Both Microsoft and Sony debuted prototypemotion controllers for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, while the only gadget that gaming leader Nintendo unveiled was a device that Wii users can use to check their pulse.
"I wasn't surprised to see Microsoft and Sony copying Nintendo," said Forrester analyst Paul Jackson. "There tends to be waves of innovation in the gaming industry, like when everyone adopted controllers with rumble functionality. Nintendo proved with the Wii that motion control is the way to get nongamers engaged in using the hardware. Now the others are following suit."
Microsoft's motion controller, codenamed "Project Natal," combines a camera, depth sensor, microphone and processor running proprietary software to end the need for any button-mashing device. Microsoft said the controller can track players' full body movements, recognize their faces and voices, scan images of real items and respond to both physical and vocal commands.
The Xbox maker demonstrated "Project Natal" with three prototype programs: "Ricochet," a soccerlike game that requires players to use their bodies to bounce balls at targets; "Paint Party," an art-making program that uses players' hands as the brush; and "Milo," essentially a virtual boy who communicates and interacts with the player.
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