According to M2 Research senior analyst Billy Pidgeon, Sony’s PlayStation Move is quickly becoming a much more attractive purchase for core gamers than Microsoft’s Kinect. While Microsoft’s $500 million budget for the device is sure to pay, the gaming industry race has always been a marathon, not a 100m dash. Due to this, Pidgeon feels Sony was “smart” to market its device to core gamers as well.

Speaking with Industry Gamers, Pidgeon had the following to say:

“Both Kinect and Move validate Nintendo’s Wii strategy,” he said. “Move is currently more of an attraction for gaming enthusiasts, primarily because PS3 is still selling into the base, and Sony is right to position Move as precise motion control for the hardcore.

“Now through 2011, Kinect poses a real threat to Nintendo Wii. Wii is still selling and will likely sell more strongly than it has recently in late Q4.”

He continued: “Still, Nintendo’s console has reached a saturation point. A price cut for the Wii timed for Black Friday blow outs would allow for some consolidation against Microsoft’s Kinect strategy.

“Whether or not Wii sees a lower MSRP soon, Nintendo’s strongest hardware growth will come from 3DS, next year.”

Pidgeon is definitely right about one thing; once Nintendo releases the 3DS to the public, it’s likely to cause an apocalypse of sales. I wouldn’t be surprise if the device sold five million units within the first month alone. Outside of that, it’s great to see analysts starting to give Sony props for its decision making this generation — it feels like only yesterday that they were taking digs at the company at every possible turn.