PlayStation answers community questions at gamescom

Deep in the heart of the Koelnmesse, PlayStation.Blog hosted a live chat with the community on PlayStation Move and stereoscopic 3D. Read the highlights here.

With PlayStation Move less than a month away from release and stereoscopic 3D hitting the headlines, a selection of industry experts came together to answer questions on these two hot topics.

First up, Nick Robinson, senior product manager at SCEE, was joined by Jeremy Ray and Colin O'Hara, two of the developers behind Sports Champions, to talk PlayStation Move.

On PS Move, Nick clarified the various packs and bundles that will be available when the motion controller hits stores in mid-September, adding that there will be a number of software demos available to download from PlayStation Store to accompany the release.

Responding to questions on how PS Move will appeal to gamers, he said: "What's great about PS Move is that it works with so many different kinds of games - and it really adds to the experience."

To make sure that you pick the right game, Nick stressed that: "We have been pretty careful to make the packaging clear and have added a PS Move section to the compatibility notices on the back of the software titles. Also, there is a clear distinction between two kinds of software: PlayStation Move Required, which means you need a PlayStation Eye and a motion controller to play that game, and PlayStation Move Features, which means that there is PS Move gameplay in the title, but you don't need to have one to play the game."

Turning to Sports Champions, Jeremy Ray had some advice on how to get the most out of this upcoming title: "We recommend having the camera at around your shoulder level for optimal performance, but the system is tolerant of different heights."

The guys also explained how the motion controller adapts to provide the best possible experience in differing environments. "There is an algorithm that will determine the best colour for the sphere, according to the environment," said Colin O'Hara. "That covers the majority of cases, but if there is way too much colour / light competition, there will be warnings and suggestions for how to adjust your situation."

During a lively session, our guests covered a host of other topics including questions on PS Move peripherals, their favourite Sports Champions games and the durability of the sphere on the motion controller.

Moving onto stereoscopic 3D, panelists Tim Page, from Sony Electronics, and Mick Hocking, the resident 3D expert at PlayStation, joined the chat to talk TVs and games in the exciting new world of 3D entertainment on PlayStation.

On the game development side, Mick explained: "3D can enhance many aspects of different types of games, and because you can get a lot more information from a scene in 3D compared with 2D, it can make the gameplay experience more intuitive. That can mean that the player is able to react more quickly, or be more accurate in the way that they play the game."

Talking about the safety aspects of 3D Tim Page said: "We recommend you are sensible with 3D and, if you feel uncomfortable at any time, take a break. If you have not experienced 3D in great detail, it can take a while to get used to, but game developer and movie studios are making great efforts to give a natural 3D experience."

As for getting the most out of 3D, Tim explained: "For 3D, we want to block out as much ambient light as possible to give the best experience, so our 3D glasses are a wrap-around style which stops light entering from above and the sides. They are powered by a normal watch battery and will last 100 hours, which should be plenty of time to perfect your laps on Gran Turismo 5!

"In the same way as for High Definition, the larger the screen size the more involved you feel with the whole experience, therefore bigger TVs give you a greater 3D experience."

As with PS Move, Mick Hocking stressed the wide range of gaming experiences that will benefit from 3D: "We have converted many different types of games from different genres to 3D and what we have found is that just about all types of games are enhanced in some way by 3D. "

The guys went on to discuss a number of topics, such as the perfect set-up for experiencing 3D and head-tracking in games.

Thanks to all our guests for taking the time to join our live chat; if you'd like to read more of their responses, visit blog.eu.playstation.com for the full transcript (English only). Alternatively, why not head over to the forums at community.eu.playstation.com and continue the conversation there?