Keeping up with Nintendo and Microsoft, who recently unveiled an intriguing motion-sensing device codenamed Project Natal, Sony is showing off its own take on this novel way of controlling games. A demonstration team for the company took the stage at E3 today and showed off a new controller (video) that works in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye to supposedly offer an experience “closer to real-life than anything you've ever seen.”

Unlike Microsoft, Sony says they’ve learned “some experiences need buttons” and that’s why there's still a controller involved. The system is said to deliver true one-to-one tracking, which was demonstrated to some degree through a variety of tech demos involving sword-fighting, shooting, handwriting, spray painting and some virtual object interaction in a 3D room. The device is still in early stages, but Sony says they’re looking to release it in the spring of 2010.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of the type of gaming the Wii has to offer. But for all its limitations when it comes to raw horsepower compared to other current-gen consoles, Nintendo appears to be doing a pretty good job in shaping the future of console gaming for the years to come – at least a portion of it aimed at casual gamers. We’ll have to see where this goes and just how much software supports Project Natal and the PlayStation Motion Controller.