Several months have passed since our last encounter with Project Natal, Microsoft's controller-free, gesture-based interface. Developer enthusiasm and rumored release dates aside, since that time there hasn't been much in the way of new, concrete details or any title announcements. That didn't stop Kudo Tsunoda and gang from coming to Tokyo Game Show to give the Japanese audience a taste of the title. We managed to get ourselves some more time with the system, which included previous demos Ricochet and Burnout Paradise, along with newcomers Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme. This time around, things felt a bit more glitchy than before, with some weird graphical maladies around our virtual wrists and a few occasions where recalibration was required (which is simply accomplished by covering up the sensor with your hand for a couple seconds). Our Engadget Japan correspondent Ittousai couldn't get his hair to detect, but Tsunoda inferred that it was something they were working on as the project continued. Going through the menus, we spotted Lumines among the other games on the console -- Tsunoda wouldn't comment on it, but he did note that adding Natal support isn't something that's likely to be patched into existing titles. Care to take another peek at what you'll look like when Natal eventually comes to your living room? Video demonstration after the break.
What kind of frikkin purchase drones do they frikkin think we are that we would want to stare at that idiot prancing around? That video means nothing. It is nothing. It's up there with Jim Camerons 'talking' about the Avatar game as a major attraction.
We respect what some of these guys do and have done but come on, a behind the scenes guy is a behind the scenes guy. Stop frikkin trying to push them as celeb icons. I don't care how Tyler Durden you try to dress em up.
Why?! Project Natal IS a guy jumping around! You don't need a controller, a TV, not even a friggin console! Just this guy, jumping around. And a hammer. A big-ass hammer.
Okay Peter Moore may have a point but is that not the same as we do not need porn if you are getting some. I'm sorry, getting laid or not getting laid, I need porn - ADIDAS. It makes anything good; video games, cartoon ( hentai), ads, cars, cosplay, and needs I say more?
IIRC the guy has a problem with his eyes and has to wear dark glasses especially for things like product shoots where there's a lot of artificial lighting for the cameras.
At the very least, you're insulting someone you don't even know, who likely has a medical condition which requires him to wear the glasses. Which would make you the asshole.
lolz, are you just making that up? Link me, please.
My guess is that you ALSO wear sunglasses indoors, huh? :-P
And yeah, people (albeit, without extremely rare eye conditions) who wear sunglasses indoors ARE assholes. Head down to SoHo or the meatpacking district of NYC and get on the subway and you'll see what I mean!
It's one thing to have a sensitivity issue, it's another to bust out the K-Fed issue fashion victim shades. Come to think of it, Nike was test-marketing contact-lenses that were shaded. Maybe this guy could be a test marketer and thereby catch less flak from the world at large.
A guy who is sensitive to light and has to do product demos (which entail a lot of lights for the cameras and also worrying about flashes) needs to wear sunglasses, and unfortunately they need to be big to stop all the light.
I'm sure if someone posted a video of you online a thousand people could rip you apart to the point you'd hide in a corner for the rest of your life. So grow the hell up. It's not all about you trying to make yourself look cool by ripping on people you don't know.
Perhaps he is sensitive about showing the actual game he is playing on camera is well; I must go to this 'joystiq' and find out what medical condition that would be.
What specific part of wearing sunglasses indoors makes you an ass hole? Because you can't see their eyes? What is the specific reason that action lets you derive the nature of the person wearing glasses?
@ all the people claiming eye sensitivity problems.
Why doesn't he wear shaded contact lenses?they It do in all the movies to help cope with all the lighting they use and he would look much more professional and less of a douche.
That's the dumbest thing I heard a gamer say. What the Wii wasn't revolutionary getting these "Motion" games going? Project Natal is a bust even I don't ever want to do what that guy is doing. I want to play a game not work. That's where the Wii has this beat it gets you involved in the game enough that you don't feel like your doing work. Same with the PS3 Motion Controller. I want to feel something in my hand and not have a camera decide what I am doing especially when there is a pretty noticeable lag in Project Natal. Scrap this it's a total waste of time. There better off making a motion controller where it's accurate 1:1 like the Wii Motion Plus and PS3 Motion Controller. By the way I own an X-Box 360. This idea is a waste.
You would rather hold a controller? Try playing some of the baseball games. Holding a controller + a nunchuk while taking a swing is absurd on the Wii. Would be so much better to hold a real bat in your hands. With Natal we have been told that you will be able to hold objects. If you want to hold a steering wheel to drive then do it. If you don't - don't. Since when is giving the user more flexibility a bad thing?
These same tired arguments were used when the Wii came out. "Who wants to get off the couch to play" or "These controls don't give me the flexibility to do what I want". Well, here we are 3 years later. Nintendo has sold about a billion Wii's and is still going strong.
