http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
Little things like the angle in which you are tilting the controller. The tech demos so far at E3 show very big movements of arms and legs. Moving both arms for steering. Making a big motion to change the tire. It has proven it can track on a macro level the motion of your whole body, but can it do, for example, the Warioware Smooth Moves games where you try to keep balance of a virtual broom balanced on your palm with just the slightest angle of your wrist?

The wii remote also allows for pointing a cursor at the screen. Can Natal do that?]]>Jun 5th 2009 11:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://kotaku.com/5279531/microsoft-project-natal-can-support-multiple-players-see-fingers"

Even Engadget had time with it. Milo is a game coming out by Lionhead. Its a reality. Multiple game sites have tried it.]]>Jun 5th 2009 11:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
I think you've minimized both what Natal is capable of today and how far along in development it is.

"Milo was merely a video and not yet a reality"
- No, Milo was real and demonstrated – you can find reviews all over the web, but it’s just in the early stages of development. Is Milo really a game though or just more of a tech demo?

"Natal also won't be available for quite some time. Sony's motion controls are out to developers right now and they were demonstrated to be working on stage live right now, and will be available early next year."
- Both Natal and Sony's wand were demonstrated to be working on stage, and both are in developers’ hands as of E3. The only thing different about them is Sony claimed that their wand would be out in 2010 and MS has not given a date. We all know Sony's track record with their dates so I wouldn't bank on them getting it out next year, much less "early next year". By MS not giving a release date it does not indicate that they will not release it "for quite some time", they may release it next year as well. Being that Natal is much more advanced and software development heavy than the wand, it should be expected that the wand would be released first.

Natal is a game changer, that can't be said about the wand. To get the advantages of the wand, you need to buy at least 1 for each player, and likely 2. If you want to track leg and feet movement then you are talking about 3 or 4 wands per person. With Natal, there are no additional accessories to buy no matter how many players or movement points they want to track, no controllers to lose, and jumble of controllers to have to keep charged up (other than the standard controller). Natal is going to augment control for most regular games and will I'm sure they will make Nintendo type kid games (bowling, etc) that will work completely with Natal and no other controller required. But imagine playing halo and using the regular controller for shooting and moving but also being able to kick your leg up to jump or making a tossing gesture with your fist to throw a grenade. Or imagine watching a movie or TV on media center and having it pause automatically when you walk out of the room to use the bathroom or get a drink. The implications of Natal go way beyond just game control.]]>Jun 5th 2009 12:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/991/991348p1.html

One thing to bring up is that I think Microsoft is not introducing Natal to replace the 360 controller... it's being develop to provide new experiences that would be better done with motion/voice/facial tracking. You're still going to get Halo, COD, etc that uses the regular controller but now you're also going to be able to play games like Fight Night by using ur hands and seeing an outline of yourself (ala Punch out style) on the screen. The fact is the 360 already has a controller (which is a great one except for the d-pad) so developers won't be forced to implement Natal "gimmicks" into their games.

For the media/entertainment people, you'll now be able to sit down on your couch and be logged into your profile automatically because Natal recognizes the face tied to your online profile. You'll be able to say "Pull up video chat with [FriendGamertag]" and Natal will launch the video chat app already on the NXE. You'll be able to use your hands (minority report syle) to browse thru an NXE experience tailored to work with Natal.

For the non-"traditional" gamer, you'll be able to easily pick up games that allow you to use your hands, arms, and feet "naturally" to control games that are specifically made for Natal.

Personally, I have to say I'm pretty interested in seeing the final product.]]>Jun 5th 2009 12:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 12:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
Sony needs to put out tools just like M$ is doing so things such as facial tracking and recognition can be done in any game.

And I think having a mix is the way to go because I've wanted next gen Wii controls on a next gen system ever since the Wii was announced. Plus Sony has been talking about this stuff since 2004. If the wands are released as a Dual Shock 3 split in half then it will be the winner. Then youd be able to play any game but with everything else added.]]>Jun 5th 2009 1:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 1:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkleQLjASyU

So it's possible that since they work for MS now that there work could be combined with what Natal is already doing.]]>Jun 5th 2009 1:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 1:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
1) Natal has it's on processor/software onboard the hardware

2) I don't believe the PSEye by itself can do depth tracking

I think #2 is a big factor when you see things like the Natal demo tied to Burnout paradise... yeah the PSEye could tracking the left/right movements of your arms/head but only Natal can use your feet to control your speed from you placing your feet forward and backwards. With the E3 demo of the girl kicking the balls around, the PSEye could probably tell whether or not to stop and incoming ball if your leg is in front of it, but without depth tracking you couldn't actually "kick" it because it doesn't know whether you leg is coming forwards or the amount of force you're trying to put behind it. You could moves your arms left and right with the PSEye but it couldn't track a lateral punch or push forward with being able to measure depth.

