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In the run-up to the current generation of console wars, one thing was very clear from the beginning that Nintendo & Microsoft had to do something about the dominance of Sony in the the console market for the past two generations and Sony having been in a similar situation in the past, were not going to sit on their asses, and be mere spectators.

While, Sony aimed at making the ps3 a part of the home entertainment system and Microsoft pushing for a better online experience with their Xbox Live service, Nintendo was willing to give motion gaming another shot(Power Glove) and change the way we are use to playing games. Defying the first law of launching a new console which states no-matter what you do a new console should be a large improvement in terms of graphics compared to it’s predecessor, Nintendo announced the Wii, introducing motion gaming, not for the first time, by allowing gamers to interact with and manipulate items on screen using the Wii remote which recognized gestures and pointing with the use of accelerometer and optical sensor technology.

The Wii did not offer state-of-the-art graphics, some might even go on to say that the Wii had dated graphics when it was launched back in 2006 but the console did offer something which was new to the gaming landscape and since innovation is what drives sales, Nintendo Wii was destined to be a blockbuster success. The console was hard to find even after 2-3 years of it’s release. While, Resident Evil 4 & Metroid Prime 3 were meant to serve the hardcore gamers and show the way to third party developers, the likes of Wii Fit & Wii Sports brought the gamer out of non-gamers or people who didn’t enjoy gaming in general. If it was not for the lack of games for the console and third party games not performing well on the system, Nintendo Wii would certainly have taken the crown of the most successful console in the present generation thanks to it’s motion sensing capabilities.

But with Miyomoto hopefully putting the final touches on the next Zelda game which will make use of the new motionplus device and considering Zelda alone is sure to move systems it would be naive to say that Nintendo is out of the race.

Microsoft & Sony were also quick to catch up on the motion gaming trend by showing off their own motion sensing devices at last year’s E3 in LA. Microsoft showed off Project Natal an ambitious project for the Xbox 360 introducing controller-free gaming, based on an add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console, Project Natal enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller through a natural user interface using gestures, spoken commands, or presented objects and images.

Even though Sony tried to add it’s own blend of motion sensing capabilities to ps3′s controller in a matter of months after Nintendo’s demonstration, it was never going to compete with the Wiimote. Looking at the success of motion sensing devices, along with Microsoft, Sony also announced it’s motion sensing controller, rumored to be known as the Arc, a handheld wand, the controller uses the PlayStation Eye webcam to track the wand’s position, and inertial sensors to detect its motion.

Microsoft has already said that 80% publishers are already on-board to make Natal games and support for ps3′s motion sensing controller(Arc) can be easily patched into games.
The success of these devices and motion gaming in general lies completely in the hands of game developers and the number of AAA titles which will take full advantage of their motion sensing capabilities compelling hardcore gamers to think otherwise, by proving motion gaming is not just a gimmick.
Motion gaming having already played it’s part in console sales so far is sure to have some say in deciding who wins this generation’s console war.