SIXAXIS wins an Emmy for Technology and Engineering... wait, really?

We interrupt our regularly scheduled CES blogathon to bring you some important industry news from the world of video games: the PlayStation 3's new (sort of) SIXAXIS controller has been honored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a Technology and Engineering Emmy. Details are scarce, but the award will be handed over at an awards presentation being held tonight at ... wait, CES! Everything is captured in its gravitational pull, there's no avoiding it. Regardless, we're not sure exactly why the Sixaxis is receiving this honor, short of it being a technology product that undoubtedly involved some engineering, but we can't help but think something in the world of television must have been more deserving of such accolades. But what ...

[tiuk @ Jan 8th 2007 1:59PM]

God, wonder who Sony had to suck off to land this one.

[R @ Jan 8th 2007 2:02PM]

Do you think they just got confused? I mean, "Sony" and "Nintendo" sound a lot alike.

[Jonathan Keim @ Jan 8th 2007 2:03PM]

I don't understand why nintendo wouldn't be awarded.

[Rat Bastard @ Jan 8th 2007 2:03PM]

That is some weak sauce right there. Seriously. I have none of the current gen consoles, but anyone can see that the Wii controller is pretty damned innovative. The sixaxis is just...more of the same incremental progression (and even that's debatable).

So a company with a large movie/entertainment division wins an Emmy for a mediocre product, while a gaming company gets jack for a great gaming innovation? Right, there's no payola going on there. Pfft.

[MearWolf @ Jan 8th 2007 2:07PM]

what the hell, all they did is made the PS2 controller wireless

[007 @ Jan 8th 2007 2:15PM]

Hmmm so I'm geusssing all the controllers before the SIXAXIS with this same tech were not as deserving of this award...

[CT A @ Jan 8th 2007 2:16PM]

Didn't Sony patent a motion controller way before Nintendo announced the Wii controller?

I'm just saying.

[Tausif @ Jan 10th 2007 2:38PM]

Yes around May 2005 AFAIK, five moths before the announcement of the wiimote. In fact its on engadget site somewhere, as th patent was pending until it was granted recently.

[FutileIssue @ Jan 8th 2007 2:37PM]

Actually, Nintendo was developing tilt sensitive controllers back in the day of N64. In actuality, Nintendo has Sony beat both in patent dates and device creation.

[Shunnabunich @ Jan 8th 2007 2:27PM]

So Sony purchased an Emmy award in an effort to enhance the public image of their console, proving that Emmies can, in fact, be simply purchased if you have enough money, and somehow (lemme guess) failing to tarnish the reputation of the Emmy Awards themselves, since few of the general public will ever hear of this anyway. :P Next story please.

[citykids @ Jan 8th 2007 2:27PM]

Imagine what Sony could have won if they had included the missing "rumble" feature...

[Desolatax @ Jan 8th 2007 2:32PM]

The only reason they chose the PS3 controller is because they could actually find one, because nobody wants them. The Wiimote on the other hand, are next to impossible to find.

[gary @ Jan 8th 2007 2:38PM]

lets remember something, the Wiimote just uses IR sensors to triangulate the controllers position. That is nothing technological or highly advanced, its how T.V. gets broad casted from L.A. to New York, its how how cell phones call people, (Point A) up to a satelite (Point B) to (Point C), it forms a nifty triangle, most GPS systems work off the same principle.

Until I read something that details how the SIXAXIS motion sensors work, i say it deserves the award. If they both work off the same principle then neither deserves the award and lets give it to someone else.

[Tob3z @ Jan 8th 2007 2:50PM]

Think you will find the Wii remote and nunchuck use accelerometers which are what the PS3 controller uses.

[Chocolate Starfish @ Jan 8th 2007 2:50PM]

Gary,

You're right on how it recognizes where you're pointing on screen.

You couldn't be more wrong in how it senses motion and location. Between menu navigation using the "D-pad" and everything else being un-relate to the IR sensor, I can play everything in Wii Sports without having the sensor bar plugged in.

[Simon @ Jan 8th 2007 8:39PM]

Wow, you deserve an emmy. You can act like you know something while you actualy have no clue at all. Oh, well, wait ... you clearly showed that you have no clue ... well, bad acting, no award ... unless you got some cash and power ...

TV broadcasts and cell phone calls have nothing to do with triangulation. You probably mistook IR for RF. That would have at least something to do with both. But anyway, both the Wiimote and the Sixaxis use Bluetooth, which again has something to do with RF. But I guess all this tech mumbo jumbo makes you dissy. Better sit down and shut up.

[Dave @ Jan 8th 2007 2:39PM]

They DID innovate on this controller. Nobody ever thought about REMOVING the rumble feature from a controller. They really had to think outside the box on this one.

[Nando @ Jan 8th 2007 2:42PM]

NEWSFLASH: CyberGear's Expressions Digital Radio has been honored by the National Academy Thingy Whatever or something Engineering Emmy because of its coolness.

[LandMineHare @ Jan 8th 2007 2:50PM]

BIGGER NEWSFLASH:

Duke Nukem Forever was awarded the Vaporware Software Lifetime Commitment Award!

