Using a Wiimote to operate a PS3

Posted Dec 17, 2006 at 12:05PM by QJ Staff Listed in: PS3, Wii Tags: Linux, SIXAXIS, Sony, Wiimote

Sony may have called the Wiimote a bit of a gimmick, but just a week after this statement from a Sony spokesperson comes a public demonstration of a PS3 running Linux using - you've guessed it: a Wiimote as a mouse. Last week the exact words of Sony were, "We feel very confident that the PlayStation fan is going to wait until they can get a PlayStation 3...If they do pick up a Wii, it's as more of a novelty", but as the images from the Binary 2.0 conference 2006 in Japan show, this novelty can now be used on a PS3!

The demonstration shows an ordinary PS3 running Linux using a Wiimote as the pointing device (as opposed to a mouse), with the Wiimote simply plugged into a spare USB port on the PS3 system.

The only modification needed for this operation was a driver to allow the Wiimote to run on Linux and that's it! The presentation that ensued using the combination of the Wiimote and the PS3 running Linux consisted of a cube background which elegantly moved backward and forward depending on left or right movements by the Wiimote. I personally found it very impressive, especially since the PS3 is supposed to be a gaming device. This proves that it has business potential, too!

Although this seems very cool, the one question left on a PlayStation gamer's mind after seeing this is wouldn't the tilting Sixaxis controller be just as effective?

Via ITpro

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Comments

# hauauahuauahuha uhahahua — Guest 2006-12-17 07:52

ahuhahuahauhah 1st post and this new is really funny, a nintendo gadget with playstation 3 ....

# amazing — Guest 2006-12-17 07:59

why would you want to do this?

# i have no idea — Guest 2006-12-17 08:02

there is no point

# overconfident — Guest 2006-12-17 08:20

The only "novelty" is the PS3, and no sony, it's not worth waiting for.

# um — Guest 2006-12-17 08:22

is this legal?

# lol — Guest 2006-12-17 08:22

Ohh it's so sad to see a person with a PS3 going as far as trying to use the Wiimote to justify their purchase. If you want to use the Wiimote so bad just go pick up the system =P

j/k sony lovers

# Ha ha — Kris_09 2006-12-17 08:44

Now all of the ninetendo people are scared.... the wii is useless, the ps3 can use the remote. HA HA HA

# PSWii — Guest 2006-12-17 08:52

One step closer to Wii games on the PS3.

# PSWii60 — Guest 2006-12-17 08:54

And 360 games.

# o wow — Nohbody 2006-12-17 08:56

O wow you can actually use the remote? I totally forgot that you've already a way to load isos....NOT

# ... — Guest 2006-12-17 09:01

# emulation — Guest 2006-12-17 09:18

ever heard about emulators noin? well i think its only a matter of time before we start to see wii games playable on the ps3 and the ps3 is more than powerfull enough to do it!!!

# No it's not — Guest 2006-12-17 09:28

It's really not. Considering there isn't even a good GC emulator for the pc, let alone a Wii one. Along with the fact that PS3 linux isn't givin access to the full hardware, including the 3d stuff....

PS3 runs linux, we know this. You can use with Wii mote in Windows, OSX, and you guessed it... Linux. So how is this news? And how is this special? It's more funny then anything.

# @noin — Guest 2006-12-17 09:42

hope someone bans you in the near future...

# dudaday — Guest 2006-12-17 09:45

Of course it wouldn't be as strong, the sixaxis is like a stick, you point with it. The wiimote is, as the name indicate a dildo! Thtas the lesson for today kids

# PSwii60 — iNCREDiPiNOY 2006-12-17 09:59

Operate PS3 System!

Use Wii Remote for PS3!

Play Xbox 360 Backup on PS3!

PS3 Rules!!!

# Dorky — CHUCKINGROCKSATSPACESHIPS 2006-12-17 10:03

and pointless.

# wii sucks — Guest 2006-12-17 10:13

THE FOCKING WII SUCKS LARG ALLGITOR PEANUSES

# wii sucks — Guest 2006-12-17 10:40

wii sucks in ever aspect.... waste of money... might be worth 100 bucks or soo..... nintendo is sad.........

# A PC is more powerful than both the PS3 and the Wii — CSFFlame 2006-12-17 12:25

And there isn't a Working GC emu for it...

