It's simply dubbed the Wand Controller. For the time being, that is.
"There are several candidates for the name of the controller," said Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida. While still undecided, those names are making their way through Sony, being run up the flagpole and getting feedback from various internal departments.
"The SIXAXIS and the DualShock 3 — while great product names — are based on the actual tech," Yoshida explained. "The name we pick for the Wand Controller maybe won't be so techy."
The reason is this: Sony is hoping to appeal to a casual and core market, so the company needs a name that can convey an image or a brand to both groups. And for Yoshida, the Wand Controller could very well expand the PS3 user base in the same way that the Eye Top did for the PS2. That's not to say, it's a casual only peripheral. "Hardcore gamers are surprised how accurate and responsive the Wand is," the exec added.
At Sony Japan's press conference, Capcom producer Jun Takeuchi and his demo demoed a Wand version of Resident Evil 5, called Resident Evil 5 Alternative Edition. Later, Takeuchi joked that Sony should call the Wand Controller the Alternative Controller to do a clever marketing tie-up with RE5 Alternative Edition. The RE title was controlled by the Wand in one hand and the the PS3 DualShock 3 in the other hand, using the buttons and analog thumbstick as a make-shift Nunchuk.
There have been rumblings that Sony is currently working on a proper Nunchuk peripheral — that it is already in the design phase. Yoshida was unwilling to confirm this secondary peripheral, but did concede that using the PS3 DualShock 3 as a Nunchuk was "the cheapest solution". Yoshida wasn't being glib: While the PS3 DualShock 3 might not make the most attractive Nunchuk solution, it does appear to work.
Meaning? Meaning that gamers won't be forced to shell out for yet another peripheral.
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