[Mischa Lockton @ Jan 8th 2007 2:44PM]

I am no fan of BS emmys, but I am a big fan of sixaxis.

I gotta say, having all three new consoles, the PS3 controllers are the best. As far as being similar to the PS2- if it aint broke don't fix it! The triggers for L2 and R2 are more trigger-like, and now there is a PS button.

Too bad about the missing vibrator feature, and the motion control is not near to what the wii can do-
but these things are light yet solid in a way that the others are not. When I first picked mine up I thought "those cheap bastids didnt put the battery in" but it is there, and lasts for hours.

To me they are they the best controller I have experienced- with the Wii being the most experimental.

[Roceh @ Jan 8th 2007 2:48PM]

@gary

The wiimote has both a crude ir camera based positional detector, and motion sensor accelerometers in both the main wiimote and nunchuck. It depends on the game which aspects are used, e.g. fps games use the camera based method to control a reticle, the wii sports tennis game uses the accelermoters.

[Rock Stone @ Jan 8th 2007 3:03PM]

Maybe Nintendo just failed to nominate/submit their controller to the Academy for consideration.

It could be that simple.

[rockstar @ Jan 8th 2007 3:31PM]

Another crappy article from engadget.

[xVariable @ Jan 8th 2007 3:32PM]

Dude, are you seriously implying that the Wiimote should have been awarded instead of the Suxasses controller? It clear the former is a mere toy whereas the latter is a serious piece of design and innovation.

I mean, just look at the color: nothing award worthy has ever been white, whereas anything that's ever won an award has ALWAYS been black. THAT much is clear.

[R @ Jan 8th 2007 3:36PM]

THE RACE CARD PLAYETH!

[SornyPanafonic @ Jan 8th 2007 3:41PM]

maybe theyre awarding the stones on sony for having taken what was nintendos big innovation and half assing it. i for one applaud them, i mean, hello? its riiiidge raaacer!!!


seriously, i need to get a job and cop both systems. lazy idiot with a worthless degree in international affairs for hire!!! yaaayY!!!

[doubtful @ Jan 8th 2007 3:45PM]

http://www.emmys.org/media/releases/2006/rel_foun_newb.php

Eagle-eyed Kotaku reader fightinfilipino pointed out that there is a Sony employee on the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation.

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/sixaxis/sixaxis-gets-emmy-award-226833.php#c814285

[LongshotX @ Jan 8th 2007 4:13PM]

Microsoft should be nominated for Xbox Live. It is truly a beast.

[some person @ Jan 8th 2007 4:14PM]

not to sound like a fanboy or anything, but i think that the SIXAXIS controller should be in second (or however it works), for it is missing the rumble feature

[Nando @ Jan 8th 2007 4:16PM]

i can see a lot of fanboys rabid about this...

[T-Will @ Jan 8th 2007 4:18PM]

Kikiki, the comments made me laugh like a Japanese schoolgirl. :-D

[Michael @ Jan 8th 2007 4:39PM]

gary,

not sure that's totally correct. Remember that you can use the wiimote in driving games where you hold it by the top and bottom and rotate like a steering wheel. In that position there's no way for the IR sensor to communicate.

[Plexer @ Jan 8th 2007 5:20PM]

Gary,
The Wii uses a six axis :O accelerometer to detect translational and rotational velocities, just like the subtly named SIXAXIS does.

What the Wii does in ADDITION to this is triangulation of position in 3D space using IR (and using transation velocity as a synchronising reference).

When you say " its how T.V. gets broad casted from L.A. to New York" I assume you're making some vague reference to triangulation, not I.R. I'd hate to think you were that ignorant.

I've worked with I.R a fair bit before - triangulation with it isn't trivial. Theres a lot of interference from external light sources that needs to be mitigated AND theres the problem of the light spreading outward (like a cone) from the origin. As an engineer I'm impressed with every aspect of the design of the Wii - theres been a lot of thought put into it [check out the shots of the PCB on SparkFun if you can].

Theres also one more thing you should remember: Nintendo put SIX AXIS, IR triangulation, rumble and a speaker all in a compact and solid controller. Sony managed 1/4 of that.

The only thing nintendo lacks is a rumble in the classic controller, but I think we all know that that is forthcoming.

Plex

[Salgat @ Jan 8th 2007 5:31PM]

What the...

[Mel. @ Jan 8th 2007 5:39PM]

"Imagine what Sony could have won if they had included the missing "rumble" feature..."

Nobel Prize, maybe?

[icepop4who @ Jan 8th 2007 5:47PM]

eh? i don't think any company should get an emmy for a game controller. this is so confusing.

[John Laur @ Jan 8th 2007 6:18PM]

It's incredible to me how little people seem to understand about how these controllers work despite them being both available and well understood.

The Wii controller has an IR camera system and a 3 axis accelerometer. Additionally it has a second accelerometer in the nunchuck. The accelerometer is most useful to report the tilt of the controller at rest as it is always being acted upon by a 1G force towards the center of the earth. Of course the force vector moves when you fling it around meaning that the accelerometer can also be used to derive (or more properly, integrate) crude data about the position of the controller. The IR camera system on the other hand is most useful for providing precise information about where the remote is pointed relative to the screen and in conjunction with the accelerometer data it can determine the roll of the remote. It doesn't have enough resolution or field of view to be terribly useful for determining an absolute spacial position for the controller (it might to within a couple of feet), but it's probably adequate for games and particularly good for cursor based input from a distance.

