THQ's CEO joins the fun, says Natal is coming "late next year"
By Darren Murph 
posted July 29th 2009 4:39AM
posted July 29th 2009 4:39AM
"With respect to the cycle itself, if you look at what's happening in the industry, the fact that we have for example, Natal from Microsoft, a platform addition coming late next year."Of course, Mr. Farrell here may just be regurgitating news that he heard through the grapevine rather than inadvertently slipping the world a piece of insider knowledge, but hey, are you seriously going to question the insight of the guy who green-lit Bratz: Super Babyz? Exactly.
if they could add that to shooters so they could keep the graphics and put u in the game i would be all over it. if it is like red steel or WaW wii i wont buy it. its that simple. Probably wont either
way
Given the fact that Microsoft was caught faking the demos of their motion control stuff by the gaming press and people carefully watching the replay videos anyone holding out hope that this is going to save the 360 is just setting themselves up for dissapointment.
With the massive cost cutting, revenue and profits declines, and layoffs wasting more billions on new Xbox hardware wasn't going to happen. They pretty much had two choices. Can the Xbox mess or try to repackage the existing hardware like Nintendo did with the Wii. Microsoft is trying option 2 but with Sony EyeToy style tech instead of the Wiimote.
A console add on to the worst console hardware ever made that hasn't shown a single game being played with it in real world conditions like Nintendo did when they blew everyone away at E3 with the Wii unveiling that was playable by anyone attending E3. That screams nothing but fail.
As anyone who as played with Sony's EyeToy has seen, it's interesting tech but waving your hands around gets old real quick and is no substitute for high quality exclusives with incredible graphics.
Microsoft has an absurdly weak first party lineup - no Miyamoto's putting out motion control masterpieces. Just Turn 10, Rare, and Lionhead - not Miyamoto quality developers.
The 360 is getting embarrassed by the PS3 graphically with games like Killzone 2,Uncharted 2,God of War 3, and The Last Guardian.
And virtually every 360 'exclusive' has PC versions with much better graphics.
EyeToy style motion controls coming out in a year and a half aren't going to save the 360.
The 360 motion controls might do ok with existing 360 owners. But so far things look pretty bad after the disaterous E3 for Microsoft. They obviously rushed something out the door that wasn't ready and they oversold their stuff and got caught by the gaming press with the scripted demos.
Perhaps if they have something real come next E3 that is actually playable by the general public attending the show, but right now it is looking like another Sega 32X type add-on. Worth more as something to sell years later in a sealed box as a collectors item than an actual gaming device.
Are you saying Microsoft payed Engadget and Jimmy Fallon's show too? Because they tried it out over there too.
Are you saying Microsoft payed Engadget and Jimmy Fallon's show too? Because they tried it out over there too.
Can I have links to the articles that point out the 'faking'. I presume you're going to have all sources and not just the main stage presentation - and by 'all' I mean Engadget and the other tech journals who've used it along with feedback from Fallon's show.
Alternatively you could just realise you're out of your depth and shut the fuck up.
You don't even need to go digging up links from gaming press sites that caught Microsoft faking the E3 demos, you can just watch the videos yourself and see the pre-scripted sequences unfold and the person demoing and the pre-canned computer 'AI' getting getting out of sync where the 'amazing AI' would react to the demoer's controls BEFORE they happened.
The EyeToy stuff of course works. No one is disputing that since everyone has seen it working on the PS2 all the way back in 2003.
It is amazing that this motion control junk is all the 360 has to hype. Certainly explains the reason there is such a desperate attempt to hype the crap.
Like the other guys said, show some prooof. You don't have any. If you saw the people moving before the action on screen it has to be from lag because it's still or was still glitcy.
hm, guess i didn't realize the 360 needed saving...
Look, yoyonuts, proof or STFU.
Simples.
Gotta tune the algorithm, kid's eye is looking at the wrong place
Yes, and his hand is definitely not reaching for that piece of paper.
If its not included in the box of every Xbox 360 it will be doomed to fail. Its exactly why game developers dont make racing games that SOLELY rely on a racing wheel (well none ive heard of anyway).
Games that have both regular controls and Natal controls are bound to be half assed.
Its unlikely to be the next gen Xbox either. Sony have said they expect the PS3 to have a 10 year lifecycle so it doesnt make sense for M$ to outlay hundreds of millions in R&D building and marketing a new xbox with Natal inbuilt.
