Sony's PlayStation Move motion controller disrobed for all the world to see last night and I was there to witness the moment. And judging by by its performance at the Game Developers' Conference event in San Francisco, it may well end up making the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft's soon-to-be-released Project Natal gaming systen look slightly inadequate.

Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to get hands-on with Project Natal just yet so I can't draw any firm conclusions, but the PlayStation Move combined with the PlayStation Eye allows for an amazingly precise gaming experience.

The Eye allows your console to map your head and body on screen as a reference point. It can then use the sensors in the Move to precisely map all of your movements in relation to that point. Its a package that allows for more accurate depth tracking of movement than the Wii can manage without a camera, and Sony is claiming it will also outdo Project Natal which lacks any controllers.

Many Move-compatible games will actually use two Move controllers, one in each hand, to map the exact location of both of the gamer's hands. This proves particularly effective in fighting games, like the upcoming Motion Fighters, and it will get gamers' swinging punches and grabbing the air as they destroy their on-screen opponent.

In terms of its layout, the Move features Dual Shock vibration-feedback technology and has many of the standard PlayStation buttons including the four action buttons (X and O etc), a shoulder button, start and select. The bright RGB LED sensor on top can be set to the colour of your preference or utilised by developers to add to gameplay by changing colour at pre-determined points (eg. casting a "fireball spell" in a game may turn the LED orange).

Senior vice president of PlayStation marketing and the PlayStation Network Peter Dille said the device would be popular with both casual and hard core gamers, due to its accuracy.

"It's precise, responsive and ultra-sensory... from the tiniest twitch to the strongest punch.

"We'd like to think that the migration path from the Wii household to the PlayStation household is a natural one."

Accessories like the PlayStation Move Sub Controller will also be sold, he said. The sub controller can be held in a gamer's free hand and includes the arrow keys found on the normal PlayStation controller, making walking around in in games easier.

The Move is expected to arrive in New Zealand late this year and according to Sony all of the big international gaming studios are on board and have Move-compatible games in the works. It will go on sale in the US for about US$100 with a PlayStation Eye and a game, but no New Zealand pricing has yet been announced.