The PS3 controller by contrast has a 3 axis accelerometer and 3 axis gyro. Obviously the accelerometer will give the same type of usefulness as the accelerometer in the wii remote, but in conjunction with the accelerometer the gyro has the advantage of being able to determine translational movement with a far greater degree of precision than an accelerometer alone could provide.

So from a purely technical standpoint both systems have their distinct advantages, but at this point I don't think it's fair to crown one as superior. Nintendo's execution is way ahead of Sony's at this point and is arguably more innovative despite accelerometers, gyros, and IR-based positioning all being relatively commonplace technologies.

I do think that the Wii remote should have contained a gyro as well (at least in the remote part), but it's a fairly expensive component and if I have to pick that or the IR camera, I'd rather have the camera system instead. I suppose, too, that if they really decide they need one, they could release a gyro that snaps onto the bottom of the remote. That is the true beauty of the Wii controller -- it has an expansion port on it!

[Keiwan @ Jan 8th 2007 6:29PM]

If the SIXAXIS won an emmy then the Wii-mote deserves an oscar.

[Storm9 @ Jan 8th 2007 7:02PM]

I really like the way Six Axis feels in my hand. The trigger buttons are very nice also.

My 360 controller is nice too, but IMO i prefer the ps3.

[Maunders @ Jan 8th 2007 11:26PM]

"Hello Sony, I'm Pia Zadora. Would you like to see my Golden Globe?"

"Hi there Pia! Sure I would. Want to hold my Emmy?"

"I love us."

[FanBoysSuck @ Jan 9th 2007 4:44AM]

Did you have a point or was it just getting boring sitting in your Moms basement? Just wondering. How anyone could get Sony an award for using a 12 year old controller is beyond me. Sony Fan Boys unite. People with girlfriends and lives have caught on. Better bash anything not Sony right away!

[Decapitator @ Jan 9th 2007 6:34AM]

Just as I expected the first to cry foul are the WiiSnots, WiiBummed, WiiGypted, WiiScorned, WiiSorryWeBorn, WiiBlow like between a cub scout and a boy scout! Well you get what you pay for and when you own the world of gaming like the Sony PS3, things just happen! Like you know, cheap plastic girl bracelets snap on the WiiMote! If you didn't drool, slobber, and use it for a teething ring maybe you WiiSnots console could win something! LOL Mwaa...ha...ha...ha... hehe all....right YOU BE BURNED, BABIES!

[Schfelzerberg @ Jan 9th 2007 6:17AM]

Wow, you're a really pathetic and evidently ignorant person. Is that all you can do? Trash talk? You must be uneducated. Read more regarding the technologies used in the Wiimote and SIXAXIS controller and find out how they work. You're probably just a teenager who doesn't know anything about these. Stay off Engadget. Your brain might explode if someone in real life approached you and justified the superiority of the Wiimote. Well, because of the anonimity in the internet, you'll easily get away doing crap. Coward.

BTW, rumble will not work well will the SIXAXIS. Doesn't work like the Wii's IR sensor. And it also pays to use patented technology without paying for it. I would have preferred the rumble over second rate motion sensing features anyway.

@ older posts

ROLFLMAO! Since when did RF have anything to do with triangulation?

[johnnyg0 @ Jan 9th 2007 8:12AM]

Sony should give the award to Nintendo just as a proof of respect.

"xVariable : I mean, just look at the color: nothing award worthy has ever been white"
-Wrong, Apple products has always been white (including the iPod), and they won many prizes in the past (NO I'm not an apple fan, and I'm sure other White stuff is worthy, I just can't name any other right now)

"CT A : Didn't Sony patent a motion controller way before Nintendo announced the Wii controller?"
-Do you seriously think Nintendo didn't had a patent for the Wiimote when they announced it? They would've just showed it to the world hoping no one would copy it before they get the patent? hehehe

[Ben Mullinger @ Jan 9th 2007 12:27PM]

how the hell did they win this?? sixaxis is an original playstation controller with motion sensing built in. ripped off from gba/xbox360/wavebird/wiimote designs!! i agree with tiuk, they seriously must have sucked someone for this!

[hesh @ Jan 9th 2007 1:43PM]

I think Sony owns the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

[jedifreeman @ Jan 9th 2007 1:59PM]

This is wierd, but I am looking on the emmys website that you linked above and they have a listing of their nominees for awards, and they do not list the SIXAXIS controller. They do however list the "Xross Media Bar Graphic User Interface for PSP" as a nominee in the category of "Outstanding Innovation and Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for the Best Use of Personal Media Display and Presentation Technology".

http://www.emmyonline.org/emmy/advmedia_nom_release.html

[Xalem @ Jan 10th 2007 6:03PM]

Either
1) Someone at Sony is going to jail for bribing the judges
or
2) Someone at Nintendo is getting fired for failing to mail the application letter