Motion-sensing game for mobiles unveiled

US-based mobile content creator Concrete Software has announced the release of a ground-breaking new game that will replicate the Nintendo Wii motion controller on a mobile camera phone.

3D Lawn Darts is based on the outdoor game of lawn darts where players take turns throwing metal darts into the air in an attempt to score points by landing them inside one of two rings.

The video game edition brings Wii-style motion controls to mobile phones by making use of a phone's internal camera, allowing players to swing the phone as if throwing a real dart.

Keith Pichelman, CEO of ConcreteSoftware.com, said: "The mobile device captures a picture in mid-throw and then analyses the blur in the picture to figure out the motion of the dart. To make sure a good picture is taken, the device vibrates to prompt the user when they should make the throwing motion."

He added: "The popularity of motion-enabled gaming as seen on next-generation gaming consoles is now available to the hundreds of millions of camera phones owned by consumers worldwide."

In the UK, 3D Lawn Darts is currently only available on Pocket PCs and Microsoft Smartphones, but Concrete Software is speaking to UK mobile phone carriers and plans to release the mobile camera phone game in the near future.