project natal
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Activision's Kotick knows when to get on the boat
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick discussed the current state of the game industry and Activision's position within it. Regarding Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's Move motion controllers, Kotick believes they will "excite" consumers, though he doesn't expect them to "rush out and buy millions of Xboxes just for Natal." Still, the novelty of the hardware combined with the impending marketing barrage will "generate new excitement for a whole new set of video games" according to Kotick. Concerning other sectors of the industry, Kotick didn't seem afraid of social and mobile games eating into Activision's business. "I honestly don't think FarmVille or Tap Tap Revenge is having any impact on Guitar Hero," When confronted with the fact that Guitar Hero sales have seen a massive decline in the last year, however, Kotick admitted that Activision "misjudged opportunities" and noted that the company is "doing a better job now of accessing what's important to the audience in terms of features of the games, music and design of the instruments." Kotick also brushed off the possibility that gamers may start shying away from physical retail titles in favor of cheap (or free) downloadable games. "We could go either way on Call of Duty but we can't download guitars for Guitar Hero anytime soon," said Kotick, adding that he is "not worried in the near term" about cheap iPhone games competing with retail. The CEO isn't worried about Activision "missing the boat" on any impending downloadable transition. "In 20 years, we haven't missed the boat," said Kotick, "In fact what's made us so successful is that we know when to get on the boat." So take that, boats.
Kinect debut event recap (featuring Cirque du Soleil and LED ponchos)
Tonight we stood in a stadium wearing polyester ponchos (made in Canada) with LED shoulderpads. What did you do this evening? Below you'll find our account of Microsoft's "'Project Natal Experience,' imagined by Cirque du Soleil." As the event was a "technology free" show, we had to depend on our notes and exceptionally detailed (for a two-year-old) artistic sketches to convey the Experience (yes, capital E). If you'd actually like to see what we saw tonight in moving pictures, you'll have the chance on Tuesday, June 15, at 3:30PM on MTV and at 9PM on Nick at Nite, MTVu, MTV Hits, and Logo. And here are our notes on the Project Natal Experience: 7:15PM - Entered into dark room, given big white poncho with pointy shoulder pads. Terror sets in. A massive amount of people adjust each others' shoulder pads. See, we're kinect-ing. 7:20PM - Standing around in waiting area. Ponchos are white 100% polyester and are made in Canada. These things are going to get hot. 7:23PM - We're escorted down a dark hall and step through a rectangular box into an African American family's living room. They smile and wave at this home invasion. We pass by them into what appears to be a rainforest. 7:24PM - The "rainforest" is a converted sports arena, roamed by dancing Cirque du Soleil performers. They are dressed like wood nymphs. 7:40PM - Still standing around. Poncho heat increasing. Almost accosted by gyrating wood nymph. If you don't look it in the eyes it won't approach.
Microsoft Kinect to go on sale in November, somewhere
What you're looking at is the latest status update to the Xbox MySpace page showing a November release for Microsoft Natal Kinect. You know, just in case you were looking for something to purchase in the run up to the holidays. How much is the big question now. Update: John was kind enough to ping us and let us know about this mention of a November release date on a UK Microsoft press page, which we also have a picture of below. This would seem to imply it'll also be hitting Europe before the end of the year, but we'll find out when the timer on that page hits zero and Microsoft's second big event of the show kicks off. We'll be there. [Thanks, Bharat R.]
Kinectimals plush pets unlock in-game content
Upon leaving Microsoft's Project Natal ... er Kinect event, we were presented with the plush kitties you see above. Adorable, to be sure, but they conceal a deeper purpose -- a Kinect-related purpose. The animals come with a special code that can be scanned by Kinect (note the colorful "K" in the image above). Once scanned, the cat is unlocked in Kinect's precious pet sim ("Project Natal Animal" here) for some motion-tracked cuddle time. We've seen similar functionality in Rare's Viva Pinata with the Vision Camera. The real question is whether Microsoft will make these available for purchase in the future. The ones handed out at Kinect's unveiling event are marked as "promotional purposes only."
Kinect yoga game debuts at Cirque du Soleil event
[My Yoga Online] Among the acrobatics displayed at tonight's Cirque du Soleil Kinect event, a demonstration was given of a yoga game where players emulate the actions of an on-screen instructor performing various Tai Chi and Yoga moves. Rather than the occasionally frantic actions of Wii Fit or EA Sports Active, the actions in this games seemed much more tranquil. The player replicates the stance of the on-screen instructor, effectively following an exercise routine. Considering an Xbox Live Avatar wasn't anywhere to be found, it would seem this is an entirely separate game from the already revealed Kinetic Sports. We'll find out more as the week goes on.
Kinect official hardware, in pictures
Project Natal not only has a final name, it has a final design. The 3D cameras are housed in a sleek, black design. The only thing it's missing right now? A final price. %Gallery-95076%
Kinect gets gesture-based Video Chat
Microsoft's Kinect unveiling pulled back the curtain on a new video chat program, aptly titled Video Chat. Here, gamers will be able to participate in face-to-face communication and even share photos -- remember Photo Party? The program is entirely navigated through gestures. No price nor a launch date was revealed by Microsoft. We'll let you know when we find out.
