Sony pushed back the launch of its motion controller for the PlayStation 3 console by six months, citing a desire to have more software available at launch.

According to the BBC, the delay will mean that it will launch around the same time as Microsoft’s latest innovation, known as Project Natal, for Xbox 360, although The Times forecasts that Sony’s gaming gadget will launch just in time to beat Project Natal. Both are seen as rivals to Nintendo’s popular system for its Wii console.

According to PC World, Project Natal appears more advanced than both the Sony and Nintendo systems because it does away with the controller altogether. The Wii requires a small hand-held baton and the Sony controller will involve a wand-like object which will act as a sword, or a tennis racket, or whatever the game requires. Project Natal will, through a series of sensors, allow the gamer to control the action using gestures, movement and speech.

Microsoft claims its approach is the more intuitive, while Sony says its system is less restricted in what it can do, The Times reported.

Both systems are likely to make their first public appearance in San Francisco in March, at the Game Developers Conference, and both are likely to be among the hottest gifts for Christmas 2010.

Project Natal (shown) and Sony's new controller will battle it out Christmas 2010. Photocredit: Jacob Metcalf