Also, remember Sony doesn't let you use the graphics chip, "security".

# congratulations — CSFFlame 2006-12-17 12:29

The Wiiremote works on Linux.

This has never happened befo.. oh wai

# asdf — Guest 2006-12-17 12:35

i don't see how the ps3 has business potential..., using it as a powerpoint, laptop replacement???

and i don't see why wii owners should be scared, unless sony's going to start getting developers to make games that are made for nintendo's controller on their platform lol that would be awesome

wii emulator... i encourage you to do it, cause by the time it works and is deemed worth using, the ps3 will be cheap and the next line of consoles will be around the corner

they don't even have a decent ps2 emulator out on the pc, do you think ps3's bluray will make it easier to build an emu, maybe for those of you waiting for a wii emulator will get one that plays wii sport at 70% speed by the end of next year, keep those fingers crossed

# jeeze — Spector 2006-12-17 13:15

This has to be the worst bunch of trashing and crying I've heard in a long time. The PS3 is a good console and will have plenty of great games in a year or less.

The Wii also offers a great kind of gameplay that is very enjoyable in a group and alone. It has plenty of really fun titles for it too.

This generation I'm really glad I own both a PS3 and a Wii because it's not like I'll ever have to think about what system I want what game on (cross platform I'm speaking of). Both offer a very different group of games and styles of gameplay.

I want to play a 40 man online FPS and the super good looking action/adventure games on my PS3. I want those quirky fun games and different games (which Wii is just full of even this early on) on my Wii.

# Noin you are an idiot. — theTick197 2006-12-17 14:09

Go sit in your tower.

# Not true. — Vietone 2006-12-17 14:58

The cell processor in the PS3 is several times more powerful then even a Quad Core AMD or Intel processor.

This was proven in the Folding@Home program where 2 Cell SPEs could render protein folding several times faster then a dual core AMD or Intel processor.

This just pure application power but it shows that the proteins could be viewed and manipulated more smoothly then the PC counterparts.

A 6 Cell SPE is much more powerful for applications then a Quad Core PC processor.

# no ps3 emulator? — Guest 2006-12-17 16:45

Ever heard of bleem!? its a ps2 emulator for pc. works great. got sued by sony though. they even have a dreamcast emulator for the ps2.

# ?? — Guest 2006-12-17 17:31

dreamcast emu for hte ps2 o.0 gotta find that baby XD

# exactly — Guest 2006-12-17 17:41

Amen Spector. Both system have a differtent type of gameplay for a different group of people....so before you trash the Wii or the PS3 know your facts. Hell even the 360 gots its own fans.

# my apologies — CSFFlame 2006-12-17 18:12

I used a value word. "powerful" was the incorrect word, as it can mean many things.

The word I should have used was effective.

A PC is more computationally effective than both the PS3 and the Wii.

Considering how much you posted about the Cell, you should understand the above statement.

Also, the powerful statement would be incorrect if used with say, a quad-core opteron

# yoyoyo — Guest 2006-12-17 20:52

you are a f ucking noob, bleem was a PS1 emulator, and Sony process the developers, PCSX2 is the only way too emulate comercial games on PC, and this isn´t near 30% of the real emulation, *****ing noobs like you don´t now that to emulate you have much more power then the original system, because you have to translate (emulate) the commands of the original system to the actual system understan this, so you have much more power to do this, f ucking noobs, talking about they don´t understand ...

Never, never a next-gen will emulate other next-gen console *****ing noobs ... you need at minimun 2x more power to do this ... noobs noobs noobs ...

And the linux on PS3, go using your open office or play java games, because 3D homebrew games or ports you will never see at PS3 because you don´t have any idea how the graphics processor work, f ucking noobs talking s hits ... omg ... die noobs die or read a little ...

# master — thebhoys 2010-01-30 09:16

who is this guy hahaha (noob) 1 o too much , hahaha. wot an arse you are , fuckin clueless

# Ha ha — Chavagnatze 2006-12-17 21:32

Noin, the Cell is nit a GPU. Now go read up so You can increase YOUR technological skills.

# Bleem is the other way around... — Shatterdome 2006-12-17 21:47

It's not a DC emu on PS2, it was a PS1 emu on DC, that made PS1 games look better on DC then PS2 did....

