Sony has finally indicated when it plans to launch its Motion Control peripheral for the PlayStation 3.

Kazuo Hirai, Head of Sony Computer Entertainment, said: “We are slating it [Motion Control] for spring of next year” - according to a report by The Times. He kept mum about the unit’s potential price.

But Hirai stressed that the PS3 motion-controlled gaming peripheral – which will go head-to-head against the Xbox 360’s Project Natal – will need “great software” to support it during the launch.

Hirai’s remark refers to plans to build up a decent catalogue of games that make use of Motion Control. Publisher Electronic Arts has already signed up to help here – earlier this month the firm committed itself to releasing titles for the PS3 peripheral.

Microsoft has yet to announce a formal launch date for Project Natal. But the Xbox 360 add-on has already been connected with a late 2010 arrival date, thanks to a loose-lipped executive at game publisher THQ. ®