The future is definitely in more interactivity. Systems and games that get people more involved will find tremendous success. I don't know if Natal will do that. I do know that it is step in the right direction.
he has the point, in my opinion natal will fail as the same fate of eye-toy, i wonder how is going to work with 3rd person view games without any controller to do any combos and moves, or using a button to trigger sniping scope, maybe this natal a made up product to waste our time to think this product even if exist. They probably have to invented a virtual game pad when its pointless to have the console from first place, instead watching recorded video games on YouTube with imaginary gamepad that is Project Natal !!!!!!!!
Microsoft is notorious for wasting money on products which lose them tons of money a year, i.e. Microsoft Surface, Zune, Windows Live, Robotics and now this piece of crap. Remember people Microsoft is not a hardware company, they are a software company.
How about adding an inset of the game being played to the video? That would actually show the actions and the corresponding screen result. Otherwise we just see a person flailing around and assume that something is actually happening on the other end.
Which is why they're not actually making any of these games work with these controls. They are only going to make original games for Natal. In the process of figuring out what types of controls work best for Natal they are simply using existing games to see if Natal helps or hinders the gameplay. From there they will suggest best practices to developers who are designing original games. If you want to see games that are actually going to work with Natal when it releases you're probably going to have to wait until E3. These demos are just proof of concept, that the controls are are fast and precise enough that you could play space invaders.
I think the best implementations of Natal will come in three ways: 1.) augmenting existing game genres with head tracking, pointing, & voice 2.) making casual games specifically for the technology like the popular sports and fitness games on Wii 3.) UI navigation with voice, facial recognition, and motion
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posted Sep 28th 2009 11:03AM
Do we get to see anything besides him jumping around?
Time to make our own "Project Natal" videos at home!
No I guess not and after watching that video I'd rather play Space Invaders with a controller.
Nope, just some douche with sunglasses talking and jumping
SDAlpha1510, you should at least know his name before you call him douche ... Kudo Tsunoda is behind quite a lot of good games.
@JimboJones: And that precludes him from also being a douche?
What kind of frikkin purchase drones do they frikkin think we are that we would want to stare at that idiot prancing around? That video means nothing. It is nothing. It's up there with Jim Camerons 'talking' about the Avatar game as a major attraction.
We respect what some of these guys do and have done but come on, a behind the scenes guy is a behind the scenes guy. Stop frikkin trying to push them as celeb icons. I don't care how Tyler Durden you try to dress em up.
Can't see the video, but judging by your comments, not much is missed. Figures after that Microphone, that Microsoft is lagging.
Why?! Project Natal IS a guy jumping around! You don't need a controller, a TV, not even a friggin console! Just this guy, jumping around. And a hammer. A big-ass hammer.
You may see him on Dancing With The Stars show.
If natal does not include a sex game then its a total fail.
/agree
Try getting some, then you wouldn't need video games to fulfill you weird perversions.
Peter Moore does have a point..
Peter Moore always has a point. ALWAYS. :|
Okay Peter Moore may have a point but is that not the same as we do not need porn if you are getting some. I'm sorry, getting laid or not getting laid, I need porn - ADIDAS. It makes anything good; video games, cartoon ( hentai), ads, cars, cosplay, and needs I say more?
lol, this guy STILL hasn't gotten the memo that only assholes wear sunglasses indoors?!
Perhaps he already knows and is just accepting the facts.
IIRC the guy has a problem with his eyes and has to wear dark glasses especially for things like product shoots where there's a lot of artificial lighting for the cameras.
At the very least, you're insulting someone you don't even know, who likely has a medical condition which requires him to wear the glasses. Which would make you the asshole.
Like he cares. He did it for the ranx, like all the people who joked about the tooth-eye man when all he wanted to do is see...
*facepalm*
lolz, are you just making that up? Link me, please.
My guess is that you ALSO wear sunglasses indoors, huh? :-P
And yeah, people (albeit, without extremely rare eye conditions) who wear sunglasses indoors ARE assholes. Head down to SoHo or the meatpacking district of NYC and get on the subway and you'll see what I mean!
@ clever,
It's one thing to have a sensitivity issue, it's another to bust out the K-Fed issue fashion victim shades. Come to think of it, Nike was test-marketing contact-lenses that were shaded. Maybe this guy could be a test marketer and thereby catch less flak from the world at large.
Yes, he looks like a ween.
here among others
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/11/video-project-natal-invades-late-night-with-jimmy-fallon/2
A guy who is sensitive to light and has to do product demos (which entail a lot of lights for the cameras and also worrying about flashes) needs to wear sunglasses, and unfortunately they need to be big to stop all the light.