PS2 cannot emulate DC, as DC was a better system....a little less processing speed, but 2X as much video ram and abit more system ram too I beleive....DC only died because it was so easy to pirate games, and fool bought into the Sony hype.....toystory like graphics....pshaw...

# uhmm..and how r u meant to play ps3 games with the wii remote? — Guest 2006-12-18 00:33

uhmm this is just stupid, all this will do is allow the point and click thing in the linux os thingymaboby lol

you cant play ps3 games with it, and if sony gets developers to somehow make it work with the wiiremote then, "I SMELL LAWSUITE!" the only way anyone would be able to get the wii remote working on the ps3 is by first hand experience.. sony will never be able to do it, nor will they ever have their own wii remote, because it is owned by nintendo! so...y bother? its the same thing as getting it to work on the pc, no games for it!

# what the ***** are you talking about — Guest 2006-12-18 01:19

U never said the cell is a CPU u dumb*****, i said that t he cell WILL NEVER WORK WITH WII GAMES, because its based on a completely different architecture than the IBM cpu, and no - t here wont be no emulation of it, so stfu.

Maybe you should go increase your reading skills *****got

# to spector — xche78x 2006-12-18 01:28

lucky you

oh wait lucky me too. i already have a nice pc, psp, ps3, x360, wii.

i'm currently saving an hdtv 37" or imay go the cheap way and order vdigi component to vga converter coz i have a pc monitor that can display 2048x1536 ^_^

# this is so funnny — Guest 2006-12-18 02:15

i think this is so funnny..... will remote on the ps3...... i feeel so sorry for them nintendo losers......NOT!!!...... everyone knows you cant beat Playstation ;) dnt underestimate the power of playstation...!!!!!!! woooooooooooo hoooooooooooooo o nintendo suckssss CO*K

# Its only a matter of time!!! — Guest 2006-12-18 04:42

It's only a matter of time, when hackers release homebrew on the linux to be able to use it in game! MWAH AHAHAHHAHAHA

# You're what's funny. — Guest 2006-12-18 04:53

Well, that was mature.

I'm sure you weren't even alive 12 years ago, so let me tell you a little secret. 12 years ago Nintendo looked unstoppable, they were every bit as dominant as Sony is right now. And they lost the very next generation.

# lol — Spector 2006-12-18 05:08

Yea I have a PSP as well and a DS (castlevania rocks). Waiting to really get wowed before I think of getting a 360 over more games and things.

# nintendo — Guest 2006-12-18 05:11

nintendo was unstoppable till big boy Sony came in.

That PokemoN64 thing didnt help either.

The only thing that went right for Nintendo was making their fans buy another gamecube with a motion sensor remote. Now that was smart thinking.

# JUST GOES 2 SHOW.... — Guest 2006-12-18 06:25

erm.... remind me... whats so good.... tht the Wii has... tht the PS3 doesnt?

the wiimote u say..... OHHH ..... OOOOK......

# Re: overconfident — Guest 2006-12-18 08:17

Please, no drug intake the next time you make a comment. It'll save you time and it's healthier. Thank you.

# Ps3 Rules, Wii is junk. — Guest 2006-12-18 08:23

The difference between the PS3 and the Wii is that the Wii is a fad. No Wii fans, it's NOT the other way around. The Wii is a low quality marketing gimmick. It's made of crap. The only difference between it and an N64 is the the dumb remote. The Wii is not a next gen console; it's outdated and it's a SCAM. At least with a Playstation 3, you get your money's worth. With a Wii, you pay a few hundred bucks and you get absolute low quality junk. The analog may be old, but a remote is even older. Oh, and the idea of motion instead of buttons, it's called a mouse! The Wii is not new technology people, they just dug it out from the history books.

# Lawsuit? NOT — Guest 2006-12-18 09:21

The Wii seems nice... the only thing it really has is the Wiimote as standard. Nice to be able to use it with a PS3. Most probably we will even see games that can use the "option" of a Wiimote on a PS3.

Lawsuit? Not close. If that was so - then Sony could sue Nintendo for being able to plug the Wii into a Sony Bravia TV.

