Microsoft Motion Controllers

Boston (dbtechno) - The lack of motion controllers for a game system has not seemed to prevent the Xbox 360 from being very popular and a sales leader. But there has been a persistent rumor that Microsoft may be re examining the issue.

“Microsoft makes a point to not comment on speculation or rumors,” said a Microsoft official on Friday, when asked if the rumors concerning a first-party motion controller were accurate.

The continuing rumors keep surfacing because other game systems have motion controls as part of their game consoles. Microsoft has said that they do not think that motion controls are viable for game systems.

When speaking to a trade group in 2006, Founder Bill Gates stated: “Motion controls as such are not that mainstream for most present games. There is a great deal to be learned about these type of controllers.”

Game aficionados are fickle. Either they swear by game motion controllers as the next new thing, or else they feel they don’t help much either way. Other companies such as Gyration have integrated motion controls in controllers made for Microsoft competitors such as Nintendo. The Wii system uses motion controllers created for it by Gyration.

Microsoft has perennially often led the gaming community in sales of game consoles, but this last year has been the year of Wii. There has been a continued level of demand for the Wii gaming console, and while sales of the Xbox 360 are still strong, they have not been anything comparable to the sales demand for the Wii.

Nintendo dominates the market at the present time with its Wii console. But as in the past, Microsoft is not out of the game. If it decides to offer a game console, either with updated controllers for a current console, or with a brand new game system, it potentially could challenge the Wii and Nintendo.

But the use of motion controllers is here to stay. Microsoft has been surprisingly slow to accept that people want them, and it should accept and create its own version of motion controllers.