New generation of social gaming begins as latest Xbox and Playstation games are launched

Sony, utilising its Playstation 3 Eye camera, launched the Playstation Move, the system most like the Nintendo Wii. Using a motion controller not too dissimilar to the Wii's, it can gauge depth as well as width and length, something the Wii can only do in a limited fashion.

Microsoft on the other hand, ditched the controllers altogether. The Kinect system for the Xbox allows a gamer to control everything on screen using nothing but their movements. Menus are navigated in the same fashion as Tom Cruise does in Minority Report and any action from the user can be mimicked on screen. Kinect will be launched officially in the UAE on November 10.

However, the game manufacturers have been quick to dismiss claims that this new type of controller system will completely replace the traditional forms of console gaming. "We believe that there will be the Kinect type of environment, where you play the game by moving your body, and there will also be controllers and the controller type of gaming, which is for different audiences. I still think the core audience will be using controllers," Armagan Demir, head of Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division, Gulf, tells AMEinfo.com.

"I still think the core audience will be using controllers. They play a game for extended hours, so if you play eight hours in front of Kinect, that is a very tiring and challenging process because you have to move your entire body. We believe that both of those environments will coexist, it's like TV and radio - one doesn't stop the other," he adds.

Controller-based games set to continue

Sony also believes that this is a move into a separate market, rather than a development of the existing one. "While the Move certainly does offer a new experience to family and children gamers, hardcore gamers are not left behind," says Tim Stokes, sales & marketing director, Sony Gulf, Playstation Division. "It's important that new technology abridges all gamers instead of segregating them," he adds.

The Playstation Move system at first glance would appear to be extremely similar to the Nintendo Wii, which has been available to users for many years. However, Stokes points to the "three axes of control" and the fact the controllers can be used solo or in tandem "offering up and array of gameplay styles".

"Hardcore gamers will always enjoy the tactile comfort and customisability of a tangible controller; if you look at the evolution of the controller, factors such as ergonomics, weight and button placement have all been improved gradually over time; gamers will always enjoy the comfort of interaction and challenge of mastering an input device," he adds.

New titles begin to appear

As with all new launches, the titles on offer through these systems are currently limited. Both have come out with signature games to go with the hardware. Both revolve around sports - a similar approach to that taken by Nintendo when launching the Wii.

The battle to conquer the social gaming market will be an intense and intriguing one. At first look, the Xbox Kinect seems to have the advantage with a flawless, no controller system. On the other hand, the Playstation Move could trump it with better titles relying on its more powerful console. Whatever the result, as gaming firms go after an entirely new type of gamer, it seems the industry is set to grow yet again.