Interview: Aaron Greenberg, on Kinect core games, flailing
Can you tell us about the decision to have these two separate events and what the Natal event is really supposed to accomplish from a media perspective, that tomorrow's press conference won't be able to do? For us, this is a really special year. It was ten years ago that we unveiled the original Xbox and this is actually my tenth, and our tenth, E3. It's the beauty of our business. This will be the biggest year in the history of Xbox and really as we thought about E3, we've never had this much to share at one E3 as we do this year. We've taken a very non-traditional approach to E3. I think with what we're doing with Natal and working with Cirque du Soleil to bring that to life is a whole new way to tell a story.
Kinect Star Wars game features controller-free lightsaber fighting
It seems that tonight's Kinect event is about more than just crazy ponchos. Attendees were just shown a preview of the Star Wars game (revealed earlier by USA Today) for the movement-sensing peripheral. Judging from the clip, the on-rails game features controllerless lightsaber dueling and motion-activated Force powers. Most exciting? The trailer closed with the game's lead facing off against Lord Vader.
Microsoft Kinect gets official, Video Chat announced
You knew it was coming, right? Hot on the heels of getting leaked a wee bit early Microsoft has made official the rebadging of a device desperately seeking a new name: "Project Natal" is no more, replaced by Microsoft Kinect. At a circus- and celebrity-filled affair, MS wrapped everyone in high-tech panchos (pictured after the break courtesy of Joystiq) and then took the wraps off of the new title. Quite a few game demos were shown, ranging from Star Wars to tiger petting, the Kinect interface to the Dashboard was shown (said by some to be Minority Report-like), and a video chat app called, wait for it, Video Chat. Through here you can naturally talk to friends (up to four total people at once was "shown"), and also share photos. Sadly, no hands-on time was given nor did MS reveal the two crucial bits of information we're waiting for: price and date. Naturally a holiday release is expected, to give the Xbox 360 a nice sales boost, but we're hearing price rumors as high as $150. These choice bits of intel will surely be unveiled at Microsoft's event tomorrow -- if someone doesn't beat 'em to it. The hardware is still looking exactly like the early picture above, shattering hopes of a slimmer design to match new Slim Xbox 360. Update: We've got official photos now, though solid textual info is still scarce. Stand by! Update 2: So we're out of the wild, cult-like experience that was Microsoft's Kinect unveiling. Microsoft still has a lot of details to reveal, but there are a few things we gleaned from watching the demos: Almost everything was one person at a time, particularly in the Kinect Sports games. Even a game like beach volleyball or soccer was boiled down to individual "moments" of interaction that get strung together into some sort of competition. Even the running in place games were one at a time, though the river rafting and mining cart games (both with a similar mechanic of jumping and ducking through an obstacle course while picking up tokens) could be played with two people at a time. You can at least play games like volleyball simultaneously with someone else over Xbox Live. An interesting mechanic we saw was a second player "jumping in" to a game. In the mining cart scenario, when the second player jumped in it immediately went split screen, while in soccer different players took turns by just jumping into position. Sure, some of this stuff was edited for our benefit, but it seems Microsoft is working to make the introduction of a second player or the switching between players something less button-heavy. The Star Wars game was pretty badass-looking -- you play a Jedi, rushing down stormtroopers and deflecting laser bolts left and right, wielding a few Force powers, and confronting a certain deep-voiced Sith Lord for a one-on-one duel. Based on the gestures and action we saw, though, it was a pretty heavily scripted experience. Still, there's no scripting a two-handed light saber grip, and that particular action looked like everything we've ever wanted in a Star Wars game. The yoga game is actually a pretty smart use of the infrared and joint detection software we espied previously. Positions were "checked" by points on the joint -- making it certainly harder to fake the moves on Wii Fit -- and it seemed to have a tai chi element to it. Your avatar glowed a more intense red based on your three-dimensional approximation -- bright red for hands stretched forward, for example. Next up: Kinectimals, a baby tiger pet simulator. You can scratch its ears, snuggle, and teach the little guy to jump and play dead. Adorable? Dangerously so. No one can tell us the developer, but based on the lighting effects, art style, and similarities to the previously-shown Milo, we'd wager a guess that it was Lionhead Studios. The Kinect menu interface is about as simple as could be. You wave your hand to control a glowing cursor of sorts, and you push forward to "click" on the element you want. Of course, there's also a very simplified version of the Dashboard to go along with this control mechanism, so it's unclear if you'll be able to do everything via subtle hand waves, but the Twitter, Facebook, Zune and Netflix icons were clearly present. The MTV Games-developed Dance Central has some on staff divided -- only Ross will actually admit to being interested in playing it. A series of dance moves are presented, including elbow jabs, swinging leg, guitar, "rocking out" (with your hand in the air). The art style is akin to Rock Band / Guitar Hero, and to be fair, this is probably one of those games that can't be done as well on any other console. Update 3: Video of family gameplay and media playback control added after the break. Come on, what else are you going to do until its November retail launch? %Gallery-95071%
Seen@E3: Journos and fans ready to drink the Kinect Kool-Aid
As our friend Cheapy D demonstrates, attendees of tonight's Cirque du Soleil/Microsoft event are apparently being asked to wear these crazy white ponchos. There are two explanations. 1. It's the formation of a new Kinect Kult. 2. Sledge-O-Matic. Either way, we're jealous. %Gallery-95078%
Kinect is in, 'Project Natal' is out
Update 2: Major Nelson confirms it: Project Natal is now officially called Kinect. Update: Oops! It looks like USA Today jumped the gun on the announcement and has since pulled the piece from its site. Stay tuned for Microsoft's official unveiling later. We've got either good or bad news depending on how you felt about the rumored name change for Microsoft's motion-sensing Project Natal. The new brand "Kinect" has just been confirmed by USA Today. The story, which includes no pricing or timing info, seems to have been slated to run tomorrow, though we imagine it might have been rushed out when the name started circulating after appearing in an Italian ad. There's even a list of games! [Huge thanks to Jake for the heads up.]
