Well, as I mentioned in my last post, last Sony announced the name of the new motion controller that it intends to launch in the Fall. It’s called “Sony Move”. Here’s their YouTube video (you may have to sit through an ad first, before you see…well, another ad).

My first reaction, as I’m sure many of yours were, was, “hey! it’s a Wii with better graphics!”. In the video, the handheld controllers look very futuristic, like space age ice cream cones. But as far as how they work, it seems strangely like a Wii remote and nunchuk, and the gameplay looks strangely like games found in Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. Of course, in all likelihood that’s exactly what Sony was going for.

The Wii has not only set the bar, it also invented the bar in the first place (literally). That’s why over 68 million units have been sold, and it’s not slowing down soon. But Nintendo did leave the door open for someone to build a better mousetrap. For certain games, the Wii remote and nunchuk don’t perform adequately or as precisely as they should. And of course, while the cartoony graphics are endearing in their own way, there’s something to be said about realism. Admittedly, one of the things I’m most looking forward to is a day when I can swing at a baseball thrown by an actual major league pitcher instead of  facing “Sakura” for the umpteenth time.

Sony has a bit of catching up to do, with only 33 million units sold. I think the main question will be–does their technology work as well or better than the Wii’s? If not, game over.

If so, it’ll be interesting to see if users are willing to pay a premium for more realistic, 1080i graphics. And interestingly, Sony has also announced that it’ll be producing games in 3D. That’ll be a one-two punch which, if executed right, will usher in a whole new world of games.