CES 07: Sony scores Emmy

[UPDATE] National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences bestows tech honor on PS3-maker, which erroneously claims the award is for the PlayStation 3's motion-sensitive controller.

Tonight at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will give Sony a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award. According to Sony, the honor was specfically for the PS3's Sixaxis controller. Like the Wii remote, the Sixaxis can sense motion, allowing players to control onscreen action by moving the controller. (NOTE: Sony has since dropped its claims the Sixaxis won.)

Sony was understandably pleased by the announcement. "The critical acclaim for PS3 is a testament of the platform's strength and the industry's desire for a true next-generation entertainment system," said recently installed Sony Computer Entertainment president CEO Jack Tretton. Tretton assumed his new post in mid-December, shortly before Time magazine labeled the PS3 launch "a bust." Sony has since announced the console shipped 1 million units in North America in 2006, nearly double the number of Xbox 360s sold in 2005. Both consoles went on sale in mid-November of their respective launch years.

Besides the Emmy, Sony says CES will see Sony receive several other honors, including the 2007 CES Best of Innovations Award, PC World's 20 Most Innovative Products Award, Sound & Vision's Editor's Choice Award, and Digital Entertainment Group's Emiel N. Petrone Digital Innovation Award.

[UPDATE] Two days after this story was first published, Sony retracted its statement that it won an Emmy for the Sixaxis. Sony did win an Emmy--for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2's DualShock controller. The original article is above.

727 Comments

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 6:42 am PT

    InFaMoUsInTeNsE, Nintendo won an Emmy as well, but we don't know which controller they won it for.

  • NextGenAdam

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 9:59 am PT

    ha

  • redbeef88

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 7:23 am PT

    reading this thread after the update is hilarious

  • InFaMoUsInTeNsE

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 11:02 pm PT

    A last-gen controller got an award and wiimote thats wireless and motion sensitive didn't? I'm laughing!!

  • osopolar

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 5:12 pm PT

    Who is laughing now, mindless sony fanboys? Seriously, did you think "that" controller could have won an award? The joke is on you.

  • theKSMM

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:31 pm PT

    I'm still trying to get accustomed to the light weight of the Sixaxis compared to the DualShock.

  • the_junk

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 9:30 am PT

    haha. what a screw up

  • Jumbo120788

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 6:58 am PT

    http://www.hydrapinion.com/index.php/create/2007/01/09/sixaxis_innovation_emmy_a_joke
    you may wanna update

  • GFofgaming

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 3:34 am PT

    I bought PS3 on launch, although I know i will be happy by the end of 07 with it. For now? 360.

  • T3H_1337_N1NJ4

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:45 am PT

    http://www.destructoid.com/sony-did-not-win-an-award-for-sixaxis-29164.phtml

    Please read this, i laff'd

  • ehlersb

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 1:34 am PT

    In reply to:

    MattDizzle904
    ehlersb, stop crying, it sounds like all you can do is **** take in thought that it has a blu-ray player, and if your saying to yourself "i dont think blu-rays are worth it" or "i dont even have an HDTV" then stfu and dont buy it. and if your willing to complain about sony, why dont you take into thought that microsoft just f*cked everyone of their customers by releasing a 360 with hdmi, a new porcessor that DOESNT overheat, and such, so microsoft left their customers in the corss-fire on that one. i think everyone needs to stop complaining and appreciate games for what they are, ENTERTAINMENT. or is microsoft paying you a cut of their profit to raise havoc for their POS machine? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ouch! Seems I hit a nerve of a Sony Fanboy. First let me start things off with that I have bought every Sony made system, exept for the PS3, and owned those machines from day one and was happy with them. I do not feel that the PS3 is yet worth my hard earned money and I don't want to pay for a "Blu-ray" player that is forced on me when all I want to do is play good quaility games. I do have a Sony HDTV that runs at 1080i and yes I do like my Xbox 360 and I have never had my system over heat, and I have played games and watched movies on this thing for hours each day, but maybe it is due to me taking care of it and leaving is out in an open area. As for Microsoft screwing us by releasing a better version of there product...what do you think Sony was doing when it released the "Slim PS2"? Also as far as screwing goes, my @$$ is still sore after getting screwed from buying Sony's useless HDD for the PS2. The HDMI cable for 360 will most likely will be released as a cable to hook in the back of the older machines and the newer machines most likely will not come with the cable, but only a HDMI port, just like the PS3. When it comes down to it my personal opinion, the 360 is a better machine overall. Maybe the PS3 has slightly better grafix and "Blu-ray", but what about the other things that matter like being able to play your own music while gaming, chat with friend over a universal friends list on any game, use media center and use your computer as a TiVo without supscription fees, download movies and TV shows. compare the 2 systems and it shows you who has a better system. I also own the HD-DVD player on the 360 and got it because I was going to get a HD-DVD player because it has better quaility video than "Blu-ray" and it is cheaper. I figured $200 was better than the $500 for a seperate HD-DVD player and later this year there will be machines that play both formats. I will buy a PS3 in a few years when "Blu-ray" players are $35 and Sony is forced to lower prices to a point where you are paying for the gaming hardware not a low end "Blu-ray" player that was forced on the loyal fans of the Playstation. And last but not least, your theory about me getting paid by Microsoft. That has to be the most lame and most used come back that Sony Fanboys use. I did most of my writing on Nintendo and hardly mentioned Microsoft until the end when I was responding to the artical. You really didn't read what I wrote and the only crying I'm hearing is coming from you with a reply that had nothing to do with what I wrote in the first place.

