Gyration, however, unequivocally denied yesterday that it has any such project in development with Microsoft. However, talking to Rare, Microsoft and a company called Motus revealed more items of interest regarding the "Newton" — the picture seen above is Motus' "Darwin" controller.

"There's absolutely no truth to the rumors, and I have no idea where they're coming from," said a genuinely perplexed-sounding Zac Rivera, the PR rep for Movea Inc., the company that purchased Gyration in January 2008. He added, "Gyration is working on some game-related projects, but it won't be announced until later this year, and it is not related to the Xbox 360."

However, when it comes to motion controls, Gyration is not the only game in town. Boston-based Motus also develops motion controller tech for games, and, looking into the company for possible information on the "Newton," we learned that it has an existing product on the market already called the "Darwin."

Coincidence?

Motus calls its Darwin controller "the evolution of the Wii" (Darwin, evolution, SEE WHAT THEY DID THERE?), but Motus chairman Satayan Mahajan says he's not trying to trash-talk: "We really admire the Wii; we think it's a great device. It's done a lot for us... in bringing motion sensing out to the rest of the world. Darwin offers the next generation of Wii."

Mahajan says he's never heard of a project codenamed "Newton," but while Gyration offered an outright denial of a relationship with Microsoft, Mahajan refused to comment on what companies are currently using its technology. "There are publishers in studios using it right now, but we have not announced our relationships."

So does Motus' Darwin aim to compete with existing motion controls, or add that kind of technology to products that don't currently have it?

"That's a tough question," Mahajan says. "We're doing what we're doing; we've created motion-based technology that offers wonderful control. Competition is kind of a natural part of doing business. Our goal is not to compete, but to do what we do and do it very well. We're not knocking down the Wii; we respect it and we admire it."

So where is Darwin aiming? "Darwin will work on console as well as PC. One [console] has very good motion controls... the PlayStation's Sixaxis struggled a little bit, and I think the other consoles, as well as PC, are looking for full motion-based solutions too," said Mahajan. "If you look at the rumor mill... it looks like Microsoft is coming up with something, and we have something... So motion-based control is needed on the other consoles, as well as PC."

The other consoles? You mean, other than PC, PlayStation and the one with "very good motion controls"? Isn't that just one console?

Motus has a previous relationship with Microsoft, too. Its iClub technology encompasses motion analysis and capture, and they've been at that for nearly five years now. The iClub technology was used in Microsoft's Links golf title in 2005. Is Motus continuing to work together with Microsoft?

"I couldn't tell you that," Mahajan said. "I would love to tell you that, but I can't."

One point Mahajan made is that when publishers release Wii titles where motion plays a key role - say, a Harry Potter - they lose "two thirds of their revenue" because without the motion controls that make magical wand-waving what it is, those titles don't sell as well on Xbox 360 and PS3.

We talked to Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live to see how concerned Microsoft is about losing the attention of that waggle-loving, more casual market.

"Nintendo's success is great for us," says Greenberg. "It's helped broaden the industry, and we feel like we're a part of that effort. I think that Xbox 360 is a great compliment to that experience; our belief is we offer an experience that has a broad appeal from teens to adults and even young adults... what we're seeing right now, coming out of last holiday, is that the fastest-growing segment for us is teenagers and teenage girls. With Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution... the music genre has really exploded and those titles are selling best on Xbox 360."

In Greenberg's view, the all-inclusive motion-based Wii experience is a gateway drug for young consumers who eventually "graduate" to the Xbox 360. But the Wii has the broadest install base among current consoles — how much of that does Greenberg feel is due to the Wii's controls? "Motion control in particular... I wouldn't say that has been the differentiator. It helped contribute to the Wii's success but it created a backlash for Sony. It's not necessarily about motion or no motion, but it's about the implementation of that experience."

He continues, "People buy your console to be entertained, and they buy it for an entertaining gaming experience. By having motion, that doesn't make the gaming experience any better. There's certain types you've seen where it's definitely been unique... and some where you don't want a motion control, like when playing GTA or Madden or a racing game or an RPG. Wii Sports worked well, but in this industry, people want a lot more variety beyond the whack-a-mole type of experience that you get with that."

Does that mean Microsoft has plans to add motion controls only for certain kinds of games? "We haven't announced anything like that," he said. "We really don't comment on those types of speculative rumors."

But does the company think it's necessary to take a cue from Wii and loop in more of the casual audience? Not necessarily, says Greenberg, implying the hardcore gamer is still the platform's main priority. "The fact is, if you look at the top selling and best-rated games in the industry, you'll find that majority of those titles are on Xbox 360," he says. "Four genres drive 80 percent of sales. We've got the top-rated games and the most exclusives in those genres. If [gamers] are only going to buy one system, we feel like we offer the complete experience."

