THQ, a leading developer of video games, has possibly revealed the official name of Sony’s motion-sensitive controller for PlayStation 3 that will be available in Fall 2010. Apparently, the controller will carry rather simplistic name: Arc.

“We are focused on our continued leadership in [kids and casual] category, taking advantage of the lower hardware price points that we expect will attract new mass market gamers and new family-friendly platforms, such as Microsoft's Natal and Sony's Arc motion controllers,” said Brian Farrell, chief executive officer of THQ, during the most recent call with financial analysts.

So far Sony Computer Entertainment has called its innovative device as “motion controller”, but it looks like the official name of the product will be Arc, a very simplistic name for Sony, whose previous-gen controllers were called DualShock or Sixaxis.

It is interesting to note that the head of THQ believes that both Microsoft Natal and Sony Arc will extend lifecycles of current PS3 and X360 game consoles. Still, he expects both companies to continue reducing prices on the machines.

“Natal and Arc are clearly cycle-extending strategies in our view. […] But we do not see it as a way to extend the cycle at the current price points,” added Mr. Farrell.

Sony did not comment on the news-story.

THQ recently announced financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2009. For the fiscal third quarter ended December 31, 2009, THQ reported net sales of $356.7 million, compared with $357.3 million in the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, for the three months ended December 31, 2009, the company reported net sales of $357.0 million, compared with $385.6 million a year ago.

For the three months ended December 31, 2009, the company reported net income of $542 thousand, or $0.01 per share, compared with a net loss of $191.8 million, or $2.86 per share, in the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, the company reported net income of $26.6 million, or $0.35 per share, compared with a net loss of $9.6 million, or $0.14 per share, in the same period a year ago. Fiscal 2010 third quarter non-GAAP earnings per share would have been $0.39 if the company had not been required to use the "if-converted" method due to its August 2009 issuance of convertible senior notes.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2009, THQ reported net sales of $701.5 million, compared with $659.7 million in the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, for the nine months ended December 31, 2009, the company reported net sales of $691.2 million, compared with $658.3 million a year ago.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2009, the company reported net income of $1.4 million, or $0.02 per share, compared with a net loss of $334.2 million, or $5.01 per share, in the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, the company reported net income of $8.3 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with a net loss of $65.4 million, or $0.98 per share, in the same period a year ago.

Tags: Sony, Playstation, Arc, Natal