Battle of the motion controllers

THE battle of the motion controllers is set to commence - and analysts are predicting the Xbox 360 will come out on top.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter is predicting the Xbox 360's Natal add-on will outsell the PS3's Arc motion control camera by 5 to 1.

He said: "I think that the Sony motion controller will have some problems gaining traction, since it is not an "in the box" solution. That will probably limit adoption to one or two million at the outset. Natal is different... It's only one piece (the camera), is likely to be cheaper, and I think it will come in the Xbox 360 package with new consoles once launched, meaning far deeper penetration."

Pachter thinks the games will be key to the success of both peripherals.

He said: "Sony's internal development is top notch, so I expect the launch titles to be fun, and likely on par with Wii Sports for quality, but ultimately, I think that the motion controller will only sell to 20% or less of the PS3 audience, limiting it's appeal to third party publishers. A year or so after launch, there will be 10 million Project Natal units out there, which will probably attract more third party support. Also, I think Microsoft will subsidize third party development to make it a success."