Or MS could sue a Linux company for using a MS mouse with Linux. No... that kind of comment does not wash. I mean - is it illegal to take wheels from Pickup Truck and put it onto the SUV? OR should I first ask permission from the company that sold the Pickup to do with my wheels as I please? Didn' think so.

Little monkeys - jumping up and down screaming for blood - as long as it is not their own...

# Wii is not junk — Guest 2006-12-18 09:25

It is a well priced lower end console. I will get a PS3 off course - but I will now pick up a Wiimote to go with it. I mean - homebrew things will come out on Linux on PS3 that use it. And it will most probably run on my PC as well.

The Wii will do well, and if some publishers decide to make use of the chance to develop Wiimote titles for Wii and PS3 - the the Wiimote will do even better than the Wii.

Never thought of it - men would like the Wiimote more than there Wii's.

# no way he uses drugs — Guest 2006-12-18 12:10

You'd have to be on drugs to think the PS3 is a step up from the XBOX 360.

# trashing yes, but no crying — Guest 2006-12-18 12:21

Spector needs a woman more than another game. Do you know what snu snu is? I'm sure you've forgot if you ever knew. If you want it you have to spend money on things other than games. You should have gotten the XBOX 360 to begin with, now you have to settle for a PS3.

# Sounds Familiar — Guest 2006-12-18 21:30

DS was once called a fad.

Need I say more?

# Emulation is harder than you idiots think — Guest 2006-12-19 03:41

The PS3 cell processor is good at floating point calculations. Nothing else about it is impressive as its 7 "cores", if they can even be called that, are only good at FPCs. Protien rendering is just one application where that's actually better. Less than 20 percent of what's done in a game is FPCs. That's $ony's marketing strategy. It has to have a higher number to make people think it's better. XBOX 360 has 3 true symetrical cores, but uh oh the cell has 7 "cores" so it must be better. Then they rate the read speed of the blu ray drive in megabits instead of megabytes so it seems faster than the XBOX 360's drive which it's not. Kinda like support for 7 controllers instead of 4. How can 7 people play a game on the same screen? Doesn't matter higher number must be better. Only idiots make comparisons based on numbers alone.

# not2280@ps3.qj.net — Guest 2006-12-20 01:29

not2280@ps3.qj.net

# ps3 — Guest 2006-12-20 04:35

the point is that all wii games will b available for ps3 n with betta graphics. all sony has to do is make somesort of wiimote(on black preferably lol) baseball bats, guns, tenis rackets etj....but im sure sony has thought of this thats why they made CONSOLE EASY HACKABLE, to support almost anything u wanna do with/to it

# ps3 — Guest 2006-12-20 04:42

irony....

check this site dont understand the language but someone else here who might can do the search how true this is....

http://hwzone.co.il/phpMyWebmin/_uploads/news/pictures/vgames/ps3_wiimote.jpg

# THAT SH**T IS FUNNNNYYY!! — Guest 2006-12-20 11:47

funnnnnnnnnt(LO L)

# YA THAT SH**T'S A $50 TOY!!! — Guest 2006-12-20 11:50

haaaaa!!!LOL

# THE Wii is a peace A SHEAT!!! — Guest 2006-12-20 11:53

THERES NO WAY IN HELL....I NO YOU AINT TRYING TO SAY THAT BABY TOY IS FUVKING WITH THE PS3..........FUNNNYYY(LOL)LO L-LOL.......~~~!!!!!

# LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL — Guest 2006-12-20 12:01

HAAAAAAAAA-THE Wii IS A PEACE A SHEAT JUST LIKE THR *****EN 360 TRASH WITCH I HAD BOTH SO I CAN TALK THIS SHEAT..I WAS A FAN UNTIL THE 360 CRASHED IN(2)*****EN DAYS...SAD..AND THE BABY TOY WAS A JOKE...LOL...MY SON THROUGH IT TO THE SIDE......

# THE Wii IS A PEACE A SHEAT!!!! — Guest 2006-12-20 12:04

HAAAAAAAAAA....

# Play Station 3 — Guest 2006-12-21 08:20

Play Station 3 is really cool.

We just have to wait for homebrew software to come out and the PS3 will definitely be the winner of this console war!!!!!