  • malmeid2

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 1:13 am PT

    This wasn't a mistake. How retarded does an entire corporation have to be to get something wrong? It was more than a mistake, it was a lie. The award was actually for the breakthrough technology of the PS2 dualshock controller. Look it up on google. God Sony will lie about anything to try and turn the tide of their lackluster and extremely disappointing console...

  • khamsaiumn

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 12:41 am PT

    gamespot should change the heading of this article

  • selbie

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 10:06 pm PT

    It's obviously a mistake. The Wiimote is better in every aspect of its design. Sony must be suffering from the ol' tall-poppy syndrome

  • Pip_Boy

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 9:53 pm PT

    I've played both the PS3 and Wii. I thought the Sixaxis motion sensing was horrid, in Motostorm (a racing game), there was very little movement between understeer and oversteer. This is supposedly a great PS3 game. On the Wii, Excite Truck handled like a dream, and it's supposed to be sub-par. All in all, screw you Sony, you shameless idea copying bastards.

    (PS>...I read the whole Sony is a misinformant post, they lie like the devil's grandmother )

  • CivicGSR

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 9:38 pm PT

    EvilSmeevil - I thought the exact same thing when I was reading this article. Nice work on the research... as I read the article I was thinking "WTF Sony was given a tech emmy for copying an idea off their competitor?!?!" We must expose this truth--- I hope GameSpot writes an article about this when they confirm the info. it's a shame that Sony has dug themselves into such a deep hole with the PS3 that they have to make up lies to HOPEFULLY sell a few more of their worthless consoles. HERE'S AN IDEA SONY... IF YOU WANT A CHANCE AT SUCCESS, GET CRACKING ON SOME A+ GAMES!!! GAMES SELL VIDEO GAME SYSTEMS, NOT UNPROVEN TECHNOLOGY!! and if you question this claim...think about PS2 vs. Xbox....

  • cobrax80

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 9:36 pm PT

    this was a mistake

  • pencilpusher69

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 9:31 pm PT

    This is a mistake. Sony misrepresented the award given, which was in fact 2 awards that were bestowed on the NES D-pad, and the Dual Shock Plastation 2 control. Both were awarded for bettering gameplay, as successors to the Joystick.

    The online Emmy press package, which goes into little detail, but look, Nintendo and Sony are honored: http://www.emmyonline.org/emmy/advmedia_winners_release.html

    "A follow up message from Christine Chin from NATAS tells us Sony has it all wrong. The award was for the original dual shock controller. Here is her message in full: I understand you had contacted Cheryl Daly, Director of Communications at NATAS to confirm if Sony won for their PS3 controller. This is incorrect, Sony won for their dual shock analog controller. The award is from the Video Game Technology Group. It was nominated by our internal group and considered along with the Nintendo D-Pad both of which were considered Emmy worthy for the development of the generation of controllers that followed the classic joysticks.

    I would like to confirm that Sony did not win for their PS3 controller, they won for their Dual Shock Analog controller.

    So there you have it. This makes a lot more sense, and Sony's press release was flat out incorrect. Best case, an error. Worst case...
    Chrstine also said she will clarify this with Sony."

    http://www.destructoid.com/sony-did-not-win-an-award-for-sixaxis-29164.phtml

    Looks like Sony, ..."made a mistake".