I just dont think its going to work lol, i dont know why they even bothered, Wii controls suck ass, they should of kept natal under wrapped and wowed us all when they introduce the xbox 3 in 2012 or whenever they do.
It is likely that the only true reason they have broadcasted it is because Nintendo, Sony and even Microsoft realise the 360 is going to come last this gen..... Dont give me other garbage nobody talks about something like this 2 years before release thats just stupid UNLESS its a new console..... Whatever it is it Microsoft will make it damn expensive.
If its not included in the box of every Xbox 360 it will be doomed to fail. Its exactly why game developers dont make racing games that SOLELY rely on a racing wheel (well none ive heard of anyway).
Games that have both regular controls and Natal controls are bound to be half assed.
Its unlikely to be the next gen Xbox either. Sony have said they expect the PS3 to have a 10 year lifecycle so it doesnt make sense for M$ to outlay hundreds of millions in R&D building and marketing a new xbox with Natal inbuilt.
I just dont think its going to work lol, i dont know why they even bothered, Wii controls suck ass, they should of kept natal under wrapped and wowed us all when they introduce the xbox 3 in 2012 or whenever they do.
But that's the beauty of Natal, you don't NEED to buy any other stupid Zapper, Tennis Raquet, Golf Club, etc. You just play with yourself (ZING).
If they don't include it in every console, they better give it a $40 price point, but that's highly unlikely. I doubt any major developer would bother making full fledged disc copies of games to incorporate Natal; I personally think that the games based on this technology will be sold via Marketplace for around the $15 price range, maybe a little more.
It'd be a shame if something this advanced fails, but I think Microsoft will market it well, especially during the holidays with some sort of Xbox Live and game bundle
@Adderz
It don't need to be next gen Xbox , just 360 with natal built-in.
Where Nintendo succeeded and Microsoft failed with the unveiling of motion controls was Nintendo had real games that everyone from non-gamers to hardcore gamers wanted to play and could play right there with their own hands.
Microsoft failed by trying to pass of rigged/scripted demos as real, no games that would make anyone but existing hardcore Xbox fans want the tech for, and no public access to the motion controls, just closed door carefully selected and controlled press viewings and a paid for marketing spot on TV.
The Sony EyeToy stuff Microsoft showed off obviously works. It's been working for years on the PS2 and PS3 already. It's the fake BS they piled on top of it that they got caught faking at E3 that is the problem for Microsoft.
There really isn't anything else to look forward to on the 360, so this Sony EyeToy style motion control stuff is getting latched onto with desperation. The tiny first party developer lineup Microsoft has resulted in the absurdly anemic exclusive release list the 360 has in 2009 and beyond. Graphically the 360 is has been destroyed by the PS3 this gen and there is nothing that is going to change that in 2009 and beyond.
Dangling this motion controller tech out there is a nice way for Microsoft to keep the existing userbase from abandoning the platform and depriving Microsoft the massive revenue from the suckers paying 50 bucks a year for the shoddy Xbox online service and help recover a bit of the 7 or 8 billion dollars wasted on the Xbox since 2001.
So sorry, your posts too long. You practice your English on boards? Please keep short like your chop stick. Domo arrigato.
"Microsoft failed by trying to pass of rigged/scripted demos as real, no games that would make anyone but existing hardcore Xbox fans want the tech for, and no public access to the motion controls, just closed door carefully selected and controlled press viewings and a paid for marketing spot on TV."
*sigh*
There was a time when people discussing tech actually valued sounding sane. Now all of Gen-Y has access to these places, and all bets are ff.
"a nice way for Microsoft to keep the existing userbase from abandoning the platform"
I think you're confusing Microsoft and Sony.
Sony
PS2 = 1st
Sony PS3 = Started last, lost momentum, and continues to loose momentum.
Microsoft
XBox = last
Xbox360 = Strong 2nd and gaining. (1st in HD consoles)
You are kidding right? I do agree that Sony and MS got spanked by a system they both called a gimmick but to say that they faked their Demo is a flat out lie. Just look at the video. If anything it's laggy because it's still buggy. They NEVER got caught faking. If they did then prove it.