# nice — Guest 2006-12-21 08:29

Everybody knows that the PS3 is the best !!

sorry xbox fans and wii fans , you must be afraid now xDDD

# This is sad... — Guest 2006-12-21 09:31

Alright, everybody say, "Oh, the PS3 is gonna play Wii games soon, and Linux is gonna be exploited!" First of all, the only way PS3 will be able to play Wii games, is when someone creates an emulator (in 5 years with luck). Second of all, Sony cannot use the remote's technology for gaming. Nintendo made the remote, and it was capable with Windows, OSX, and Linux. Not for Sony's gaming needs. If they used it for gaming, then there would be a lawsuit. As for homebrew games on a PS3, I would gladly get a PS3 once someone takes all that time to finally understand how the PS3 works inside. I bet those will come out in, 3-4 years. Homebrew applications might work out fine on it, but those will also take awhile.

And as for whether the PS3, 360, or Wii is better...they all have their strengths. Wii is for casual/family gaming, PS3 has nice graphics and gameplay, and the 360 has online gaming. PS3's hardware is no better than the 360. The only time that will happen is when the PS3's core is put to better use, which it isnt, and I highly doubt it will ever be. Over and out nubs.

# wow — Guest 2006-12-21 21:47

I thought the PS3 was going to be cool until I saw it's audience. First of all - Any (ANY) system can use any controller with proper interface and drivers, if you think this is new or amazing.. go back to video games.. The sixaxis' tilt sensitivity was announced AFTER nintendo announced their controller's unique and inovative playing system, sony (as they usually do) stole ideas and then marketted them. The playstation three is another canned everyday console gaming system. You call it the next generation, but your still just sitting on your couch pushing buttons. GG.

# edit: — Guest 2006-12-21 21:48

forgot to mention, I had unix on my ps2 before you even knew what it was.

/yawn.

# lawl — Guest 2006-12-21 21:51

The Wii remote is what makes wii gaming revolutionary. I find it funny that everyone is stoked and looking forward to the possibility of a future with ps3 and the wii remote..

just get a wii.. lol

-------------------------

it is a well priced console that can compete easily with xbox360 or ps3. it is revolutionary and extremley flexible, little to no loading times, and of course nintendo's amazing quality.

What system did you start out on?

# wow — Guest 2006-12-21 21:55

when you use that language and whatever the hell grammer you call that, it definatley proves your argument.

Sony is the same third world crap it's been for the last five years, they ahven't come out with a quality product in years, the fact that it's shiny and bears the name sony is the only thing they have going for them, the ps3 has been hacked already, it can definatley be stopped. Didn't you hear? Sony is stepping out of the console race.

Why should nintendo lovers be scared? Because people who spent $600+ for their shiny plastic they can sit and button mash with want to play our games using our wii remote?

# and.. — Guest 2006-12-21 22:00

Wii also has designable interactable characters that are used in many various wii games, and can be sent to other players (along with messaging) via wifi, or saved to the control to be brought to a friend's house, it also has instant weather, news (global) and internet web browsing..

The N64 is crap, the Wii has the processing power to push complex rendering and textures. I don't see the similarities between the wii remote and a mouse, perhaps you could elaborate? Your not getting your money's worth with a ps3, your getting a ps3 with minor hardware upgrades, a shinier case, and a controller with technologies that were ripped off from nintendo.

You are more then welcome to call the wii a gimik, you are more then welcome to say the ps3 is better, if that makes you feel better for paying twice is much for a sub-par system. Xbox is notorious for problems, playstations have never been much more reliable. Nintendo systems have always lasted the test of time, and severe abuse; and the wii is no different.

Do your homework.

# Wii emulator — Guest 2006-12-25 11:05

Now I can imagine someone creating a Nintendo Wii emulator for either PS3 or Linux.

# bleem — Guest 2006-12-26 21:21

^lol @ bleem = ps2 comment, dunno what kind of ps2 you played

i hope there'll be a modchip for ps3, cause sony's consoles really let pirated console games take off, me love my 100 HKD for 14 ps1 games.... ahh those were the days

# fist to face — Guest 2007-01-02 12:16

Some of you need a punch in the face.

# FFS — Guest 2007-01-14 07:45

All of you need a punch in the face.

There is no winner of the console 'war'. No console is better than the other. They each have their audience, so stop the bashing and trashing and idiotic comments and pointless arguments and stupid 'facts'.

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