Sony, Nintendo roll out 3-D games

Sony and Nintendo kicked off the second day of media events at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles with an emphasis on 3-D games.

Sony, which is betting big on 3-D with television sets and Blu-ray players, announced a host of upcoming video games for its PlayStation 3 console Tuesday that will have three-dimensional capability, including MLB 10 The Show, Killzone 3, Gran Turismo 5 and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. The games will be playable in regular 2-D, but will also have a 3-D option for players equipped with a compatible television set.

The company also announced that its Move motion controller, which resembles a magic wand, will be available on Sept. 19 for $49. The controller is similar to Nintendo's Wii in that it encourages physical interaction with games rather than button pressing. Fifteen titles will be available at launch with up to 40 scheduled for release through the holiday season, Sony said. First-party titles produced by Sony itself will be priced at $39.

Sony and Microsoft are both playing catch-up in motion control, which Nintendo made popular with its Wii console in 2006. Nintendo holds a wide lead over both competitors in terms of total consoles sold.

Microsoft announced Monday that its Kinect motion-control system, an add-on to the Xbox 360 previously known as Project Natal, will be available in November. The company did not announce pricing.

Nintendo showed off its new handheld gaming system, the 3DS, on Tuesday. The device displays games in 3-D without the need for special glasses, unlike Sony's offerings. The 3DS will be getting new games from a number of classic franchises, including Mario Kart and StarFox, but Nintendo did not announce pricing or availability for the device.

The company also announced a number of big-name games for its Wii console, to be available for the holiday season, including Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn and GoldenEye 007, an updated version of the 1997 smash hit game based on the James Bond movie.