Project Natal prototype hardware pictured on Jimmy Fallon's set

Looks like our old friend Jimmy Fallon will be demoing Microsoft's Project Natal on Late Night tonight, and this backstage pic from rehearsal is the first shot we've seen of the prototype hardware anywhere. Of course, Redmond's made it clear that the final product will look a lot different -- probably something more like the press pic -- so don't get crazy over this, but at least everyone's burning curiosity has been satiated. Now, Jimmy, if you could just hammer out a ship date, that'd be great.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 14th 2009 11:16PM]

It has been brought up a million times. The Eyetoy is just a camera. It can at most derive a basic interaction by mapping a difference between frames. This is entirely two dimensional and has no real ability to map into a 3d environment. Natal is a combination of a depth sensor, twin HD cameras and a few other toys. With the two cameras and the depth sensor it is possible in hardware to map three dimensional motions to a game model. This is why you can do things like accelerate and break by moving your leg in and out, and why they could vary the balls velocity vector based on the arm swing. With a proper SDK Natal could easily support everything the unnamed PS project does as well as a huge array of other features.

The eyetoy was basically just capable of a fancy version of Nick Arcade from the 90's. You could do the same thing with any stationary camera.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 8:20AM]

never found fallon funny

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 11th 2009 8:21AM]

If anyone actually wants to watch this, just go to:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/77038/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon-project-natal-demo

[enhuman Posted Jun 11th 2009 9:17AM]

I'm kinda impressed, if this thing can keep track of a spaz like Fallon then it can do anything!

[Yankee Posted Jun 11th 2009 11:44AM]

Project Natal is the most revolutionary thing to happen to gaming since the Wii, and actually much more revolutionary than the Wii, and I'm a hardcore PC gamer who's never been much into consoles, but this thing is unbelievable. I mean - of course it's not 1:1, it's not even finished yet, but even when it's finished it won't be 100% accurate, but what do you expect - the thing records every movement that you make in a 3D matrix, can you imagine the amount of calculations, I mean how insane is that, so of course it might miss a slight movement but based on this video from the Fallon show (I agree, Jimmy's show is awesome) it is responsive enough to make you feel like you're in the matrix, if the future of gaming is that you'll be "plugged" into the game, this is a huge step in that direction.

I mean no controller for hell's sake, you are actually physically IN the game for the first time, combine this with nVidia's 3D glasses having the monitor "embedded" in the glasses, the technology for which is pretty much there, and you have the first fully interactive interface. Man, I almost had a heart attack when I first heard about it, cannot wait to see 1st person shooters utilizing this, you'll be carrying the guns and shooting them yourself (well, if it can pick up finger movements, if not any sort of a sudden move or something, they'll figure it out) :P