  • EvilSmeevil

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 8:41 pm PT

    I don't know if this has been posted yet, but Sony have somehow made a mistake. The award wasn't for the Sixaxis, it was for the dual shock. The except below this i read off destructoid, but seems almost certainly legit. And sorry for the long post but I figured it was justified

    Seamus Byrne of Hydrapinion decided to do a looking into the matter. The SIXAXIS won an award but the Wiimote didn't? Something seemed fishy. After managing to get in touch with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, this is what he found out: A follow up message from Christine Chin from NATAS tells us Sony has it all wrong. The award was for the original dual shock controller. Here is her message in full... I understand you had contacted Cheryl Daly, Director of Communications at NATAS to confirm if Sony won for their PS3 controller. This is incorrect, Sony won for their dual shock analog controller. The award is from the Video Game Technology Group. It was nominated by our internal group and considered along with the Nintendo D-Pad both of which were considered Emmy worthy for the development of the generation of controllers that followed the classic joysticks. I would like to confirm that Sony did not win for their PS3 controller, they won for their Dual Shock Analog controller..... So there you have it. This makes a lot more sense, and Sony's press release was flat out incorrect. Best case, an error. Worst case... Chrstine also said she will clarify this with Sony.

  • djbiged

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 8:04 pm PT

    Sonys controller definitely isn't revolutionary, so why is it getting an award??? I had a Microsoft controller with 4 axis controls about 5-6 years ago called the Sidewinder (I believe). It did virtually the same thing, and it was a pig to use. Tried it with X-Wing for the PC, and it was hard to control the thing you were piloting. That's one of the main reasons why I don't want to come close to touching a PS3 - the controls have to be similar, and it wasn't that good. Gimme a Wii or a 360 anyday compared to that controller.

    I never liked the PS1-3 controllers since the day I played Madden on it. Now this "innovative" controller which is a re-hashed old PS2 controller with a gyroscope attached is winning Emmy awards. Tells you how much Hollywood knows about gaming. I'd rather stick with Gamespot's awards coming from gamers who know gaming. I'll vote for the Wii remote, and I think it would win the majority of votes compared to the PS3 crap.

  • darthmaulian

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 8:01 pm PT

    Sony Sucks!!!!!


    Now that I have the fanboys' attention, I would like to point out that it seems like this award was given to Sony simply because they copied Nintendo on the motion-sensing technology. However, according to the official press release, the award was given to both Nintendo and Sony. So either Sony paid money not to have the award given to Nintendo at CES, or Gamespot misreported the actual event.

    Concerning the sales numbers: I believe those are slightly off. I happen to work at a retailer, and though we have been getting several shipments, the excitement has been dropping off very quickly lately. When the console launched, yes, the PS3's moved through pretty fast. However, the last several shipments have lasted several hours before being sold. The Wii, on the other hand, has continued to sell incredibly fast, usually selling out in about 10-15 minutes. We typically have people hounding the delivery guys to find out if they have a Wii in their boxes. But the PS3 has not been moving nearly as well. I think the excitement has died down and people are realizing how expensive it is, and how few games there are for it.

  • Bathyj

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:54 pm PT

    Ackad

    Nice to see someone with a Halo Avatar who apreciates his PS3.

  • vercetti_dude2

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:46 pm PT

    Well sales are another thing altogether, but if you take a close look PS3 does indeed revolutionize hardware and technology altogether. The Cell and Blu-Ray, putting popularity and price aside, are technological breakthroughs.

  • Bathyj

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:37 pm PT

    Exactly

  • Ackad

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:29 pm PT

    lol to all the others please, Playstation is the next digital entertainment console on all time. When I got Resistance fall of man, I shoke the controller to get rid of the enemy. Sixaxis deserves this emmy. Besides You save a lot of money not buying batteries. Just charge the sixaxis controller in the usb! : } i love the Ps3

  • kajtrooper

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:25 pm PT

    Then don't fix it.

  • Bathyj

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 7:21 pm PT

    Just cause the batteries built in doesn't mean the 6ax is going to break quickly. Your just hoping it will like you probably hoped the PS3 would melt. Guess what, not happeneing. The dual shock is one of the most reliable controllers ever made and I never had a problem with any of them. You're just thinking worst case senario. So what if it breaks in 4 years and you need a new one. The Wiimote cost as much as a game and chew one battery evey 10 hours. As for keeping the same basic design, thank God. Its the best most comfortable controller and always has been. Say what you like but I cant play Tony Hawk with an XB controller. I cant reach the grind button with my index finger and still keep my thumb on ollie. Tekken would be impossible on any other controller as well except maybe an arcade stick, (personally I dont care for them either.) Ok the X360s buttons are better than XB1 but still not as good as Sonys layout. Close but. Bottomline, if it aint broke...........

