No big surprise here, but Microsoft is bringing its full
Project Natal setup to the E3 games show in LA this year, with a "world premiere" event on Sunday, June 13th, followed by a media briefing on Monday the 14th. It's good to know they're on track for showing this off, after a no-show at the
PlayStation Move-dominated GDC, and we'll of course be there in force, waving our arms around like we just don't care. From the looks of our invite, which puts the name "Project Natal" in quotes, we're not convinced that's even the final name for the device, but we suppose we'll find out for sure in June. Microsoft promises this will be our "first look at the future of fun," and we imagine some near-final hardware and beta game experiences will be on display as well. No word in the invite, but we imagine a Fall launch is still in the cards, with Jonathan Ross's
"October" tweet as the most recent morsel on that front.
posted March 25th 2010 2:24PM
@phat007
um, so by your logic, you can't really "know" how something will react until you try it like you say... but you can't really "know" whether you're like it until you own it. If you just demo something out for 5 mins, then maybe it'll seem interesting and after a few hours it'll be boring, similar to how people feel about the wii controls being not so fun after a while.
So taking your logic but to an extreme point, you can't judge something positive or negative unless you know more about it. But if you can't judge it until you "know" it, then you can't judge it til you own it. But if you can't judge something before you own it, how do you buy it?
So now think about your comment. If you think you can judge something by "demo-ing" it, then surely someone else can judge something by just reading about it.
It's all speculation. If you don't want other people to judge things before they come out based on the current knowledge/speculation, then you should heed your own rules to greater extent and not judge anything until you own it, which means you'll never own anything.
Maybe, just maybe, you prefer to have all the facts in before you make a judgment on something, which is an admirable trait to have. Other people though prefer to jump to conclusions, but that doesn't mean that they have to stick to those conclusions if they learn more about something.
So how about we all just let people who prefer to judge things based on speculation go ahead and do that, and people who prefer to get more of the facts in and then comment go ahead and do that too. Then we can all just realize that people have different ways about going about things.
@ravissimo
I agree. Everyone is different.
@commenter7
I understand what your saying, but people got to also realize that it's been done before don't just call the other peripherals "Wii copies"
@InternetExplorer Wonder how the Mature rated games would "feel" with Natal! ;)
Natal is pretty much killed by the 4 metre space requirement. I don't know what houses are like in America but in the rest of the world 4 metres of space with no furniture in it is extremely rare. If I took everything out of the room I game in I could just manage it but I tend to like little luxuries like chairs.
@Frith
Where did this 4 meter requirement come from? The concept videos had people sitting on their couch.
@Raffi256 There have been lots of articles about it, here's a few in the Google search results:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=natal+4+metre
The concept video may have shown people on the couch but if you think of every video where it's actually been used they've always been a considerable distance from the television.
@Frith - Stop right there! This story has been circulating the net like mad, but if you check out the place where the information came from (http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/03/notes_on_project_natal.html) you'll see that they have an update saying that they made a mistake and the 4m is the space that the Natal detects within, but it does not need to be clear space.
Quote: "[Correction: I made a mistake in this post by writing that people would want to clear a space at least 13 feet back from the Natal sensor array. That was, in fact, the maximum "play space" cited by Xbox officials during a media briefing I attended in Redmond, based on the configuration of the Natal sensors. But my post left the mistaken impression that it would be the minimum amount of space required to use the device."
It would be great if this cost $75 with a game or less.
Why is the high score is after the first crush? :)
I guess it mean [you] got to score on that?
@Exbloder
+1 for human ingenuity
I hope Microsoft announces new versions of the 360, maybe after 5 years they have figured out how to release units that don't overheat. Internal hard drives and blu ray would also make nice additions along with built in wifi. The premium costs a premium with the feautures it lacks. Project Natal and move are just gimicks, They only work for certain types of games. They will never work for button smashers like skating games, Madden, FIFA, or side scrollers and many more styles of games. I'm interested how both Sony and Microsoft treating both Natal and Move as a console will fair. Most people I know have sold or stopped playing Wii as the novelity of the controller wore off.
@taoprophet420 Make fun of me or whatever, but I don't own a gaming console. If a xbox 360 refresh comes out, I'll jump on it.
@taoprophet420 - A few points for you:
- MS have figured out the overheating issue, and the new versions of the 360 don't overheat (and it is now rumored that they are working on a slim line version)
- Microsoft is looking at USB storage devices (better than internal HD in my opinion - and create less heat).
