Sony unveiled today a new controller at its pre-E3 press conference, a secret that's been kept under wraps for weeks. In an announcement made by Ken Kutagari, the new controller is able to use six degrees of freedom in order to sense the movements from players. This gives players the ability to play with roll, pitch, and yaw and have those translated to the game in real-time. The controller senses when you lift it so it gives players the ability to lift objects within games.

While none of the games displayed could use the lift capability, Sony did show a demo that displayed the capability of the controller with a yellow duck on screen. And if that announcement wasn’t enough by itself, Sony also showcased games that take advantage of the new sensing technology.

One of these games is called WarHawk and I had the privilege of playing it first hand. The controls for WarHawk feel incredibly intuitive and actually work pretty well. For the short time that I played the game, it was quite easy to destroy a few ships and small airplanes. Check out our full coverage on WarHawk for more information.

The new controller was a complete surprise to most people and the announcement actually began with an awkward start. Sony began by showing the controller, which looks exactly like the old PS2 and PS1 controllers, and that brought quite a few giggles to the auditorium. However, the new feature was announced immediately in order to silence the audience and the giggle turned into light amazement and surprise. The barrage of demos showcasing the technology were displayed on screen right after the unveiling, culminating into a demo of WarHawk for the PS3.

This new technology promises to put quite a few new people into the gaming bandwagon. The effect of non-players waving their joysticks around can now be harnessed into good gameplay moments. The joystick opens up the PS3 for a plethora of new gaming possibilities and it also puts the heat on Nintendo for coming up with innovative ways to use their controller. While Sony will actually use the technology effectively to make better games and fight the competition remains to be seen, but the PS3 can no longer be criticized for not being a console with innovative games and ideas.

Agree or disagree? Have something you'd like to add? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Simply Login or Register to add a comment and have your say. Registration is free, and only takes a few moments.