I'm sure if someone posted a video of you online a thousand people could rip you apart to the point you'd hide in a corner for the rest of your life. So grow the hell up. It's not all about you trying to make yourself look cool by ripping on people you don't know.
Perhaps he is sensitive about showing the actual game he is playing on camera is well; I must go to this 'joystiq' and find out what medical condition that would be.
What specific part of wearing sunglasses indoors makes you an ass hole? Because you can't see their eyes? What is the specific reason that action lets you derive the nature of the person wearing glasses?
@ all the people claiming eye sensitivity problems.
Why doesn't he wear shaded contact lenses?they It do in all the movies to help cope with all the lighting they use and he would look much more professional and less of a douche.
"What is the specific reason that action lets you derive the nature of the person wearing glasses?"
That question goes un-answered, so your's will too.
Has anyone ever seen Kudo Tsunoda without shades? This guy epitomizes the word douche...
maybe his husband beat him...
Here you go...
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/25/former-ea-chicago-studio-head-heads-to-xbox-division/
@aardWolf
HOLY SHIT!!!
He has an eye disorder.
I am loving that shirt!
Ditto. If anyone can tell me who it's by/where to find others, I will give them a sandwich.
And possibly uprank their comment as many times as allowed :D
Oh, talk about elbow-ache.
so 10 minutes and im tired?..........yeah, that's what i got into gaming for.........to work.
Can't wait for Natal. This is by far the best thing I've ever seen in a gaming console since the day I got PS One. :)
That's the dumbest thing I heard a gamer say. What the Wii wasn't revolutionary getting these "Motion" games going? Project Natal is a bust even I don't ever want to do what that guy is doing. I want to play a game not work. That's where the Wii has this beat it gets you involved in the game enough that you don't feel like your doing work. Same with the PS3 Motion Controller. I want to feel something in my hand and not have a camera decide what I am doing especially when there is a pretty noticeable lag in Project Natal. Scrap this it's a total waste of time. There better off making a motion controller where it's accurate 1:1 like the Wii Motion Plus and PS3 Motion Controller. By the way I own an X-Box 360. This idea is a waste.
@xeydeax, This is Saad you are talking about. He's a well known Microsoft shill/rabid fanboy around here.
You would rather hold a controller? Try playing some of the baseball games. Holding a controller + a nunchuk while taking a swing is absurd on the Wii. Would be so much better to hold a real bat in your hands. With Natal we have been told that you will be able to hold objects. If you want to hold a steering wheel to drive then do it. If you don't - don't. Since when is giving the user more flexibility a bad thing?
These same tired arguments were used when the Wii came out. "Who wants to get off the couch to play" or "These controls don't give me the flexibility to do what I want". Well, here we are 3 years later. Nintendo has sold about a billion Wii's and is still going strong.
The future is definitely in more interactivity. Systems and games that get people more involved will find tremendous success. I don't know if Natal will do that. I do know that it is step in the right direction.
he has the point, in my opinion natal will fail as the same fate of eye-toy, i wonder how is going to work with 3rd person view games without any controller to do any combos and moves, or using a button to trigger sniping scope, maybe this natal a made up product to waste our time to think this product even if exist. They probably have to invented a virtual game pad when its pointless to have the console from first place, instead watching recorded video games on YouTube with imaginary gamepad that is Project Natal !!!!!!!!
Crap, it requires ridiculous DG glasses to play...
I'm feeling drooby~~~
so natal turns every game into dance dance revolution?
Oops, 1 password filled-in a comment. O_o
I have heard that Kudo Sunoda has a light sensitivity issue so he wears sunglasses all the time like Bono.
Microsoft is notorious for wasting money on products which lose them tons of money a year, i.e. Microsoft Surface, Zune, Windows Live, Robotics and now this piece of crap. Remember people Microsoft is not a hardware company, they are a software company.
How about adding an inset of the game being played to the video? That would actually show the actions and the corresponding screen result. Otherwise we just see a person flailing around and assume that something is actually happening on the other end.
Looks like he got a bad batch of meth....
There is nothing he did that really screamed fun to me. Playing Space Invaders like that looked absolutely terrible.
Which is why they're not actually making any of these games work with these controls. They are only going to make original games for Natal. In the process of figuring out what types of controls work best for Natal they are simply using existing games to see if Natal helps or hinders the gameplay. From there they will suggest best practices to developers who are designing original games. If you want to see games that are actually going to work with Natal when it releases you're probably going to have to wait until E3. These demos are just proof of concept, that the controls are are fast and precise enough that you could play space invaders.
I think the best implementations of Natal will come in three ways:
1.) augmenting existing game genres with head tracking, pointing, & voice
2.) making casual games specifically for the technology like the popular sports and fitness games on Wii
3.) UI navigation with voice, facial recognition, and motion