Leaked documents on a possible upcoming Rare title called The Fast And The Furriest, featuring surly squirrel Conker, suggested that the game might include a Wii-like motion control scheme. But an anonymous source inside Rare says that game is just a rumor, noting, "A new Conker game doesn't really factor that high up on our agenda."

Apparently, says the source, lead designer and Conker creator Chris Seavor is sick to death of the character and the franchise, and prefers to back-burner any title featuring the Rare mainstay. "We really don't want to run the risk of being pigeonholed as a casual games developer," adds the source. However, Rare belongs to Microsoft now. "They own us outright, but they still respect our creative integrity," stresses the source.

Still, our source could neither confirm nor deny rumors that the game was once or is currently in development, and nor would the source comment on the waggle rumors. "Many things are possible, but that's not to say that any of them could be true," the source says.

In fact, adds the source, "All this speculation couldn't have come at a worse time for us." Why? Rare would prefer fans focus not on rumors, but on the very true impending launch of Banjo 3, about which the whole team is enormously excited. "Don't expect a traditional platformer," promises the source, "We've gone away and invented a game mechanic that's never been in any game before."

So Microsoft may feign disinterest in the women, kiddos and seniors who've caught the Wii-waggle bug, Rare may be sick of Conker and prefer not to be a "casual developer," and Gyration swears it's not involved. But Darwin developer Motus is keeping the truth close to its chest, so it's unlikely the rumors about the "Newton" will die down anytime soon.

Wing Commander Arena is coming to the Xbox Live Arcade in the "coming weeks" and Electronic Arts just sent me a cool little magazine called Star Soldier to prep me for the game's launch.

The January 2701 issue of Star Soldier is 60 pages of ads, articles and details about the game and the universe in which it exists. It's pretty neat. The thing does a really good job of blending fictional pieces (like bios of the top 12 mercenary pilots and ads from Joan's Fighting Spacecraft) with hard facts (like the game's play controls, fughting maneuver tips and a list of Achievements.)

I've tried to scan in a nice collection of the fact sheets for your perusal. Brian Crecente

Midway just shot out these new screenshots for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon for the Wii. While it's nice to see what the graphics will look like, the important thing to note here is how you'll be finishing people off and delivering some of the attacks.

The game will include more than 60 fighters, a Kreate-A-Fighter mode and Kreate-A-Fatality mode plus new Konquest and Endurance modes. I'm still not sure if I like the idea of special moves delivered with a flick of the wrist. It's one of those things I'll have to check out to know if it works. I suspect that holds true for most of us. Brian Crecente

Besides getting his hands on these eight images showing how you can pistol whip and bitch slap adversaries with a whip of the controller, he also spoke with senior producer Joel Wade, who talks a bit about the development process for this latest, and most intriguing, iteration of the game. Brian Crecente

Red Steel is a game everyone was looking forward to, up until it was shown at E3, at which point everyone who played it was a bit off-put by the loosey-goosey controls and drifting auto-aim, not to mention the way the sword movement didn't seem to match what was being done with the controller.

It looks like Ubisoft listened to complaints and the latest build of Red Steel has really tightened up the controls. From Go Nintendo:

"Not only did the remote replicate our actual sword-slashes, but the recenty unveiled motion sensor in the nunchuck could be thrust foreward for parry attacks"

"As promised, Timing and observation was key to winning the sword-fights and felt just like the mock-saber duels nearly everyone had as kids, so anyone who has dreamed of being a samuri will pick it right up"

Kotaku's editors issue a collective sigh of relief. Florian Eckhardt

Red Steel improved controls FTW! [Go Nintendo]

As producer Dylan Jobe explained, the development team knew for awhile to expect something surprising from Sony with the new controller, and it came up with design ideas over a long period of time, but it was only in the past 10 days or so that it was able to actually physically implement the idea and get the game running with the new control scheme.

The wording on this statement is a tad vague, but what Incognito seems to be claiming is that they were warned by Sony ahead of time that there would be some undisclosed change to the controller, then found themselves forced to mock something up at the last minute. Which they did, but apparently it will only be usable within the confines of steering Warhawk's vehicles... there aren't any plans to introduce the motion sensitive controls to out-of-vehicle game play. Probably for the best... it may be intuitive to steer in a given direction by tilting a controller when speeding along in a virtual vehicle, but moving a joystick around feels more natural when you're perambulating along.

Incognito talks up Warhawk [1UP]