Though it was initially scheduled for a release during the 2010 Spring season, Sony has announced that the release of its currently unnamed motion controller has been moved to the Fall of 2010. The main reason for the move appears to be that Sony wishes to ensure a stronger and more diversified range of software supporting the motion controls.
Sony once again reiterated that it will position the motion controller as the de facto Playstation 3 input device alongside the regular DualShock controller, indicating that Sony intends to develop the platform further beyond being a simple accessory.
A release date during the Fall 2010 season means the motion controller shares a release window with Project Natal, the motion controller that is being developed for the Xbox 360, which is scheduled for an unspecified release date before the holiday season. Earlier this week, rumors spread that the motion controller will be known as the “Playstation Arc”, though this remains unconfirmed.
Well, at least they have acknowledged a potentially game-breaking problem and have acted accordingly. The delay may put them in an awkward position against Natal though, reducing their prospective lead on the Project significantly.
This is devastating for them, they will have a tough time completing against Natal without an early start. Natal is going to get way more primetime space than Sony’s motion controller that will be labeled as “the new wii”
I highly doubt that. The Wii only uses motion sensing tech whereas the PS3 Arc uses motion capture tech first and motion sensing tech second. It’s been in development in some form since 2003 and if they have to postpone release until more games support it, that’s fine. I’m still convinced it’ll be kickassery all around.
While I think that both systems will work great, I still believe Natal will have a larger impact in terms of adding functional gameplay. While at this time, specific gameplay examples are not available for EITHER system, I believe Natal has the advantage of being entirely separate from the physical controller. Users are able to hold the regular controller and Natal would be able to track whatever else is happening. For ‘Arc’, if that is what it’ll actually be called, you really need the specific thing, which could make it pretty difficult to implement functionality into ALL games.