Project Natal by Microsoft uses the entire body as the controller.

Expect a battle to emerge among the PS3, Xbox360 and Wii this Christmas -- this time centered around games supporting motion sensing systems.

T&A: Initially announced and slated for release by Sony by Spring of this year, the motion controller of which a prototype was shown at E3 last year, will now makes its debut in Autumn this year, based on news from Reuters and BBC.

This puts its right-smack up against the planned launch of Microsoft’s Project Natal for the Xbox360, which according to Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s President for Entertainment & Devices Division at CES 2010, will launch by end-2010.

Project Natal is a radical controller-less motion sensing system where users use their entire body to navigate their avatars in-game. We’ve covered this as a news post awhile back.

The Sony PS3 motion controller is somewhat similar to the Wii motion sensing controller, except that in the PS3’s case, the PlayStation Eye camera atop the HDTV will detect the movements of a special light-emitting sphere on the controller instead of using infra-red sensors like the Wii.

Expect the console gaming season in Christmas 2010 to be one of the hottest ever as different console manufacturers, and game publishers for the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, release games that tap on these new motion sensing systems.

Meanwhile, here’s a video of Sony’s PS3 prototyped motion sensing controllers in action at last year’s E3 2009 event in Los Angeles, USA.

Steven Spielberg (right) joins Xbox 360 head, Don Mattrick, to introduce ‘Project Natal’ - a revolutionary way to play with no controller required, during Microsoft’s press briefing at E3 in Los Angeles yesterday.

SHOWCASE: Microsoft held its pre-E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 2009 conference (with guests like Steven Spielberg, Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono)  just hours ago and already the gaming and entertainment fraternities are abuzz about what’s in store for the Xbox 360.

Besides on-demand full game downloads (using credit card payments of course) via Xbox Live, the one thing that would give the Nintendo Wii a run on its WiiMote is Microsoft’s Project Natal. Technically, it’s a camera system that senses your body movements in 3-D and translates them into control actions in-game. The system even recognizes your voice and face.

According to Microsoft, Project Natal’s camera system combines the use of an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor hooked up to the Xbox 360. It tracks full-body movement and individual voices, giving gamers a controller-free environment.

But of course, no mo-cap jargon is complete without a demo of what it does exactly. Here’s a video to give you a better idea. For more details on what Microsoft announced at E3, look here. (Editor opinions: 1)

Paolo Manzano, Managing Editor, HWM Philippines

Paolo (HWM Philippines): Project Natal seems to be an evolution of what the Wii has started. It could very well be revolutionary if Microsoft gets it right the first time around.

Although I am not aware on how far motion sensing and recognition technology has advanced, hopefully Microsoft, with their large cachet of resources and vast experience, will come up with a product that does not disappoint. Despite all these reservations though, the price point it ships at and the quality of games that supports it when it launches will also be a big difference maker. All in all, a winning announcement from Redmond.