Well, maybe now we know who's responsible for all those Xbox 360 motion control rumors: Sony.

Think about it: As everyone is scrutinizing Microsoft's every move and chasing ghosts, out of nowhere comes Sony and their answer to Nintendo's Wii difference. Except someone found out.

No? Not working for you?

Ok, so here's what we've heard: PlayStation Underground apparently held some sort of focus group earlier this year, wherein a group of PS3 owners were taken to secret staging grounds on one of Earth's moons (the one that didn't get eaten), wherein they were shown a 12-inch tripod, and 4 PS3-styled remotes, sans the need for a nunchuk attachment.

Up to 4 of these are said to be able to be connected to the console at one time, and a demonstrator showed what they were capable of, and some mini-games to play. These ranged from tennis to fencing, and a "really really cool" paintball game. The demonstrator even used the "PS3mote" to play Quake on his laptop.

It was said to be a very responsive controller, even letting the on-screen character crouch during the paintball game as the demonstrator himself did so.

But his biggest concern was that the units required the aforementioned tripod, which plugged into the USB port; perhaps this version's equivalent of the sensor bar on the Wii. In addition, the tripod needs to be set up in the middle of the gaming area, like a "batter standing above home plate." It would seem that was not what they had hoped for a final version, seemingly seeking a more convenient approach.

From there, the focus group were given several styles of the device, so that they may discern which ones felt best to them, to say nothing of looks as well.

The focus group e-mails apparently went out in January, and it seems Sony has been at work on this for awhile (one might suppose since May of 2006, if not sooner).

According to the source of this rumor, PlayStation Lifestyle, this is the (censored) text of the letter which went out:

Focus groups discussing PLAYSTATION®3 games are being held in your area. If you OWN a PLAYSTATION 3, we invite you to participate in a focus group. If you qualify, you will take part in a discussion lasting approximately two hours.

EACH PARTICIPANT WILL BE PAID $85.00!

(NAME REMOVED) in ****** **** will be conducting these discussions. If you would like more information or would like to participate in the focus group:

Email your name and phone number to **** **** at *****@*******.com or call 1-800-***-**** ext. ****.

Sincerely,

The PlayStation® Underground™

Now, supposing this is all true... might it have anything to do with the transforming controller that we heard about a short time ago? One has to wonder.