PC Style Control Coming to PS3!

Source: http://gear.ign.com/articles/769/769529p1.html

Split Fish PS3 FragFX Controller Hands-On

We get an early demo of the innovative mouse-hybrid controller for the PlayStation 3.
by Gerry Block

March 1, 2007 - Split Fish Gameware is an interesting new third party peripheral designer that's taking a relatively novel approach to breaking into the console accessory business. Rather than competing on margins and manufacturing relatively standard gamepads, all of the company's current and upcoming products aim to break new ground and give gamers some unique new options for control.

Most exciting among the company's products soon to be released is the FragFX Competition Controller for the PlayStation 3. PC gamers have always sworn by the accuracy provided by the traditional mouse and keyboard combo in FPS titles, yet console gamers have long been denied such accouterments. Though a couple of PS2 games supported mice back in the day, like Unreal Tournament, and some innovative controllers were designed to take full advantage of such, like the BodieLobus Reflex, when developer support for mice on the PS2 dried up there was no recourse.



The retail PS3 version will be black to match the console.


Happily, Split Fish has managed to overcome the technical hurdles that have previously prevented mouse-type inputs from working with all games. The company went on to design the FragFX controller for both the PS2 and PS3 to finally give PC gamers their weapons of choice on a gaming console. Earlier today the team from Split Fish Gameware visited the IGN offices to give us some hands on time with the upcoming FragFX Competition Controller for the PlayStation 3.

The unit we got our hands on was a near-final prototype design, though we heard there were a couple of secret extra features for the controller that may or may not make it into the final build. What was there, however, seemed rather complete. The FragFX controller basically breaks a standard gamepad in two, replacing the right analog stick with an optical mouse and moving the left analog stick to a Wii Nunchuck-like dongle. The general design seems thoroughly planned and we were impressed to learn that Split Fish supported fully analog buttons (including the main action buttons on the mouse) in order to fully match the capabilities of the SIXAXIS.

Tilt sensitivity will reside in the left-hand pseudo-nunchuck (Fragchuck!), which makes sense, as well as two other features entirely unique to the FragFX. The first is a small scroll wheel on the Fragchuck that is positioned directly under the natural space for one's thumb and allows for on the fly sensitivity adjustment of the mouse. Combined with in-game sensitivity settings there should be enough variability to make everyone happy. The second feature is an analog button on the Fragchuck positioned just above the two relocated L1 and L2 shoulder buttons. Dubbed the Flash or Frag button, when depressed it progressively desensitizes the mouse in accordance with the button's degree of depression. We immediately understood its usefulness for taking quick aim with the mouse at full speed and then slowing the movement down to put someone's forehead right in the crosshairs and hold it there.

We put the FragFX prototype to the test with Resistance on the PS3. We encountered almost no learning curve thanks to plenty of experience with both the PC (right hand) and Wii (left hand). The best explanation of the benefits of the FragFX controller is the fact that the mouse is not effected by the variable acceleration that is applied to inputs from the standard analog sticks. On a normal gamepad, a little tilt on the analog stick moves the crosshairs slower than fully tilting the stick to the side. That's all well and good, but in situations that require precision in movements between the two extremes of the analog stick's range it can be very tricky to accurately compensate for the variable speed. The FragFX mouse manipulates the view in a direct relationship, meaning a slow movement with the mouse moves the view slowly, and a fast movement moves it fast. As PC gamers know, such control is more natural and far superior to the alternatives in FPS titles that require ultra fast movements immediately followed by pixel precise aiming.

The cumulative effect of the FragFX during our play session was improved accuracy at distance and better target tracking at close range for the PC gamers among us. The Frag button was also useful for holding a steady bead on targets. Though we couldn't get quite as much time with the FragFX on the PS3 as we would have liked; we definitely got a sense of the potential of a well designed mouse-based controller for a next-gen console such as the PS3. Split Fish is entering full production now and expects retail availability in six weeks, which means mid-April. Two versions of the FragFX will be available for the PS3, a wired version for $59.99 and a Bluetooth wireless model for $69.99.