Analyst: Motion controls will increase console life-span

Screen Digest expects Project Natal and Sony’s motion controller to extend the lifecycle of PS3 and Xbox 360.

The media analysts says it’s important for Sony and Microsoft to release motion sensing devices to face off the threat from on-demand services such as OnLive.

However, the firm still anticipates a huge growth in online games and digital downloads, and forecasts that online games will account for 24 per cent of the market in the US.

Physical retail still dominates in market share terms, but with heavy growth in games content consumption on alternative devices and platforms, competition for gamers’ spend is growing steadily," says Screen Digest’s head of games Piers Harding-Rolls.

"Motion control games offer a unique respite for console platforms. They are as yet unique and can’t be replicated by alternative platforms or on-demand solutions and so they represent an important development for both Sony and Microsoft.”