Microsoft announces "Project Natal" motion controller for Xbox 360!

Yes, it's real. Now you'll be able to change a tire... virtually. At E3 today, Microsoft finally took the wraps off the that rumored motion controller we'd been hearing about. Apparently the small, black device -- codenamed "Natal" -- will allow for an astoundingly wide range of actions by utilizing a group of sensors (the box itself sits beneath your TV), and the accessory will be capable of juggling multiple users during a single session. The demo Microsoft showed off included a skateboarding game (replete with a young man "air" ollie-ing), and a family playing a racing game (the dad was changing a tire, the daughter driving).

The add-on will offer features such as auto sign-in for players to Xbox Live (based on complex facial recognition), and sports extremely detailed body tracking which will be able to follow the individual movements of separate limbs. During the press event, the company demoed a painting app, which lets you use your entire body to handle virtual painting supplies, allowing you to do things like throw buckets of paint onto a canvas. Another title was shown off which featured a woman interacting with a young boy on the screen -- one of the company's creepier demos in recent memory. Unfortunately for us, Microsoft says the device won't be released during 2009. We're working on snagging some face time (literally!) with a demo unit, so stay tuned... E3 is off to a wild start!

Update: Video added after the break!

[lowdef @ Jun 1st 2009 2:58PM]

yeah but, how much

[chezzo @ Jun 1st 2009 3:08PM]

"natal" (adj): of or relating to birth


seriously?!

[Jakob @ Jun 1st 2009 3:11PM]

Or better yet:
Colony of Natal, a former British colony in South Africa.

Microsoft is so DEEEP!

[gouken85 @ Jun 1st 2009 3:25PM]

yeah but when?
What if i am talking to the person next to me?
Same thing for my movements?
No way it will work like advertised in that video.

[Templarian @ Jun 1st 2009 3:27PM]

I don't care as long as we get to play Myst on it. lol. It seems so perfect.

[Ellianth @ Jun 1st 2009 3:27PM]

What if it's an acronym for people like you who say they're trying to be deep?

NATAL: Not Attempting To Appear Learned


That paint tech demo looks fun. If you guys at engadget get to play with it try to draw a penis. :).

[something clever @ Jun 1st 2009 3:34PM]

Who cares how much this thing costs. What I want to know is how much those blue pants cost.

[kevin @ Jun 1st 2009 3:58PM]

The head developer of Project Natal said that Natal referred to a "rebirth" of the XBOX 360 and video games.

[-pd- @ Jun 1st 2009 4:02PM]

Natal is also believed to be near where the Air France plane went down today.

[chezzo @ Jun 1st 2009 4:17PM]

yeah this could be a game-changer... in a few years we may not even remember our pre-natal period.

[asinine @ Jun 1st 2009 5:32PM]

Natal: Pronunciation: \nut-in-ya'll\

– adjective
1. as in bent over a barrel.
2. no no vaseline. (see ice cube)

[TIMMAH! @ Jun 1st 2009 4:28PM]

Wow!!! "changing a tire", really? How long before they can capture "taking out the trash", "taking a piss" or "changing diapers" and incorporate that into a game?

[Brad @ Jun 1st 2009 4:47PM]

@gokuken85 :

"What if i am talking to the person next to me?
Same thing for my movements?
No way it will work like advertised in that video."

How do you know it won't work like it does in the video? After being on this planet for some 24 years, have you suddenly discovered the absolute limit of image processing technology?

You have no idea how well it works. You're just complaining about an unreleased product which, by all appearances, works exactly as well as it does in the video. Are you trying to imply that they had a guy flail his arms around wildly, then mocked up a game to simulate it working?

And further, if you're supposed to be playing a game that involves motion capture and are talking to the person next to you (or moving around in a non-game-related fashion) you can expect your character to perform quite poorly. That's like complaining that the motion capture in the Wii doesn't work when you're drinking a beer while holding a kitty. No shit.

[egghead @ Jun 1st 2009 5:13PM]

Only one problem: Coffee Tables!

They expect you to have all this free room in front of the TV when most people will have a coffee table that would have to be moved (usually a two person job) for the image processor to pick up everything. Also, it would have to be placed right near the edge of the TV stand to avoid large blind spots for the cameras. Hopefully it has image stabilization built-in to prevent all the extraneous vibrations from mucking up the mo-cap algorithms.

Other than those glaring problems, (I can't believe I'm about to say this...) good work, Microsoft. I am pleased to see some progress in motion capture via image sensing. Next stop...EEG, EKG, skin conductivity, pupil dilation and respiratory rate sensing for game control mechanics. Imagine the AI hearing your labored breathing while you are hunkered down in the shadows, or setting anger management controls that decrease the difficulty as you become irate.

[Quix @ Jun 1st 2009 5:36PM]

Nintendo shows promotional videos of a family in a living room swinging their arms around to play a game.

Microbots: "LAME. GIMMICK. GHEY!!! SCREW NINTENDO!!!!!"

Microsoft shows a promotional video of a family in a living room swinging their arms and legs around to play a game.

Microbots: "REVOLUTIONARY! AWESOME!!! TOTALLY TUBULAR!!!! SCREW NINTENDO!!!!!"

The hypocrisy is laughable.

Don't stop believing, Microtools...

[Quix @ Jun 1st 2009 5:38PM]

"How do you know it won't work like it does in the video?" - Brad

Brad *wants* to believe...

[Boards of Canada @ Jun 1st 2009 7:47PM]

Natal... iiiiiish... Does it have a umbilical controller?

I can speak french and this word, Natal, is really not cool for a game device. If they wanted something in the "not lame" departement, they should have try Renaissance.

[Fudgems @ Jun 1st 2009 9:58PM]

"What if it's an acronym for people like you who say they're trying to be deep?