Also, it's interesting to note that Natal is "picking up 48 joint points on the human body" using it's two builtin cameras (RGB and infrared).]]>Jun 5th 2009 1:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
Not really. Natal (which is a dumb name) utilizes two optical sensors placed apart to achieve stereoscopic vision - that achieves depth perception. With a single sensor (or single cluster of sensors) the image being processed lacks depth information, though some tricks can be done to try and guesstimate. MS has further expanded on the idea by making the sensors sensitive to different wavelengths, to provide further visual differentiation. It's a clever implementation. Sony is using the want to try and work around that limitation, by providing a second data collector. Largely I suspect this is because the algorithm for motion capture with distinct tracking points (the end of the wand for example) is mature and didn't require a lot of software innovations that need to be perfected and also because it is easier to interpret motion data from the wand and visual data from the camera, than visual data from two separate cameras. MS has the advantage here of having a multi-billion dollar research arm to leverage, relationships with a variety of academic research institutions, and the cash to snap up interesting companies. Sony has to go a less resource intensive route given their financials (MS may not be happy about not having revenue growth, but at least they made billions last quarter rather than losing money).]]>Jun 5th 2009 1:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
When I see the future, I don't want to be holding anything in my hands to control whats happening on screen. Not to say I don't want to use a controller at all, that should always be around. But Natal obviously looks like the future to me.]]>Jun 5th 2009 2:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/27/sonys-ps3-headtracking-does-it-all-with-a-camera/]]>Jun 5th 2009 2:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
Casual / fitness games = Natal only
"Real games" = Controllers + natal]]>Jun 5th 2009 2:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
If Sony can make some AAA games using their motion controllers and not make it end up like the eyetoy gimmick for the PS2 then I'd say Sony won. I want to see games like Resident Evil using the motion controllers. I couldn't ever imagine playing Resident Evil without a controller and just a camera. Too much room for glitches. There's no way to point and shoot. Background noise might mess up the voice recognition and think I'm saying "pause the game" and keep pausing. or maybe I am saying "pause the game" but the background noise is making it undetectable. If I just make a gun with my hand and have to make a reload gesture to reload then I could think of a ton of ways that would glitch out and be a nightmare. Natal is simply Microsoft's way to create a million mini-games that have sold so well on the Wii like mario party, cooking mama, and Wii sports. With Sony's two motion controllers with buttons I could see how they could make any great game as well as cheap little games. I could see Assassin's Creed using the motion controllers to climb up buildings and do hand-to-hand combat. You could use them in Grand Theft Auto to drive the car and then get out and shoot people. If they put an analog stick on each one of those wireless controllers then there's really no game they couldn't create with those controllers. ]]>Jun 5th 2009 3:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
I don't see how you got that impression. Devs flat out said it was in development for months, and it seems far more accurate and less laggy than Natal which you omitted.

That and this very site has posted videos of PSeye doing everything Natal can do. Virtual mirrors, head tracking, soccer ball balancing demos, etc]]>Jun 5th 2009 3:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
Microsoft has both those things and Nintendo ships theirs within weeks.]]>Jun 5th 2009 4:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 7:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
yeah... except push down on a button/trigger...]]>Jun 6th 2009 8:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
I mean, how do I move my character around? Do I stomp my feet? Run around my place? Voice commands? Just give us a simple controller to go with it.]]>Jun 5th 2009 11:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
That's what she said.]]>Jun 5th 2009 11:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
]]>Jun 5th 2009 1:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
Right now Natal doesn't look like a sleek sensor bar, it's a little box that looks like a mini-projector (as revealed on this very website).

I'm undecided on who's going to come out on top, but the last thing we should be worried about is the physical appearance of prototypes that are nowhere near finished. Sony won't release a wand that clashes horribly with the visual aesthetic of the PS3 and all its other accessories.]]>Jun 5th 2009 12:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 12:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
If you watch the demo of the PS3 'wand' you'll see that's it highly accurate, enabling the user to hand write quite effectively. I don't think handwriting on the PS3 will be much use to anyone but it proves the accuracy of it. When I've used a Wii in the past just trying to type on the virtual keyboard was hard.
Also, you go on to point out that PS3 games are useless. Aren't they all? I've not seen any productive games on any console at all except for perhaps Wii Fit.

I'm not taking any sides here. I think both the PS3 Wand and Natal look awesome. It'd be nice to see some proper gaming with the 'wand' rather than mock-up demos, and it'd be nice if Natal turns out exactly how it looks in the promo video. Talking of the Natal promo vid, how come the kids fingers aren't on the on-screen deck graphics once it's 'scanned' it? ]]>Jun 5th 2009 12:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
If Microsoft and Sony wanted to be smart, then they would have made compatible systems so they could compete this generation. Differentiation will be their downfall.]]>Jun 5th 2009 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/27/sonys-ps3-headtracking-does-it-all-with-a-camera/]]>Jun 5th 2009 2:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
Looking into the future I think a mixture of Microsoft's solution with the wiimote plus would totally rock. Sony's idea seems to be pretty similar to what that young kids that liked hacking the Wiimote, I can remember his name but the did the led tracking thing, except it wasn't inside a giant plastic ball.]]>Jun 5th 2009 11:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/All I want is Pokemon "Stadium" 3.
Battle Revolution was a joke compared to Pokemon Stadium 2.]]>Jun 5th 2009 11:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 3:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
It's been reported in many an interview that at Nintendo they start working on the next iteration of hardware as soon as the current gets out the doors, so we know that they must have something that's been in the works for the last few years. Wii has been out awhile. Dsi is now out. It can't possibly take all their engineers to do the motion plus hardware, so I'd say it's a safe bet that their next home console is due to be revealed sooner than later. So, if they play the game right, at next year's E3, we'll see Sony and Microsoft proudly trumpeting the fact that they've finally released motion controllers, at which point Nintendo responds with a "so what, we've moved on to the new (whatever they're hiding now) interface/technology."]]>Jun 5th 2009 11:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 12:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 1:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/Jun 5th 2009 11:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/05/motion-control-wars-xbox-360-and-ps3-are-playing-catch-up-with/
Overall you'll kinda have the effect of a drunk who thinks he has a hula hoop.]]>Jun 5th 2009 11:27AM