  • kajtrooper

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 6:40 pm PT

    Oh! Someone doesn't like PIrates of the Carribean! Well, good sir, Pirates of the Carribean was a great movie with great actors! So i wouldn't be surprised if Johnny Depp (one of the best actors out there - did you see "Once upon a time in Mexico"?) was at least NOMINATED for an Emmy Award.

  • kajtrooper

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 6:40 pm PT

    Oh! Someone doesn't like PIrates of the Carribean! Well, good sir, Pirates of the Carribean was a great movie with great actors! So i wouldn't be surprised if Johnny Depp (one of the best actors out there - did you see "Once upon a time in Mexico"?) was at least NOMINATED for an Emmy Award.

  • G_W_X

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 6:38 pm PT

    So Sony didn't Win the award.... ALONE?
    What have you all got to say now?

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

    Look for Nintendo or Sony in the page and you will see they BOTH WON!
    ha.

  • kajtrooper

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 6:27 pm PT

    Wow, after all the crap the PS3 went through I would have never expect such a change of heart in the community. PS3 RULES!

  • tracerhank

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 6:02 pm PT

    I find it ironic to read that people think Sony shouldn't be awarded because its controller pretty much stayed constant from last gen, when almost every gen of any console got ripped for changing their controller designs. The dual shock is a good design, and just as you wouldn't reinvent the steering wheel for a car, why would you tamper with a good design?

  • bc226

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 5:46 pm PT

    to bad that Sony once more lied or just forgot they shared the award with Nintendo and guess what it was not for the 6axisis.

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

    The Emmy Award for Peripheral Development and Technological Impact of Video Game Controllers * Nintendo * Sony Computer Entertainment America

  • chrisjarid

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 5:26 pm PT

    u none playstaion buyers fall to remember when the ps3 was first announced they were going to have a motion controller back when the boomerrang (im glad that dident go) was announced so they get the reward
    not nintendo first come first get a award

  • James_Raynor

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 5:14 pm PT

    what stupid thing ti give sony this award that is the firts stupid thing of the year of many more to come...............

  • Xa31nov1s

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 5:03 pm PT

    Well, italiano_fil, Sony is arrogant, and I HATE arrogance...

  • jakob_187

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 4:49 pm PT

    Again, a few words of wisdom:

    I read a post in this earlier, and I have to say I agree with them. The controller had to be submitted for them to be considered, and obviously, Microsoft and Nintendo knew they had a solid product. But...

    Here's the other thing. Awards...they don't mean crap. Look at the Oscars. I mean, for crying out loud, Johnny Depp was nominated for a Best Actor award for Captain Jack Sparrow in that wretched Pirates of the Carribean, and this was alongside guys like Tom Wilkinson and others...you know, REAL actors. So, for Sony to even get considered for an Emmy...it's propaganda. You get 1 or 2 people to think that it's super incredible because it won an award, you can use that propaganda to push the product. Therefore, the award means nothing.

    Secondly, in all honest opinion with no fanboy chatter, the Wii-mote is a better controller overall. It's far more intuitive, it's much more user-friendly, they cut down how many buttons something needs, they are using both gyroscopics and infra-red sensing, and the games show how well the controls work. Look at something like Call of Duty 3, to those that want to knock it for its graphics, let me point out that this game features REAL shooting action...your lack of accuracy is because you suck at shooting in real life, obviously, because I have had no issue so far. CoD3 on Wii is my preferred choice. Yes, there is no multiplayer, but the controls work great. Elebits is another prime example of what you can do. I mean, it's virtually a kid's version of the Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2...and everyone seemed to love that game!!! Wii Sports works well with the controller, and it takes precision to work some things out on it.

    Meanwhile, you take Resistance on PS3, where you have some motion sensing controls, but every single person I know doesn't really care about it. They'd rather just use the analog stick. Moreover, how can you try to consider an award to a company who has used the same controller for 13 years and Nintendo is willing to take a big leap with their idea? Seems like a bit of an unfair advantage. And, like I had said in a previous post...if you want to give Sony an Emmy for using a dated form of tilt technology, then we need to give Red Octane, Arthur Maclean, WarioWare Twisted, and so many others an award for using it FIRST...but none of them got awards. They got ignored, even though all their games were incredible and high in replay value.