- You say Project Natal and Move are gimicks and don't work with certain games and don't work with button mashers... well thats the point! They are NOT supposed to work for these games, that's the really short sighted view of what these Techs are for. These are supposed to bring about 'new' gaming types and genres. As a quick example imagine a dancing game that actually sees how you move and rates you on that (does for dancing what karaoke games do for singing). Wouldn't really work with a standard controller would it?
- The Wii stayed a novelty because Nintendo sat on their arses and never really pushed once it had been released. They even admitted that they failed there. Both Sony and MS are putting a lot of money into this for the reason that they 'are' going to really push it and make something from it. The sheer number of Wii's sold show that there is a market for it done as long as it is done well.
@mitchleeh7 I have held of purchase of both xbox 360 and ps3 so I wouldn't laugh at you. I didn't get the ps3 originally becuase of its initial high price and lack of games and held of 360 for overheating reasons and was waiting for a console refresh. I was going to purchase a 360 last month, but held off to see if they announce a slim version at e3.
@FMonkey Even with the Jasper boards the 360's are still overheating, not as much but they do, also the games being made now use all of the 360's resources and put more strain on the machines. I'm well aware Microsoft is working on a slim as I mentioned I'm looking forward to refresh in my post. The 360 badly needs an update it is not a value for its price now. I would include dancing games as a gimicks if they are used in Natal. I really can't see developers doing much with Natal since the 360's are basically maxed out now. Unless microsoft has found a way to reduce the resources in the last few months to a level close to what the move uses I can't see it being used in innovated expansive new ways, that are not just gimicks.
@taoprophet420 (It's me FMonkey - I was on a different PC before and forgot my login details).
I should probably have said that you can't play those games listed with a mic or a guitar. Does that make SingStar and Guitar Hero redundent and just gimicks? No, it doesn't. They are games in their own right that have sold extremely well and lot's of people get lots of enjoyment out of them.
360 is not maxed out (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/criterion-nobodys-maxed-out-ps3-360) no console is maxed out, with more work improved code you can always do better, otherwise what are Naughty Dog going to do next as they said they maxed out the PS3 with Uncharted 2. Do you not think they are going to improve on it for Uncharted 3?
Oh and why exactly do you need all the resources for a Natal game? Some of the best games are actually quite simple.
@who said what: The images of people playing Raving Rabbits with Natal is just... uhm... disturbing.
Exciting stuff
Should be good
@Exbloder
How do you pronounce the 'h' in 'oh'?
I've been pronouncing it 'o' all these years and no-one has called me on it.
I wish Natal will be near to the promotional video but i dunno and may be the final product will be a lousy eyetoy clone.
So excited!
TTTT, this gadget is really cool!
@Drycell88
And people need to understand that Natal has been done before and before Eye Toy it was done before. The Amiga had a camera based controller in the late 80's and early 90's.
its going to be a great device but i like to open with what the name maybe i have the following names,xbox move,xbox touch,xbox wave,xbox subcontroller,xbox hand,xbox motion,xbox canitruncrysis?xbox console 7,uberbox ,rrodbox2.0,milobox and xbox natal!
My inside sources aka a friend who has been contracted by Microsoft to designee/streamline the firmware for project natal. Has told me that the actual launch date is going to be around the holiday season 2010. also that the xbox 360 may require some sort of hardware add-on to support it. He also told me that the Microsoft release schedule has a new xbox with native natal support is in the works and is to be released soon after the release of natal.
If you don't believe me i had seen the xbox 360 with an HDMI port over at this guys house 3-4 months before HDMI support was announced for the 360.
@apollo0117 - The Natal IS the hardware add-on! That's why it is not inside the 360 as standard. Nothing else is needed.
@InternetExplorer I love it, on a sidenote, the first natal impressions happened on june 12, 2009. The natal even this year will surely be interesting. Even Steven Spielberg likes it :D View: http://bit.ly/natal-revolution-view
@InternetExplorer
I'm still skeptical this is going to work well... The amount of processing needed to flawlessly recognize gestures is huge. It's AI territory people... If they can really pull it off they deserve a Nobile prize. I'd like to be hopeful, but I'm afraid it will fail. Either lag will be too much, or it won't recognize gestures all the time...