Virtua Tennis 3, the PS3-bound update to Sega's sports series, will bounce on to Sony's next-gen hardware complete with SixAxis-supporting motion-sensitive controls.

By tilting the pad you'll be able to move your player around the court - a bit like in Super Monkey Ball - or slam a shot across the net by wielding the pad like a tennis racquet.

To move you would tip the pad in the required direction - rolling it forward to go up the court, right to go to the right, and so on. And, as you can see from this image, the way you swing the pad also triggers the shot you want to play.

Above: The SixAxis pad is certainly precise in its tilt-control, but will Virtua Tennis 3 's setup work?

However, developer and publisher Sega has yet to explain just how these two methods of motion-sensing gameplay will mesh together. Tilting the pad to move and then swinging it to unleash a return doesn't sound very intuitive, or easy to grasp - especially since Virtua Tennis thrives on high-speed rallies and quick returns.

We're expecting the shot selecting swings to only be playable in service strokes, but we'll be muscling in on a Virtua Tennis 3 gameplay session soon so will report back on how PS3's tilt gameplay works in practice.

November 3, 2006