Only last December alone, Nintendo Wii’s sales hit one million units. But following the success of this popular motion-controlled remote, Motus Corporation borrows the fetching formula to launch its latest product; the Motus Darwin controller, which claim to be better than Wii. What’s newsworthy about this product is; it allows motion-based control on non-Nintendo game system, which also include the PC. Something that Wii can’t do.

Motus chairman, Satayan Mahajan said that the Darwin controller allows a more realistic game play experience than what is currently available. In fact the Darwin is actually an evolution of iClub, which was initially designed in the like of a Samurai sword to help serious golfers to improve on their swinging skill.

Mahajan admits that Wii is a great product but it has a limitation to capturing complex motion. In the quest to develop a more realistic game play, Motus designed the Darwin to calculate its motion, position and movement differently from the Wii controller.

While the Wii controller tracks users position with an infrared sensor that users attach to their televisions, the Darwin tracks its position with respect to earth itself; the controller reacts and controlled by the magnetic north. The controller reacts when it senses the directions that the users are pointing to using gyroscopes and accelerometers. The system converts the position of its users to the console in less than 30 miliseconds, which is faster than the human ability to perceive delay.

NPD Group’s senior public relations manager for entertainment, software, and toys, David Riley, stated that the Darwin will only be successful if it is marketed to serious players who stress on a perfected controller that provide realistic experience and willing to pay a price for it or else the controller shuld only be sold at a borderline price.

However the library of games that support this application also plays an important role to determine the market price for this device. Motus is in serious discussion with numerous console makers and game publisher for a possible collaboration before launching the controller. Motus not only approaching makers of already popular games in the market but also those that are yet to release.

Mahajan expects the company to launch the Darwin some time in 2008’s holiday shopping period with a retail price range of $79 to $99.

Looks like Wii is having a game on from the Motus Darwin. A definite ‘watch out’ for another breakthrough in the gaming arena this year.

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