PS3 motion controller delayed till autumn

Sony has announced a delay to the planned release of the new motion controller for PlayStation 3.

The controller had been due to launch in spring this year. However, in a statement, Sony said it will now be released in the autumn in Japan, North America, Europe and other PAL territories.

There's still no official title for the peripheral, which is referred to as "Motion Controller (tentative name)" in the press release. Reports began circulating yesterday that it will be called Arc.

According to Sony the controller will work with the PlayStation Eye camera. It's said to "detect the natural and intuitive movement of the hand and reflect the precise movement within the game, delivering a whole new entertainment experience on PS3". The plan is for the new peripheral to become the de facto controller for PS3 "along with" the Dual Shock pad.

"We have decided to release the Motion Controller in fall 2010 when we will be able to offer an exciting and varied line-up of software titles that will deliver the new entertainment experience to PS3 users," said Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai.

"We will continue to work to have a comprehensive portfolio of attractive and innovative games for the Motion Controller, not only from SCE Worldwide Studios but also from the third-party developers and publishers, whom we have been working closely with. We look forward to soon unveiling the exciting software line-up that further expand and define the PS3 platform as the ultimate entertainment system for the home."

The PS3 motion controller was first unveiled at Sony's E3 press conference last year. Back in July, R&D exec Paul Holman told Eurogamer the company was on track for a spring release "from a hardware point of view".

Sony will now face competition from Microsoft, which has given a "holiday 2010" date for the release of new motion control technology Project Natal.