14 DAY TRIAL // There are rumors spreading around the Internet that Sony Computer Entertainment is working on a new controller for the PlayStation 3 gaming console. The pad is not publicly announced and there's no official position on whether it is real or not.
The new controller is going to be "breakable" in the sense that it will be made up of two independent pieces that can be assembled to create a more "traditional" pad, which offers all the usual assortment of buttons and nudges. Once broken in two, each piece of the new Sony creation will feature an accelerometer and the ability to track the player's moves as the Wiimote currently does.
It seems that there are selected Sony partners who have already received the new controller and who are currently testing it, focusing on the possible uses of the dual motion tracking elements. The PlayStation 3 can now be controlled using either a Sixaxis controller, which offers some motion tracking but without the "rumble" feature, or a DualShock controller, which has no motion tracking whatsoever.
Sony believes that offering a new control scheme, with motion tracking attached, combined with the success of the Blu-ray high definition disk, the introduction of Home and the gradual release of some exclusive titles, will make the PS3 a success this year, after its sluggish performance in the release year. Adding motion tracking might even help the Sony-made gaming console take some sales away from Nintendo and its Wii product.
Microsoft was also rumored to be interested in deploying a motion tracking controller and there were rumors that limited consumer testing of the product was being conducted, although there's no official word from Microsoft regarding all this.
E3 is coming in a few weeks and it might prove to be the perfect occasion for Sony to show off its new controller concept.