PlayStation Move development coming to PCs

Since its release, Microsoft's Kinect has been hacked by a host of academics for a variety of uses, ranging from a floor-bound robot to mini-helicopter guidance system. The software giant initially threatened to take hackers to court, but eventually relented, allowing an open-source Kinect driver community to flourish amongst academics and amateur programmers.

Now, it appears Sony wants its PlayStation Move to be the subject of similar underground innovation. A visual arts session for the forthcoming 2011 Game Developers conference titled "Update on PlayStation Move Development"--sponsored by Sony Computer Entertainment America--says it will reveal what sounds like open-source development for the LED controller- and camera-based system.

"We will discuss the new Move Server project that will make it possible for academics and hobbyists to develop software using the PlayStation Move controller on their own PCs," reads the description. (Emphasis added.) The session will also cover developing for the PlayStation Move Sharpshooter peripheral.

What exactly the Move Server project is remains unclear. The session, which will be held on Wednesday, March 4, will be hosted by John McCutchan, SCEA's lead of game systems in developer support. His duties at SCEA focus on system programming and game engine development for PlayStation platforms.

As of November 30, 2010, some 4.1 million PlayStation Move controllers had shipped worldwide.