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Is Sony whipping up a Wii wannabe?

4 May 2009

In the month before each year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the rumours about gaming company plans usually start flying faster than zombie body parts in 'Resident Evil 5'. Buzz about the upcoming 2009 show ratcheted up on Thursday with a report in Variety that Sony may be getting ready to show off a motion-sensing PlayStation 3 controller at the big video game convention in June in Los Angeles.

The information comes from three sources, including one who has seen the controller and two who know about what Sony has planned for the peripheral at E3, according to Variety's 'The Cut Scene' blogger/reporter Ben Fritz. Unlike Nintendo's Wiimote on its best-selling console, which uses accelerometers and an infrared sensor placed above or below your TV, Sony's version will reportedly rely on light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and a webcam, and it will offer more accuracy and freedom of movement.

This report, coupled with earlier speculation about a possible new PlayStation Portable (PSP) that's missing a UMD drive but has flash memory for downloadable content, shows the level of interest in Sony's plans to recapture its gaming mojo. The company that used to lead the segment has largely abdicated that position to Nintendo's wildly popular, casual-gamer-friendly Wii and a resurgent (and cheaper) Microsoft Xbox 360.

Read the full article here.