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PS3 motion controller = 'PlayStation Arc'?

Sony's registration of PlayStationarc.com leads to speculation that the light-wand-based system finally has a name.

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Source: Domain-name search engine Better-Whois.com (via VGChartz).

What we heard: Ever since it was unveiled at E3 2009, the PlayStation 3 Motion Controller has been officially referred to as...the PlayStation 3 Motion Controller. Even in the recent announcement of the light-wand-based system's delay, Sony did not offer a name for the technology, which will now arrive this fall. It will be going head-to-head with Microsoft's controller-less motion-sensing scheme, Project Natal.

PlayStation Sphere or PlayStation Arc?
PlayStation Sphere or PlayStation Arc?

That said, since the game industry abhors a vacuum almost as much as nature, various speculative names for the PS3 Motion Controller began popping up. In a presentation at a UBS financial conference last December, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello referred to the system as the "Gem." However, a more popular contender has been "Sphere," a title that several Japanese developers have dropped in interviews and Sony reportedly has used internally.

Now another potential moniker might have become the front-runner. Sony Computer Entertainment has quietly registered the domain name PlayStationarc.com, leading many to believe the system will be called "PlayStation Arc." Though the URL is currently dead, online records show that Sony registered the domain name back in October, shortly after Sony touted the PS3 Motion Controller at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show.

The official story: "We have not announced an official name and do not discuss rumors or speculative queries."-- Sony rep.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not enough to go on. The PlayStation Arc certainly has the sort of simple-but-elegant ring that Sony favors for its products (the Bloggie excepted). However, there's no guarantee that that is the name of the PS3 Motion Controller versus another PlayStation-related product or initiative.

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