The Player

"The switch will depend on good hardware and good games " Will traditional game controllers go the way of the Snes and the Mega Drive? Not entirely, says CIARA O'BRIEN

Last week, Sony unveiled plans to bring motion- sensitive controllers to its PlayStation 3 console, promising "a high-definition gaming experience unlike anything on the market".

Forgive my scepticism. After all, the idea of motion- based controllers isn't new. Nintendo has been doing it for the past several years with the Wii. How many of us have spent many an hour perfecting golf swings or home runs with the Wiimote? Or brushing up on skateboarding skills on Ride's wireless controller (which, incidentally, is also available for PS3)?

Sony, however, says the Move motion controller is offering something slightly different from currently available technology. And it's correct, in a way.

The Move motion controller needs the camera that you picked up with an E ye Toy or Eye Petto team up with the Move controller to detect precise movement, or capture an image or audio to use in the game. It does,

in fact, open up a new dimension to gaming, using augmented reality.

It will also bring in the PlayStation Move sub- controller, to be used along with the motion controller, in a similar way to Nintendo's nunchuk.

But there's competition coming down the line. Microsoft is readying Project Natal for later this year, which, were told, will eliminate the need for a controller entirely, using a sensor array. Project Natal uses a sensor array and camera to capture movement that is then translates on-screen.

It will be an exciting year in gaming, for consumers at least. Graphics and hardware have rapidly developed to a point where your console is more powerful than some PCs and the graphics are beginning to come closer to film quality, although they're not quite indistinguishable just yet.

Move and Natal are already being pitted against each other, with critics measuring response times. Which one comes out on top is yet to be seen. But will the motion-sensitive controllers eliminate the traditional controller as we know it? Yes, if you believe the hype. But not all games are suited to motion control, at least for now.

Nintendo may have a bit of a head start, but even it hasn't managed to switch every title over to motion- based gaming. It won't work on certain games. Gamepads for Nintendo Wii are still on sale, and are a good choice for games such as Fifa.

The switch will depend on two things: good hardware and good games. Sony delayed the launch of Move to allow for development of some decent titles. A lack of good games at launch could mean Sony's initiative stagnates and becomes an interesting peripheral you use every now and again instead of an essential.

For this, it will need the backing of the games developers as well, who are increasingly developing cross-platform.

The games, like the hardware, will need to be easy to use. Most importantly, the motion control has to be seamless. Nothing will put off gamers quicker than a system that either doesn't work or is so complex that it takes away from the game experience.

In fact, one of the points raised is that there was a lag on Natal - gamers even timed it. Microsoft has promised no lag, and said its developers are continuing to work on perfecting the technology. The titles being tested were all pre-release.

These are some of the issues that need to be solved before launch, or Microsoft and Sony could be stuck with a system that is less revolutionary than they hoped.

However, get it right and, like Wii, Natal and Move might wind up encouraging more casual gamers to adopt the console. That would be revolutionary in itself.