CES is in full swing and Microsoft have been using it to pump up excitement and enthusiam for Project Natal, its intriguing new motion controller which is set to launch later this year.
At its annual CES press conference the company confirmed - as we suspected - that the motion cam will be released in "holiday 2010".
Gameplay footage
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Gameplay footage
2:53
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Words can add little to the experience at this stage, so we invite you to dive straight in and check out the movie, then let us know how you view Natal.
Is motion-controlled gaming the future for hardcore players or just a passing phase to help rejuvinate the platforms in the midst of the cycle? Your thoughts are welcomed below.
So far it's a little too much flailing at dodgeballs, not enough substance.
An intriguing idea, but I am not yet convinced.
Unfortunately they're directing their marketing directly at the Wii crowd for the moment (which is where the money lies, I guess). So you have to use your imagination for how it could be implemented into hardcore game genres. The fact that Johnny Lee is working at MS Research now makes me very excited in the prospect of some good Natal implementation for shooters, racers and sports titles.
Yet again, this video is mainly marketing fluff but there's some really cool implementation imaging in there too. It's ability to sense the 3D room and your location in it seems pretty impressive.
I know the camera picks you up through infrared heat-detection, but does anyone know if heated items, such as radiators will cause an issue? I'm guessing not since the camera can detect that it is in a seperate part of the room, even if it is "connected" to you in a 2D respect.
I suppose this video is only of interest to developers at the minute.
As a gamer, this sort of thing sways me neither way.
I'm still yet to be convinced that Natal will be an enjoyable gaming experience because of lag and other technical foibles. I really have to try it for myself.
One thing that concerns me is the way that MS are advertising fighting style games. Injury claims incoming.
There is no way that Natal can be used for precise gaming as the camera is not reliable enough to pick up finger movements. Unless they release a new one or two handed controller the PS3 wand is going to walk all over them.
The reason being, there is not going to be enough of a gameplay difference between the wii / ps3 controller for the casual player. They just don't care (or are even aware) of things like that. The only people who do care are hardcore gamers, and none of them are going to put up with that amount of lag or games you only control with broad movements. The novelty of motion controls has warn off quite a bit and breaking away from their 'hardcore' image is a mistake that is going p**s off their core fanbase.
Well I'm not convinced by any of the consoles motion controllers yet. Maybe when they actually get released I might be swayed until then I'll assume they will be bad.
Im just dying to see what the Devs can do, I know that there will be a lot of casual / shovelware Games available but what about Lionhead, Rare, Bungie, 343 Industries, Turn 10 and the like.
This is the news that im waiting for. Should be a good year all round for everyone, woo hoo!
Aim for the casual Wii demographic I see as pointless. Why buy another brand of kettle when the one you have works just fine. I would hazard a guess that if they can find enough to tempt the core crowd they will be more successful. I would expect any shovelware just won't sell at all as more dedicated gamers have themselves a 360, not the mums and aunties etc.
Aim for the casual Wii demographic I see as pointless. Why buy another brand of kettle when the one you have works just fine. I would hazard a guess that if they can find enough to tempt the core crowd they will be more successful. I would expect any shovelware just won't sell at all as more dedicated gamers have themselves a 360, not the mums and aunties etc.
Thats what I think too. If MS market this as a Wii alternitive this will fail. I think this will fail anyway, as someone already said, this will not be able to track finger movements, if you are smiling, etc. Only the postition of your body parts, is that really going to be enough to create some great hardcore games? I think not. I don't think the PS3 wand will do any better either, although you might see a couple of good sword games on it, but the fact you need the Wand & the PS-Eye to make it work might cost too much for most people.
A shovelware ball hitting game demo seems to be it's climax...cmon MS let's see the real deal please, surely some dev's have got more interesting ideas in the mix than this!? And I'm not talking about "fantasy" ideas like Milo thank you.
This looks a total load of tosh! this is not for the hardcore gamer but clearly for the wii mob. The movement with the people with the balls is not real time and there is a definite lag between the player and the screen. The only thing this would be good for is the interface and maybe a slow adventure game point and click style. PC Blade Runner Microsoft???
It's only going to be successful if they produce decent gaming experiences from the technology, for the hardcore gamers at least. Casual gamers are no doubt going to lap it up. Whether or not its a Wii-killer, only time will tell.
A video stinking of self importance, glossing over all the cracks.
I've no interest whatsoever in 360 or PS3 motion control. Two companies wanting their fingers in more pies, they don't want to push the formats forward.
