The battle over video game 
motion control devices has moved to the accounting department.
Sony and Microsoft are both claiming to have momentum on their side with their new devices, releasing updated sales figures. No matter how you slice it, though, it’s clear that both the PlayStation Move and Kinect are enjoying a strong holiday season.
After a year of disappointing sales figures 
and investor malaise, the video game industry is feeling some seasonal cheer.
The kick off to the holidays has been a boom time for game makers this year – with stellar sales for both hardware and software.
The question for investors, though, is whether this seasonal bump is the start of a turnaround for gaming companies – or just a short-term surge that will fade away by the end of December.
Microsoft seems to be pressing forward 
with its plans to launch its own TV channel.
The company has reportedly held talks with several media companies about acquiring content for a pay-television subscription service that would stream through the Xbox 360 dashboard. The service, assuming it comes to pass, isn’t expected to launch for roughly one year.
[As Sony announces a tie-up with Vudu for HD 
movie streaming, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris looks at how the PlayStation 3 creator has started to gain ground on Microsoft’s array of on-console media content — the next big battlefield for game consoles.]
Long before Kinect, Microsoft had its own way of courting the non-gamer – offer functionality on the Xbox 360 that was unique enough to lure in people who weren’t interested in the latest Haloinstallment. And it was a pretty effective method.
With Netflix integration leading the charge in 2008, the Xbox 360 finally fulfilled the dream of the console as a Trojan horse of the living room. It gave the company a huge competitive advantage for a while, but recently that advantage has been slipping away. Sony, in particular, has gained a lot of ground in that battle and is threatening to overshadow Microsoft’s achievements.
Cementing its status as one of the year’s “must have” 
holiday items, Microsoft’s Kinect has sold more than 1 million units in its first 10 days on the market.
That’s a strong start for the peripheral, which uses motion capture technology to let players use their bodies to control videogames on the Xbox 360. It’s certainly a stronger reaction than Sony saw with its entry in the motion control category earlier this year. The company shipped 1 million PlayStation Move units to retailers in that device’s first month on shelves, but did not sell them all.
Microsoft has a hit on its hands
with Kinect, the motion capture device that lets players act as the controller for the Xbox 360. The company says it has sold more than 1 million units in the first 10 days of availability.
That’s a significantly stronger start than Sony’s PlayStation Move – which shipped 1 million units in its first month of availability, but did not sell that many. It also underscores the “must have” status of Kinect as the company gears up for the holiday shopping season.
[Gamasutra’s Chris Morris looks at the factors that will 
dictate Kinect’s market prospects at launch and down the line, opining that Microsoft’s holiday season looks secured — but that it “might have screwed some of its partners in the process.”]
Two months ago, when Sony’s PlayStation Move hit shelves, I wondered whether Sony had lost its mind. The device, I mentioned, wasn’t intuitive and had some alarming aesthetic issues – a combination that could hurt its chances with the mainstream audience.
Now Kinect has arrived – and while it has just as many problems as Move, it seems poised to thoroughly trounce its competitor this holiday season.
For all the media attention and fanfare, you might think Microsoft was launching a new console today. And given what the company is spending on marketing its latest peripheral, you wouldn’t be that far off.
Kinect, a motion sensor device that allows users to play games simply by using gestures and voice commands, hit shelves today – and is predicted by many to become one of this year’s “must have” holiday gifts. Microsoft is so confident in the device that is has raised its internal sales predictions for calendar 2010 from 3 million to 5 million.
But is it any good?
Microsoft rolled the dice when it 
decided to get into the video game motion control market. Nintendo, with the Wii, had certainly proven that there was an audience interested in a more intuitive controller, but with over 71 million of the consoles sold worldwide, the potential for market saturation was strong.
As the company rolls out Kinect on Thursday, early signs are showing that the gamble was a wise one.
Nintendo pioneered the motion gaming movement 
with the Wii. In September, Sony tried to better the experience with Move. And on Nov. 4, Microsoft will begin selling Kinect, which does away with controllers altogether. That’s when the battle will really kick into overdrive.
As holiday shoppers prepare their lists this year, they’ll be subjected to marketing blitzes and in-store kiosks for all three technologies, each hoping to separate people from their money. It’s the new front line for gaming companies and no one wants to be left behind.
Trying to decide which, if any, of these motion gaming experiences is right for you? We’ve broken down the pros and cons of each to make it easier.
Chris Morris: Journalist 