In a surprising expose on the seedy underbelly of pre-release gaming demos for the whole family,
Parade Magazine's own A.J. Jacobs reports on a bit of fun
gone awry. Mr. Jacobs details the horrific scene: "We next tried an obstacle course where you have to dart under trees and jump over logs. I was really working it, leaning my body and windmilling my arms. Unfortunately, Zane, 3, wandered a bit too close to me and, well, I inadvertently smacked him in the face. He started crying." Luckily, Zane bounced back quickly, and the Jacobs household (6-year-old Jasper was also in attendance) quickly determined that their best chances at beating the few
Project Natal demos Microsoft was showing them might involve benching the old man. The Jacobs brood got three demos in all, including a couple we haven't had a chance to play ourselves: an obstacle course, and a river rafting game we've seen referred to as "River Rush." You can see a brief glimpse of it yourself (along with entirely more arm flailing than is strictly necessary) after the break.
posted June 4th 2010 7:40PM
They really have to work on the price. $150 is too much!
I tried not to laugh. I really did
(I failed)
Why do they concentrate on these silly family games? Can't I flail about in privacy by myself. bring on some real games already
looks like tons of fun
Count me out. Ugh!
What just happened in that video? People are supposed to find that entertaining? What happened to console gaming? I hope this isn't the future.
I don't understand this push to move to play video games. If those people wanted to move, they could just go outside and do real activities.
The next Def Jam game will require you to get your own real hoes to shake their ass for the camera. A hidden spy service will record everyone's performance all over the world and make a compilation video that will be sold for 800msp to keen thirteen year old boys.
Alright.
No matter how bad the wii got a rep for "I don't want to look like an idiot, flailing my arms around," it never really looked THIS bad.
Was that woman doin' the "stanky leg" at one point in the video?
@branchedout LOL..............LOL.............LOL!!!
On a serious not, I really don't think you can go off these people, they clearly were just constantly moving for no reason... I would wait for its E3 unveiling before cracking on it, though that was funny as ****.
@branchedout hahahahh "the stanky leg" hahahah it totally did look like that.
Now I have seen the future ... and it is indeed dim.
I'll stick to my keyboard and mouse combo and a controller here and there, maybe humanity will find a spot for me in a museum - in a corner.
They should print a warning on that Natal thing
"WARNING! Persons using this product may show signs of epilepsy, but they are really just having fun!"
Who the hell has a room that open???
Parade magazine? I guess that explains the horrible mom shorts. Am I the only one who when reading the comments, only heard the audio from the video, imagined a completely different video?
LoooooooooooooooooL
O.o
Lol I am excited for this to come out but damn I don't want to play it and look like a jackass like that rofl. I think it will take first person shooter games to the next level.
@curtisb prepare to be disappointed.
yeah...thats exactly how my living room looks
Does Natal work while you are sitting down for certain games?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91goJnq9Mko
Looks Like Total Fun,but at the same time.....,make you look like a total idiot!
Lol when the lady's leg starts to spaz.
Seriously, I don't think most people have enough full body cordination to play with Natal.
I'm looking forward to some martial arts games with this. I really hope can render awesomeness.
hey! Wii invented smacking someone in the head. check out Tosh.0 or youtube.
but that was limited to 2 people usually. now you can have 4 player smackdowns... this can get interesting...
Why is technology making us look more like idiots everyday...First the ugly 3d glasses now this...What's next?
i can't tell if they are flailing due to requirements of the game or flailing because they can't get it to work.
Congratulations Microsoft, you've replicated the Playstation 2's (not 3 but 2!) EyeToy experience but slightly better. Good work!
Playstation Move is looking better by the minute
@Bratyr
Don't go there though... Natal reads your body in 3d space Eyetoy is 2d... thats huge. Also Eye toy lacks facial and voice recognition. You cant use EyeToy to navigate the core UI or scan items into a game. Natal kicks the **** out of EyeToy on the PS2 AND PS3.
@timotim
If project natal does not use 3D info wisely (it's very likely given the current demo and the upcoming release deadline). The experience of 3D could be worse than the 2D SONY Eye Toy for PS2
Mark my words - SONY had sold more than 10 Million Eye Toys world wide. There is no chance for project natal to reach this number unless MSFT starts bundling it with xbox 360 for free.
@inksdk I don't get your "if" argument. The only thing you can take away from this video is that those people lack the ability and rhythm to play the game right...they had 4 players in a 2 player game. Natal has already proven that it works well in 3D space, but until E3 shows otherwise, your "if" has no weight.
Furthermore, Natal has every opportunity to surpass EyeToy in both units sold and popularity... their has never been a device like this in the gaming industry yet. When you combine 3D space with, your own equipment, facial and voice recognition, the ability to scan items into your games and control the core user experience with the device... it can and will reach more people because it serves more purpose.
@timotim
Completely disagree.
1. From your arguments, it seems that you are way too biased. Project natal has never proved itself so far. Your statement - "Natal has already proven that it works well in 3D space" is simply not true.
2. Nothing is free, packing more features in some proven ideas is usually the easiest way to screw up something. I do admire that MSFT decides to make a brave move to commercialize the technology from PrimeSense. However, all the news reports and demos so far indicate that Project Natal is on the right track to screw up itself.
3. I'd like to bet $20 USD with you - If MSFT does not bundle project natal for free, then project natal will be as successful as Zune (i.e. couldn't sell more than 10M units, a number SONY Eye Toy had reached a few years ago).
Looks like she really needs to start using for at least 30 minutes every day.
The video is proof that Project Natal is designed for the pre-pubescent generation.
Cant wait to see what Microsoft considers the killer app for this thing for E3.
Im betting it is gonna be playing XBLA UNO with NATAL ! At least the naked guys wont be able to hold their junk. On second thought that might make it worst...
:(
Just when I thought how stupid you could look playing the Wii, this just bring's it to an all time high, without any promise to break it =/
For all the claims that Natal is going to work great in diverse environments, here again we see a demo in which the room is completely white. I want Natal to work, but I'm inherently skeptical due to my experiences with Playstation Eye Toy. Why can't they show us Natal in a room that looks like a normal room in someone's house? I want to have my concerns proved wrong. I want to be able to buy Natal without fearing it will prove to be little more then a paperweight.