I think we should all be cautious about writing Natal off before we have played it, I have a suspicion its going to be amazing, there are so many ways it can be implemented above and beyond the wii..Fable III is a prime example.
As for "The Love Wand" from Sony...I haven't seen a great deal of what it, and the eyetoy are capable of...which is a more powerful camera I wonder??
From the video it looks a little out of sync the movements you make to the actions on screen (and some gestures didn't seem to come out right). By their own admission the camera only picks up so much and then the software has to interpolate and make a guess as to what gesture was made. The technology looks interesting, but as we probably all saw with the EyeToy (and the Eye) the applications are limited. If they weren't Sony would have been all over it by now. That's why they have stuck with a controller. Until we have full body scanners or something, a camera which picks up a 2D image (regardless of them saying it's 3D, it's 2D and the software makes it 3D) will only be of little use. I'd like to be proven wrong though.
I've gone from being about excited by Natal as I was for the purchase of my next frying to being as excited as I am about my next kettle!
I'll keep an open mind, but most of what they demo is replicating an impact; punching something, kicking something, hitting a ball, etc. When there's no resistance everything's reduced to air guitar. If pretending to play a guitar or play a sport was so much fun people would be having air guitar lessons, or going to pretend sport sessions. No one does, and for good reasons. But when it comes to computers, graphics or videogames, it's fair to say people will find pleasure in doing things that they wouldn't otherwise consider had a computer or videogame graphics been involved.
The closest this comes to looking remotely interesting would be for a fighting game involving arms and hands. Replicating kicking a football I can't see taking off, not for anyone who considers themselves a gamer. Nor holding and moving a pretend steering wheel or bat for that matter. I guess the system could be used to train some types of martial arts... or am I just trying to justify a technology I'm not entirely sold on.
Interesting points and just another one when it comes to input. I have played many racing games and I’m sure all of us have and even maybe tried a force feedback steering wheel or the like to find out you can only really enjoy this when it’s stuck to a table or desk. On the knee it just isn’t right. this is with an actual wheel. Mario kart with the wii steering wheel is a sad attempt and I can just imagine sitting here in front of my tv pretending to steer a car without anything in my hand will feel just as bad.
Interesting points and just another one when it comes to input. I have played many racing games and I’m sure all of us have and even maybe tried a force feedback steering wheel or the like to find out you can only really enjoy this when it’s stuck to a table or desk. On the knee it just isn’t right. this is with an actual wheel. Mario kart with the wii steering wheel is a sad attempt and I can just imagine sitting here in front of my tv pretending to steer a car without anything in my hand will feel just as bad.
At least you won't have to worry about a gear stick...
For added realism, you could ask the missus to pat you on the nuts with a spoon, every time you bump into another car.
So as we all know, 2010 is when the future starts. Of course, we also know the future of gaming is motion sensing technology. For too long the controller has been a barrier to entry for new people to interact with their games. Finally we can see a new dawn in gaming where anyone can get involved and the only controller required is you. People, the future is now... the future is 1993 and it's name is the Sega Activator.
Read the full article here: http://newbreview.com/2010/01/07/lessons-from-the-past-motion-controllers/
I think we should all be cautious about writing Natal off before we have played it, I have a suspicion its going to be amazing, there are so many ways it can be implemented above and beyond the wii..Fable III is a prime example.
As for "The Love Wand" from Sony...I haven't seen a great deal of what it, and the eyetoy are capable of...which is a more powerful camera I wonder??
So you think we shouldn't write off Natal before we've seen it but you'll write off Sonys effort before you've seen it.... yeah that makes a load of sense.
So as we all know, 2010 is when the future starts. Of course, we also know the future of gaming is motion sensing technology. For too long the controller has been a barrier to entry for new people to interact with their games. Finally we can see a new dawn in gaming where anyone can get involved and the only controller required is you. People, the future is now... the future is 1993 and it's name is the Sega Activator.
Read the full article here: http://newbreview.com/2010/01/07/lessons-from-the-past-motion-controllers/
Pah! I have one of the old Sega motion controllers and its not this, what i have was a revoultion in motion control, what I have is the Sega Action Chair!
Aimed at the market that finds traditional controllers an obstacle for gaming.
The response time is not going to be exact.
Traditional games with be controlled with traditional controllers - "familyware" will be produced for Natal, save for the odd embarkment and consequent regret of trying to pit a FPS or platformer for this device. Well, one of any real complexity.
Personally I'm looking forwards to it. Hoping that a few bright sparks will produce something creative and fun.
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