    Therefore, Sony getting nominated for an Emmy can't be anything more than for press value, to make up for the fact that they can't seem to get a good review to save their lives.

    By the way...I was at Wal-Mart the other night. There was a 60GB version of the PS3 sitting right on the shelves...next to an empty shelf where Wiis go. I asked how long the system had been there...he said a week, and that it's the only one they've had for a week, and they've already gotten a shipment of 15 Wiis that sold out.

    There is a reason that Nintendo is winning...because their system covers a larger spectrum of people, and everyone can play it.

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 4:47 pm PT

    An old PS-2 controller without Rumble which has a weak motion sensing tech doesn't deserve this award.
    WII-MOTE deserved this.......

  • Ptolemaueus

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 4:28 pm PT

    A PS2 controller with outdated tilt beat out the Wii remote? You're joking. The controller design was used last gen and we had tilt back on the Gameboy Color, maybe eariler. What are the people who give those awards smoking?

  • morororo

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 4:15 pm PT

    Reading these Sony fanboy comments are hilarious. Such blind ignorance. The PS3 has better games than Wii? Sure if you like playing last gens games, last gens crap games at that. Yay, another Need for Speed update! I think the average Sony fanboy is about 12 and havent been playing games that long so don't realize the video game industry is as stale as last weeks bread. It's not all about fancy graphics people, it's gameplay, gameplay will always be king.

    It took real balls for what Nintendo has done to revitalize gaming. It's a shame some of you are so stupid you can't see that. Sony did, they copied their controller ideas. First the Snes pad, then they couldnt think of anything else so just used that shape for every generation of Playstation. I remember a day when new consoles meant new controllers to get excited about, not with Sony though. On their own they came up with the batarang, nice one. Then Nintendo showed them the way, again. Oh and the Wii is a fad? Yeah that said that about the DS, but you guys prefer playing Need for Speed on your PSP instead of new innovative ways to play games.

    The PS3 will be awesome, of that there is no doubt. But right now you can play all those games on PS2. There isn't a single reason to buy into the PS3 hype just yet.

  • italiano_fil

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 4:13 pm PT

    @firebladedx....simple algebra....how many batteries are you going to change against ---> buying another controller once....

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

    Xa31nov1s what is your problem against sony? did they abuse you as a child? did they send your family into poverty because Nobuyuki Idei himself (former CEO) fired your dad? Did you just watch Pearl Harbour and now you suddenly hate anything related to Japan?

    I really dont understand all this massive hysteria aimed at destroying sony

  • Xa31nov1s

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 3:42 pm PT

    And now.... The Just Like We Paid Phony Analysts Big $ To Say Our Supercomputer Was Awesome, We Also Paid A Random Academy To Give Us An Award That We Not Only Don't Deserve To Be A Part Of, But Also Not To Win It Award goes to..................... SONY! Wonderful. And very stupid.

  • 5Bata

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 3:24 pm PT

    firebladedx
    oh and a built in battery is retarded, what do you do when it goes dead? you gotta leave it on charge so you cant even play your console, or you could have 2 controllers, but thats more money - hmm which is cheaper - rechargeble batteries or PS3 controller - u do the maths ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    i would have to say the PS3 controller, it's hard to uses the wii remote after its been in the freezer over night.

  • firebladedx

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 3:00 pm PT

    oh and a built in battery is retarded, what do you do when it goes dead? you gotta leave it on charge so you cant even play your console, or you could have 2 controllers, but thats more money - hmm which is cheaper - rechargeble batteries or PS3 controller - u do the maths

  • Bathyj

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 2:34 pm PT

    The precious rumble that everyone is so concerned about, sux on the Wiimote, its really all but useless since theres no left or right like a dual shock and doesn't realy give any sort of acurate feedback and is really just a reward for your palm for landing that sword strike, that was so hard to do.


    Maybe the rumble and the tinny (thats tin-ee, not tiny) speaker are the reason the batteries only last about 20 hours. All the complaing about the 6ax having the battery built in, no one mentions the hundreds of dollars a year the Wimote will cost on batteries. I would be worried, but to be honest after Zelda I dont think I'll be playing it that much.

  • pompomboy

    Posted Jan 9, 2007 2:15 pm PT

    sony rules ps3 pwned everything

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