Sony history
Sony was founded by two men in 1946 their names were Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. The company was originally called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, which translates as Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company. However it was Ibuka who started a radio repair shop in an old bomb damaged shop, and then Akio joined later on that year. They continued fixing radios and developing voltmeters to make a living but all the while looking to the future and coming up with ideas for new electronic products.
The two partners then made the decision to make their company global and breach the international market, hoping to spread to the USA and eventually Europe. Due to the company name TTK already being used by another company they changed the name to Sony.
The first Sony product was a transistor radio the TT-55, what was brilliant about this product was that it was smaller and used a transistor, therefore making it portable. Sony was the first company to make radios accessible to the general public being a very good kick-start to the international company. A lot of the components used in the radios where also developed in house by Sony themselves.
PlayStation
The idea for PlayStation started back in 1998 when Sony and Nintendo were working together on a new project involving a system that could use discs as well as Nintendo cartridges. The CD-ROM drive was meant to be an attachment of the upcoming console, it was designed to be a multi-media piece of equipment meaning you could use two different types of game without having to buy the CD drive could play audio CDs as well as disks with computer and video information on them. Sony were the ones who manufactured the product but only a few hundred were actually made but they never left the factories.
Sony and Nintendo decided to part ways after Nintendo decided to partner with Philips that, at the time, were Sony’s main rival. Sony to carried on developing a consol with just a CD drive that was a modified version of the original PlayStation that never saw the light of day. The project was lead by Sony engineer Ken Kutaragi who took a large active role in the technology within the system.
In 1994 the PlayStation was released along with a few lunch titles, it cost 37,000 yen. Now players could experience full 3D worlds so Ken Kutaragi thought it was important to get the level of control right, therefore the joy pad came into the light, he said they spent about the same amount of time working on the joy pad on the controller that they did on the system itself. The controller had a total of eight buttons, the shape of the controller was important as well the 2 elongated handles on either side made it easier to use and fit into your hands better.
After a year of the PlayStation being released in Japan Sony turned to the United States. In May 1995 America got its first look at the PlayStation at The Electronic Entertainment Expo. It was a huge hit besting the Sega Saturn and Nintendo’s newest consol the Virtual boy. The PlayStation was then released in America in September 1995.
Sony computer entertainment
Sony computer entertainment was established in 1993 after the problems with Nintendo, at this point Sony decided they could start working on entirely Sony video game products rather than just making components for devises. Sony computer entertainment is a specific part of the overall Sony Company that specializes in computer entertainment.
In 1994 Sony computer entertainment America started up and also just a few months later Sony computer entertainment Europe followed. Since then many development companies decided to join them such as Sucker Punch, Bigbig and Media Molecule. All of these companies in the last ten years have made games exclusive to Sony and the PlayStation.
PlayStation2
The PlayStation2 was a 6th generation consol that was announced to the public in April 1999 and then was later released in March 2000 in Japan. The release for America and Europe was later that year around October and November. The PlayStation2 was an instant hit selling over 900,000 units in its first week on the shelves and today is one of the most loved and classic consoles having many of the fan favorite games such as Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Grand theft auto, metal gear solid, final Fantasy and so many more.
The PlayStation2 used a DVD disk format for its games also meaning that it could play DVD movies. It also played compact discs and was backwards compatible with PlayStation one games. It used memory cards much like the Original PlayStation but couldn’t be used to save PlayStation one game data, for this you needed a PS one memory card. The playStation2 also had USB capability allowing for add-ons such as the Eye Toy which was a Small camera that sat on top of the Television that let the player use there bodies to interact with the game.
At first Sony weren’t looking into making the PlayStation2 online compatible like the Sega Dreamcast at the time. However when the Microsoft Xbox came about they developed a network adaptor to allow online access and gaming on the PS2, Sony realized that online gaming was the future of the industry. The adaptor was later built into the new smaller and quieter model of the PS2 that came out in 2004.
PlayStation3 and PSN
The PlayStation3 was introduced in May 2005 just a year after the new model of PS2 was released. The model that was first shown was not a working model it was just to show the specs that the console would have and what the graphics would be like. The first prototype of the consol had two HDMI ports, three Ethernet ports and six USB ports however the second prototype had four USB ports, one Ethernet port and one HDMI port.
The PS3’s disc format is the Blu-Ray disc these discs can hold massive amounts of information which allows developers to put a lot into the games they are making, this means that the PS3 can also be used as a Blu-Ray player. It can also play DVDs and CDs making the PS3 a good multimedia device. The PlayStation3 gives out high quality video and audio through its HDMI port giving up to 1080p HD resolution, however it is also compatible with the component/AV cable like the PS2 used.
