Xbox 360 to get wireless sport-themed controllers

Qmotions, the peripheral manufacturing subsidiary of the Actiga Corp. and a maker of controllers unique to individual sports games, will soon be releasing fully Microsoft-endorsed Xbox 360 wireless controllers.

One of these is called the Big Air, a wireless full-sized skateboard deck controller for skate- and snowboarding games. The Big Air will be an updated version of its X-board, which was a PS2 and Xbox peripheral that retailed for $99.99. Its availability is currently only listed as "Spring 2008," but updates are pending.

The market for skateboarding and snowboarding games is not what it was during the turn of the century, with the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and SSX series still early in their life cycles, so the major impetus for pushing such a peripheral may be the popularity of Wii Fit and its balance board, which is more like a scale than a skateboard.

QMotion actually had a fitness-related controller in the last console generation called FunFitness, which was an exercise bike attachment that was compatible with a dozen race games for the Xbox and PS2, but such peripherals have usually proven to be more of a novelty than a phenomenon.