@the non biased, like me: you're seeing the fanboys so helplessly locked into a suckle of their PS3 teet. My brother suffers from this, badmouthing my 360 at every turn. I simply prefer the 360's games, but you wont see me throwing a kid-fit about a new playstation product, game, or feature.
I, like many people are very interested in this 'Natal' project but I've noticed a flaw in the software which i'm sure is what is delaying the release.
have you noticed on both the 'Milo project' and 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon' they are waring RED OUTFITS!
perhaps 'Natal' can only see RED items at the moment!!?
Dude this has already been discussed.
They were in a studio, with a busier than normal background, and the suits helped the device lock onto people better.
And even in the video, I assume you actually watched, fallon even said the suits weren't necessary.
"fallon even said the suits weren't necessary"
Then why didn't they prove it... hmmm.
Let's see, I don't think any of the people who demo'd Natal on stage during MS's press conference were wearing red. Nor were any of the press or celebrities who were given hands on demos.
But hey, why let facts interfere with a good FUD campaign.
"Then why didn't they prove it... hmmm."
Just stop it, ok?
You dont like the device, fine. Dont buy it. Just one more available for everyone else that wants one.
@Look_Around_You:
Don't get all worked up, just have the peace of mind that they are probably this kid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebXGB4189io
You could just tell him to look back at some of the Engadget articles about how THEY tested it too.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/03/project-natal-video-hands-on-impressions-and-further-details/
Lotta people drinking haterade I tell ya.
The other question you should be asking is that huge video/HD interface thats sitting on top the XBOX 360(in their picture) to process aka video fast enough, looks like they have the natal pumpin thru the sata bus
Maybe that's it, they're waiting for the technology?
I remember when Hi-Def boxes were bigger than the TV, that's just all the equipment to decode a 1080p signal, and now we have a tiny chip in a phone to decode it (tegra).
Granted, that was years ago (when plasma tvs just came out)
But maybe in a year, the technology will be able to fit in the webcam itself? Not sure about pumping the video fast enough though, I recon it does more than 30fps otherwise, why put only 1.3MP? Surely a 2MP would retain the quality but get slightly more accurate.
Ignorance win!
"that huge video/HD interface" Is part of the dev kit, All SDK 360's have them.
Living in the Pre-Natal era is kinda exciting. There are all of these new additions to our home to anticipate.
Sooooooo by then WiiHD will be out and unlike the 360 and PS3 it will be a true motion control console. I'm not talking Motion Plus, I'm talking about not waiting until the middle of the consoles life to all of a sudden rush motion control after getting your ass handed to you by the system that made it their main draw.
Remember when Motion Control wouldn't last and it was just a gimmick? Boy have the tables turned.
I always forget the Wii exists until I see a commercial for some new piece of shit game trying to portray it as a viable choice for actual gamers... Don't get me wrong, I love almost every first-party Nintendo game/franchise, but almost every single third-party game for the Wii is just plain horrible.
Thats some serious extra hardware its packing, look at the gray box on top of that xbox. Do you suppose you put this in place of a hard drive? Would we get to transfer our data, or will it be a work around? And @nick wood has a point.
Did either of you see the E3 Demo?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09-yAnwiIRU&feature=related
I'm just lost these days with people's stupidity.
I mean there's PS3 fanboyism and then there's just plain stupidity.
The PS3 is STILL and by the looks of things will ALWAYS be last for this generation. The graphics on my PS3 are hardly noticeably better than on my 360, my copy of Bad Company looks a lot better on my 360 since it's up-scaled to 1080p rather than just being left at 720p like my PS3. So where's the argument?
You can't argue on graphics.
You can't argue on storage space because the Blu-ray games are filled with dummy data because the drive is too slow to read when the games alone are put on the discs (around 10GB max of actual game data)
You can't argue that the PS3 is ahead of the 360 because the PS3 sales are abysmal.
I have rhumatoid arthritis, and for my sake I hop this does not become mandatory. I Love my wii, but I get sick of playing it because it makes my elbows and wrists hurt. I play with minimal movement, but still EVERY game just about REQUIRES me to shake something for every little thing. I find myself playing old games on my 360 just because I don't feel like flailing around like an idiot. I just wish more of the games had the motion controls as optional like mario kart.
I was thinking of getting a Playstation3, but I think I am going to wait until I can get my hands on a Natal to see how it does. This is so exciting, I can barely type!