The consumer electronics company formally introduced the PlayStation Move Tuesday at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Sony first announced its plans for a controller last June, but did not offer many details.

The Move is a rectangular device curved on the sides to fit comfortably in the hand. It also has a glowing ball at the end that contains technology used in tracking a player’s motions.

The Move is scheduled to be available in the fall in a starter kit that will sell for less than $100. The kit includes the controller, an “eye” camera required for the PS 3 to track motion. Sony also plans to offer a premium bundle, but details were not disclosed.

Sony plans to release a sub-controller at the same time as the Move to enhance game play. The device “pairs with the motion controller and comes with an analog stick and directional buttons that allow users to easily control the game when moving characters or choosing a direction,” the company said. Exactly how the two devices will be used together is not clear.

Sony, however, did announce that 36 third-party developers and game publishers plan to build software for the Move platform. Companies include Electronic Arts, Disney Interactive Studios, Activision Publishing, SEGA, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. In addition, Sony plans to release more than 20 games of its own.

Sony’s Move will compete against Nintendo’s fully outfitted Wiimote, which includes the company’s MotionPlus add-on and Nunchuk controller attachment. The ensemble brings one-to-one control to games on the Wii console, but costs an additional $80.

Nintendo’s success with the Wii, released in November 2006 as the first console to offer motion-sensing technology, has brought the gaming technology to the mainstream.

Microsoft is expected to join the trend in offering a motion-sensing device for the Xbox 360 in time for this year’s holiday shopping season.Unveiled in June 2009 as “Project Natal,” the Xbox system relies on sensors that track players’ body movements to allow them to interactively play sports and other games without having to hold any hardware.

“We have decided to release the Motion Controller in fall 2010 when we will be able to offer an exciting and varied line-up of software titles that will deliver the new entertainment experience to PS3 users, ” said Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Kazuo Hirai in the press statement.

“We will continue to work to have a comprehensive portfolio of attractive and innovative games for the Motion Controller, not only from SCE Worldwide Studios but also from the third party developers and publishers, whom we have been working closely with. We look forward to soon unveiling the exciting software line-up that further expands and defines the PS3 platform as the ultimate entertainment system for the home.”

Microsoft’s ‘no controller’ motion sensing alternative, dubbed Project Natal, is due to ship by the end of the year, probably in November, placing it head-to-head with Sony’s product.

As expected, you’ll need the PlayStation Eye camera to use the double-wand system. The Eye’s been available for years, of course, and retails for $40 today. It’s also arguably the most underutilized, prematurely released official Sony peripheral in existence, so unless you’re hip to play Eye of Judgment (a totally decent card game, by the way) I’d wait to pick one up until they’re discounting it later this year, or, you know, bundling it with the PlayStation Arc.

Hold up, the PlayStation Arc? What the heck is that?

If you buy VG247′s claim, raised ‘on good authority’, a Sony insider says that’s what the motion controller’s actually named. You know, Arc. Like the plasma bolts spit from a Tesla Coil.

Interestingly, Sony says–my emphasis–that it will “vigorously promote the Motion Controller as the de facto controller of the PS3 platform along with the DUALSHOCK series controller.”

Translation: The Arc–I mean Tentatively Labeled Motion Controller Wand Duo PlayStation Accessory Thingy–gets to ride up front with the big boys. No lounging in the backseat or huddling in the trunk with neglected peripherals like the Eye, or the forlorn SIXAXIS accelerometer.

Sony had originally been planning to launch the controller in the spring of 2010 so the revised launch date represents a six-month delay from its original plans.

Its launch will come about four years after Nintendo revolutionized gaming with its Wii console and motion-sensitive controllers, and shortly before Microsoft is expected to introduce a similar system for the Xbox 360.

Sony’s controller, a prototype of which has already been demonstrated, has a glowing ball mounted on its end that is tracked by the PlayStation Eye camera, which will be a requirement for the system. Few other details are known about the device at present and it’s only been shown a few times since its debut at last year’s E3 gaming convention.

Motion-sensitive gaming proved to be key to the success of Nintendo’s Wii with casual gamers and both Sony and Microsoft are hoping their new systems will be equally successful.

The Wii controller can be swung like a bat or jabbed like a punch and the movements are copied on-screen. This unique way of gaming proved to be more attractive to some than the flashy, high-definition graphics on offer from the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Microsoft’s system, called Project Natal, seems more advanced than both the Sony and Nintendo systems because it does away with the controller completely. The gamer’s actual body movements are detected and mimicked inside the games so punches, kicks and jumps are translated immediately into movements. Microsoft plans to launch Natal in time for the end-of-year holiday sales period.

Sony offered little other details of its launch plans and didn’t name any of the games that will be compatible with the Motion Controller.

“We will continue to work to have a comprehensive portfolio of attractive and innovative games for the Motion Controller, not only from Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios but also from the third-party developers and publishers, whom we have been working closely with,” Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, said in a statement. “We look forward to soon unveiling the exciting software line-up that further expands and defines the PS3 platform as the ultimate entertainment system for the home.”

The year is shaping up to be an important one for PlayStation 3 owners.

Sony is aggressively promoting 3D entertainment and the PlayStation console will play an important part in the push. The company has already promised to add 3D capability to all PS3 consoles through a firmware, and several companies are working on 3D games. It will, however, be necessary to buy a compatible television to enjoy games with the additional dimension.

Sales of the console have recently enjoyed an uptick after Sony launched a revised model that’s smaller and cheaper than the original PlayStation 3. The console saw record sales in the last five weeks of 2009 with 3.8 million units sold worldwide, a 76 percent jump on 2008, Sony said earlier this month.