The Nintendo Wii has enjoyed amazing success this generation, bridging the gap between hardcore and casual gamers. The low-cost console's innovative motion controls expanded the audience for games, and it looked as if Sony and Microsoft would never catch up in the United States. Both Microsoft and Sony ultimately decided that there's something to the whole motion control thing, however, and have announced products that will soon see them following in the Wii's footsteps.

Sony's entry into the motion control race is the Move, a collection of devices that work together to create motion controls that are more precise than what Nintendo can offer, with games that enjoy high-definition graphics and better frame rates than the Wii can deliver. Microsoft's motion effort takes a different tack, using a sort of camera that will sit under your television and allow you to interact with your games by moving your body and waving your hands. In essence, Microsoft's Kinect makes you the controller. Make no mistake, the Move and Kinect are me-too products. It's no coincidence that both motion control schemes follow on the heels of the Wii's success. The question is how well each product will engage with the Wii's strengths and weaknesses in order to carve out its own success.

After looking at the final pricing from Microsoft and Sony, playing many games on both technologies, and getting a feel for what both companies are after, we've come to this conclusion: Sony's strategy is going to offer more to a wider variety of gamers. That's not to say that it will be more popular, sell more, or make more money for third-party developers—it's just that for our audience, Sony is the better bet as of this moment.

Here's why.

It's cheaper

At its very cheapest, Microsoft's Kinect is $150 for the hardware. Sony, on the other hand, offers a bundle with the PlayStation Eye, a Move controller, and a game for $100. Sure, you won't have a Navigation controller, but even with the extra cost of buying one you'll be under the $150 asking price for the Kinect. You'll also be able to use one of your existing PlayStation controllers for a Navigation controller if you'd like. And if you already have the camera, the cost is even less.

Fight!

Consumers are very price conscious right now, and it's either $150 for the Kinect, or $300 for the new 360 system with the Kinect bundled in. That isn't cheap, especially when the market Microsoft seems to be going after is already so dominated by Nintendo's $200 Wii, which has a stronger library of motion-based games, and is probably already in the home of a large percentage of casual and family-friendly gamers. You can also play most Wii games sitting or standing—the game doesn't have to coded one way or the other; and the Wii requires less space. Finally, you can play with up to four players. So the advantages the Nintendo Wii holds over the Kinect are many.

You can argue that Microsoft is delivering high-definition graphics, but hasn't Nintendo proven that most people simply don't care? Yes, the pricing structure changes if you split the cost between two players, or if you buy the system with the hardware, but on the shelf, the price of the Move hardware is significantly lower if you already own the system. The Kinect is the most expensive motion controller, and that's not a good place to be in this economy. Microsoft seems to be going after the same casual gamers that Nintendo so easily locked up, which brings us to our second point...

Move will engage the hardcore gamers

Microsoft wants your daughter to pet a cheetah with the Kinect. Sony, in contrast, wants you to play Time Crisis Razing Storm, Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet 2, SOCOM 4, Echochrome 2, Resident Evil 5, and Heavy Rain with the PlayStation Move. Microsoft could very well have a large collection of hardcore games being worked on for the Kinect, but how many can you name right now? [Note: Our own Andrew Webster brings up Child of Eden, but that's also coming to the Move.] How long will we wait until they are ready?

I've been lucky enough to spend a good amount of time with both technologies, and while I was waving and dancing and swaying in front of the Kinect I was having a good time, but it was clear that this wasn't a technology that was designed with gamers like me in mind.

Be honest—how many of these games would grab your eye in the store?

On the other hand, playing Time Crisis on the PlayStation 3 with the Move at E3 felt great, with the trigger firing my gun and the large top button used for cover, and the graphics were much better than what similar light-gun style games on the Wii can deliver. I look forward to re-playing Resident Evil 5 and Heavy Rain with Motion Controls. I played SOCOM 4 with the Move and loved using it to aim and tell my teammates where to go.