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Sep 20

PlayStation ‘Move’ Controller is Like a Smartphone Inside

Posted in: Games, playstation, sony, Today's Chili, Toys and Games, wii

Sony might be playing catchup to the Wii with its “Move” motion-controller for the PlayStation, but the tech packed inside makes the Wiimote look like a kids’ toy. More surprisingly, according to iFixit head-honcho Kyle Wiens, it is very easy to open up and repair.

The Move is shaped like one of those personal massagers in the Sky Mall catalog, and has a ping-pong ball perched on the end. This ball lights up in a rainbow of colors thanks to three LEDs inside, and the included detector sees the glow from atop the television. This places you in two dimensions, and different colors for different players let the box know who is who. The detector also checks the size of the globe, uses that to calculate your distance and accurately places you in 3D-space. The Wii can’t do that.

Digging deep into the bowels after removing a few Phillips screws and you find a user-replaceable battery and then a slew of high-tech components that Kyle says are more common in today’s smartphones: “a processor, accelerometer, gyroscope, Bluetooth transmitter, vibrating motor, and even a MEMS compass” sit inside and provide information to the mothership. As Kyle points out, while “it’s steep to pay $50 for a controller, it’s quite the bang for the buck.”

The best part, though? Clearly the fact that any Star Wars games from now on will be able to make the ball glow the same color as your on-screen Light Saber. Awesome.