of which this article is referencing.

"February 16 2000 the Sega DreamEye was Unveiled & SEGA Dreamcast was the first console with motion control" ~

IMPORTANT----->*****The Dreameye is just a webcam*****<-----IMPORTANT

THERE ARE NO GAMES THAT HAVE MOTION CONTROL WITH A CONTROLLER INPUT DEVICE OR EVEN PS EYETOY FEATURES.

I have searched for a few days to see if I could find 1, JUST 1 game that the Dreameye EVER came out with. I found NOTHING. Now that is not to say there was NEVER a game but I sure as hell couldn't find a single piece of evidence to say that the Dreameye is what the PS EyeToy was/is. So until you can provide any links, proof or information that shows the Dreameye had games like the PS EyeToy then people are just talking BS.

"Power Glove was originally released in 1989. Though it was an officially licensed product, Nintendo was not involved in the design or release of this accessory. Rather, it was designed by the team of Grant Goddard and Sam Davis for Abrams Gentile Entertainment (AGE), made by Mattel in the United States"

The Power Glove is just a TACTILE INPUT DEVICE. Nothing more, Nothing Less. Not the same as the Wii, PS EyeToy, PS Eye & PS Move. And definitely not motion control.

The PlayStation Move/Eye & EyeToy does/did what EVERYBODY else is doing NOW. Deny it, lie about it & avoid it all you want...but it won't change the FACT that SONY influenced/innovated it from the get go for consoles!

Hope that clears up some misinformation that is being spread here

[maniacmayhem]

What about the U-Force?

[anonymouse111335]

The motion control ball his been picked up and dropped numerous times throughout the years, admit it, it was first seen in the gun attachment fro the nes then moved onto arcades, then DDR, then the eye toy, then the wii, guitar hero was in beetween the wii and eye toy.

No ones really invented it as it's been contributed to by so many different companies with different ideas, guitar hero is debatable, but has the same feel as a motion controller imo.

[cliffbo]

anyone remember LE STICK?

[anonymouse111335]

Never heard of that until you mentioned it, but googled it and thats a pretty interesting device

[Logiistics]

I don't think so.

[ReBurn]

This is all marketing/PR speak. The PS2 was the first system that I used motion control on with the Eye Toy. It really was a mediocre experience, but the little kids loved Eye Toy Play and washing those windows.

Motion control as we know it today, no. Sony didn't usher that in. But they stand a chance to redefine it with Move. The PSEye for PS3 didn't really have anything going for it until Move came along.

[gamingisnotacrime]

the eye toy on PS2 was a gimmick among gimmicks. The Wii made motion controller what it is today, and now Natal and Move will bring it to core gamers (will they succed, that remanis to be seen).
I still have faith in Jack

[GIJeff]

not a gimmick. it was an under-utilized feature of the PS2/PS3. I wish there was more advertising for it on the PS2. Kinetic is an AWESOME workout game. And sega all stars is freaking sweet and REALLY HARD playing virtua fighter.

[Xi]

we're just going to completely ignore things like le stick:
http://classicgames.about.c...

or the micrsoft sidewinder:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[bjornbear]

i present to you, TEH POWA GLUV (sorry for the spelling, I'm illiterate

[cliffbo]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Subzero200x]

no you perverted it.

"I mean who does he think he's fooling. If it weren't for the Wii there wouldn't be a Playstation Move."

that's how the copystation does, and it will still fail either way.

"Move is definitely an advancement over Wii and Sony definitely had a hand in starting the motion gaming technology"

wrong it's the same gimmick the wii was 3 years ago with terrible;e controls, and as usual they are behind the cure when it comes to nintendo.

[strickers]

You are wrong.Explain how it's the same.

[math]

Jack Tretton is also a delusional scumbag that copied the Wiimote instead of coming up with something original that wasn't the floptoy.

[strickers]

There were demos of the coloured ball tracking in early Eyetoy demos(prelaunch PS2 Eyetoy)so you are also wrong.
There some very ignorant,uneducated people on here.

[Leathersoup]

Tretton went on to say that Sony also invented the wheel, juice crystals, and October the 15th.