Unlike it’s predecessors the PS3 had a built in memory hard drive meaning you didn’t need memory cards in order to save data. The first model of PS3 was the 20GB version; this model was only released in Japan. The first model to be released overseas was the 60GB that also had play back capability with PS2 games; this was the only model that ever had this function. Since then there has been a 80GB version and then in more recent years the 120GB, 160GB and 320GB have been released in the PS3 slim version.
The PlayStation Network is an important part of the PS3 it gives players the opportunity to browse through an online store and choose from a wide variety of games that might not have a physical release. The PSN has given small developers the opportunity to make games to release online for people to download, thus opening up the game industry a little more so people can show their work. It allows people to play online with people all over the world and was designed for use on the PS3, PSP and the new PSvita system. The PSN also has downloadable versions of some older games for the original PlayStation that can be downloaded straight onto the PS3’s internal hard drive.
The PSN itself is free to use however there is a subscription option called the PlayStation Network Plus which you pay monthly to get exclusive content not available to the general public.
PlayStation Move
The PlayStation move is a motion controller add-on for the PlayStation3 that works with the PlayStation Eye camera that is a USB attachment device. Much like the Wii it has two different controllers the wand and the navigator that is a none motion-detecting controller held in one hand that has the same function of the left hand side of a standard controller.
One thing that is the key feature to all motion control devices for game consoles is the responsiveness and accuracy an aspect in which the Move controller excels in. The PlayStation Move uses two extra motion detecting function than any of its rivals.
The Move controller has a three-access accelerometer that detects what angle the controller is at all times. There is a Magnetometer that uses the earth’s natural magnetism to maintain consistent accuracy within the accelerometer. It uses the PlayStation Eye to detect the LED orb on the end of the wand to detect the distance and position of the controller to the camera.
It’s level of accuracy allows more realistic actions within games to create the feeling that you are performing a certain action rather than just waving the controller around. Such as the action of shooting an arrow with a bow in the game Medieval Moves, it simulates the movement of reaching behind you to pull an arrow from your quiver, you then have to touch the two controllers together to simulate putting the arrow on the bow then you pull back like you where using a bow then release a button to fire the arrow. The more realistic the movements the more satisfying it is.
Move.me
The Move.me is a software application for the PS3, the Move controllers serve as an input device which work alongside the PlayStation Eye controller and a PC, it uses the PlayStation Move technology to create innovative and unique applications that could be used universally for all manor of different things. The software was not just created for programming hobbyists and specialists but also for the use of Students, Instructors and researchers who can make something with the software. To use the software you need a PS3 system, a PlayStation Move controller, a PlayStation Eye Camera and a PC.
Some of uses for the software that have been mentioned are aids to fitness as well as sports and training, Physical therapy, IT education within schools, teaching aids, games, music, art etc. however the possibilities for this software and technology are endless.
When given a chance to test out the Move.me I was limited to what you are given when the program starts up, which is what the camera is picking up and the controller is replaces with a sword on the screen. While this did give me a very good example of the accuracy and responsiveness of the Move controller technology there was nothing more I could do to it or get out of it. In order to be able to make anything, an understanding of programming is needed and I am not a programmer.
At the moment the Move.me is very vague, there are no real guidelines and looking into making something usable is a very daunting task for someone who doesn’t have the knowledge to do so. The key issue is to make it more accessible, to create some form of interface that the person using the software can use to begin creating. For example programs like UDK the Unreal Development kit, it allows the user to make levels for games and all the coding is already there so all they have to do is tell the program what they want to by clicking a few buttons and dragging geometry into place. Another program would be Stencyl which is a program that allows you to create iOS and Flash games without all the coding. You tell it what you want it to do and it does the coding part for you if you want it to. This could open up the software to many people and would be a brilliant opportunity for students to create games or programs that could use Move controllers as part of their University work, or even used in schools as part of IT lessons.
Using this technology for Medical treatments such as Physical Therapy. A large problem, which I myself have experienced, is the motivation to do exercises that are sett for patients to do to aid in their recovery, especially with children and young people. If physical therapy is made into some kind of interactive game that makes it fun and immersive it won’t seem like a core but rather something that they would want to do rather than something they have to do.
If the Move.me is to be as successful as it could be it needs to be integrated into other fields not just gaming, as it stands people might be put off by it if they associate it with video games. A lot of people still see the games industry as a negative thing and as having negative affects on young people but I think if it is advertised more to other areas such as medical practices or schools it could be massively successful.