NATAL: Not Attempting To Appear Learned


That paint tech demo looks fun. If you guys at engadget get to play with it try to draw a penis. :)."

you mean

Not-Attempting-To-Appear-Logical

therefor you fit the acronym perfectly.

[Homeboy @ Jun 1st 2009 3:01PM]

Finally! Minority Report in my living room.

[Jimmy Jones @ Jun 1st 2009 3:18PM]

big wish man..... this is the lazy minority version of the Report... :-)

[CraigJ @ Jun 1st 2009 3:00PM]

I thought XBox Fluid was old news?

Apparently this uses imaging (like surface) to track the user. Pretty cool. I'll get it if it isn't obscenely expensive.

[itsonlymonday @ Jun 1st 2009 3:33PM]

Oh I get it now.. Natal Fluid.

[Vander @ Jun 1st 2009 5:03PM]

News like this make me totally forget RRoD...brainwashing anyone? Who the hell care!!! This is awesome

[Bash @ Jun 1st 2009 3:00PM]

Interesting

[Kinger @ Jun 1st 2009 3:17PM]

interesting

[Samboini @ Jun 1st 2009 3:23PM]

Doubly interesting,

[Beth @ Jun 1st 2009 3:29PM]

yes. triple interesting points for Microsoft.

[Cronick @ Jun 1st 2009 3:54PM]

You can come over to my house and rotate my tires for free. And as long as you're at it, how about an oil change?

[ImaYam @ Jun 1st 2009 5:32PM]

Sure, Ill virtually change your oil, and when im done, ill send you on your way.
I take cash.

[big_psirex @ Jun 1st 2009 3:00PM]

interesting...

[Kinger @ Jun 1st 2009 3:17PM]

interesting..

[AndrewNoNumbers @ Jun 1st 2009 3:47PM]

Brownies..

[anus1220 @ Jun 1st 2009 3:52PM]

yes but the video totally killed it for me. making fun of wii ads perhaps?

[Brian! @ Jun 1st 2009 3:01PM]

I hope they develop this motion controller so much that eventually I can just lay in my recliner and do all my work, play my games and watch my TV with only the slightest flick of my eyeballs and finger tips. Oh, is Microsoft developing any feeding and waste disposal accessories?

[Alistair loveless @ Jun 1st 2009 3:30PM]

Both courtesy of McDonalds.
Called Deja Poo
Tastes like shit and comes in crumbs.

[Beastage @ Jun 1st 2009 3:31PM]

I hope you being sarcastic, not matter how fun it is I wouldn't want to live on my recliner.

[OneLove @ Jun 1st 2009 3:01PM]

Is this xbox Wiii?

[Saad Rabia @ Jun 1st 2009 3:10PM]

After all of this: Fuck Wii. Sorry.

[superhobo @ Jun 1st 2009 3:10PM]

Two completely different things. No.

[OneLove @ Jun 1st 2009 3:13PM]

why does my avatar picture keep disappearing and reappearing?

[Richard @ Jun 1st 2009 3:34PM]

I agree Saad. Microsoft just destroyed Nintendo with this.

[Frogboy @ Jun 1st 2009 4:27PM]

I've tried to upload a profile picture several times with no luck. Always says that it was successful and that it might take up to five minutes to display. I'm still waiting...five months later. Not sure what the trick is.

[Quix @ Jun 1st 2009 5:25PM]

Wow, leave it to Saad Rabia and the other Microsoft slobbering pups to salute Microsoft's "groundbreaking" innovation (Sony EyeToy?) and proclaim the death of the Wii, the console they berated two years ago for a gimmicky control scheme. You know, gimmicky like...Natal? Hilarious.

You may want to check the console sales charts before you get too caught up in your celebration dance (sidenote: the Wii's sales numbers aren't artificially inflated with RROD replacements).

Microsoft Winbot Fanboys are always good for a chuckle.

Microsoft: The Freedom To Innovate...Or Copy Its Competitors, Whichever Is Easiest (TM)

Now vote me down, Winbots. Engadget is your site, after all.

[Mark Leach @ Jun 1st 2009 6:01PM]

wah WAH Quix. You're the obvious fanboy if you can't obviously see how much better this is than the Wii which relies on IR sensors (you know, that stuff that's in your remote control -- Nintendo is so revolutionary!!)

[SidedPanic @ Jun 1st 2009 6:47PM]

@ Quix
Eyetoy = 2D recognition
Natal = 3D recognition

To be fair to Microsoft they could have described Natal as 'adding a new dimension to gaming' and they'd actually be right - fortunately they didn't, because my eyes still would've winced shut.

[Quix @ Jun 1st 2009 7:48PM]

@ Mark Leach & SidedPanic:

2D, 3D, IR, cameras, sharks with frickin' lasers, whatever: I still see arm flapping. Not a great fit for the hatefully-anti-arm-flapping Xbox "hardcore gamer" crowd (based on their commentary I've been reading for the past 2 years).

Apparently *actual sales* (Nintendo) change everything.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

[PedoJokerBear (aka Deeznuts) @ Jun 1st 2009 10:22PM]

us talking amongst ourselves > you talking to yourself.

[O_O @ Jun 3rd 2009 9:38AM]

@Quix:

In another article I read:
http://digg.com/d1sgpg

MS said it wanted to capture something other than hardcore gamers. That was project Natal's goal. They wanted to expand their market to casual gamers like the ppls who play the Wii.

[htd @ Jun 1st 2009 3:01PM]

there's a 3rd party one for $69.99 with a game...

before they release something better than wii sports and the coming wii sports plus, it will be just like xo vision, a totally optional device.

[Richard @ Jun 1st 2009 3:37PM]

Did you read the article? Look at the pictures? Did you read the article about the other device? They aren't even in the same league dude...