14 DAY TRIAL // When Microsoft unveiled its motion tracking controller, it had a name ready to go, and, soon, a lot of people were talking about Project Natal and the possibilities it was opening up for game developers. Arguably, less buzz surrounded the Sony motion tracking solution, in part because the combination between the Sony Eye and the wand was less impressive but also because it lacked a name that could catch the imagination of players and game creators.
Suhei Yoshida, who is the boss of the Worldwide Studios of Sony Computer Entertainment, told Kotaku that “There are several candidates for the name of the controller. The SIXAXIS and the DualShock 3 - while great product names - are based on the actual tech. The name we pick for the Wand Controller maybe won't be so techy.”
As Yoshida is hinting, the main idea is for the new system to get a simple name that will entice more casual gamers to pick it up and use it when it arrives in spring 2010. Part of the success of the Nintendo Wii, which is leading in the sales race of the current generation of consoles, is due to the ease of use of the Wiimote and the Nunchuk. If Sony can replicate that, it can increase the sales for the PlayStation 3 and attract more gamers to its platform.
Sony could do a bit of crowd sourcing and simply launch a contest opened to all those who use a PlayStation 3 related to the naming of the wand and Eye combination.
A down-to-earth gamer who might be interested in using the new device will likely come up with something more appealing than the corporate suits at Sony. Maybe we’ll have a catchy name in time for spring 2010 when the wand is set to be released to the public, probably a few months before Microsoft's Project Natal.