Microsoft Kinect revealed: Project Natal finally gets a name
USA Today just leaked the name of Microsoft's Project Natal motion control setup: Kinect. Microsoft was apparently planning on revealing these details tonight at a pre-E3 shindig, but the leaks got the better of them (including an Italian ad that also mentions the Kinect brand). There's still no word on price or release date, but hopefully we'll be hearing about that later this week. The USA Today writeup also mentions a few titles, including Kinectimals, Joyride, Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, Dance Central, and properties based on Star Wars and Disney characters.
Rumor: Xbox 360 Slim and Kinect outed by Microsoft ad
An alleged Italian Microsoft ad, originally found on Console Tribe, seems to have revealed a slim Xbox 360 alongside a renamed Project Natal, touting a 250GB HDD, built-in WiFi (it's the future!), and compatibility with "Kinect" -- presumably the new name for Natal. The advertisement leads back to the Italian Microsoft site and the source of the page tells us that Atlas Solutions -- a Microsoft-owned ad company -- pushed the image automatically to the site. We've checked in with Microsoft to see if the news is legit, but we're not expecting much before tonight's Project Natal Cirque du Soleil "spectacular." In the meantime, you can check out the ad embedded after the break. Update: The ad we embedded after the break seems to have been pulled, so we've added a video in its place.
E3 2010: We've arrived!
Stop worrying! We're here in Los Angeles, corralled in the usual E3 Joystiq War Room, preparing fierce lines of questioning and sharpening our newswriting hands for a week sure to be full of sweltering hot scoops. Aside from tonight's Project Natal ... spectacle, we'll be live from Microsoft's other press conference tomorrow, as well as Nintendo, Sony, and the many, many other events being held over the next few days. Looking to filter out our normal, everyday news for just E3 stuffs? Head to the E3 2010 hub and go nuts! Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got a week of madness to prepare for.
Project Natal game titles outed ahead of E3, 'about a dozen' available at launch
Looking for some last-minute Project Natal scoopage before we head into E3 2010? You've got it -- the LA Times has dished out details on the first four gesticulariffic games for the Xbox 360's new camera attachment this weekend, and says nearly a dozen other Natal titles will be available at launch. First up are "River Rush" and "Obstacle Course," the titles that inspired Parade Magazine to haphazardly flail appendages about last week, but there's also info on "Living Statue," which lets the social butterflies on Xbox 360 send video messages using singing, dancing avatars as a go-between. No video of this last quite yet, but on the off-chance you're not tired of watching humans slap dust mites silly (we kid) you'll find an unrelated Natal demo after the break.
Nielsen: Majority of gamers in the dark on Natal, Move
The Nielsen Company has released the results of a recent survey designed to gauge gamer awareness of Microsoft's Project Natal and Sony's PlayStation Move. Among the 2,400 gamers surveyed, 21 percent are currently aware of Natal, while 23 percent are aware of the Move. Things look a little better when restricting the results to those who actually own and play the 360 or PS3, with 39 percent of 360 gamers aware of Natal and 42 percent of PS3 gamers aware of the Move. Of the gamers aware of the Move and Natal, those who actually own the respective console show more intent to purchase. 42 percent of 360 owners plan to purchase Natal, compared to only 35 percent of total gamers aware of the device. PS3 owners show a nearly identical 41 percent with intent to purchase, compared to 28 percent of all those aware. Strangely, even though both Natal and Move have publicly known launch windows, a surprisingly high number of respondents -- nearly 40 percent -- don't know when the products will be available. Also noteworthy, respondents show a wide disparity as to what they believe the hardware prices will be. To the 6 percent who think Natal will be less than $25: you're going to be disappointed.
More Natal applications revealed in LA Times preview
In just a couple short days, we'll be soaking in the Vitamin D provided by the blaring Los Angeles sun, digging for stories at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. One of the first events we'll be attending is a preview of Project Natal -- an occasion which could bring about some major announcements for the peripheral. Before that, though, the LA Times has published a hands-on report on the device that's worth checking out, as it reveals a pair of heretofore unannounced Natal applications. The first is "Obstacle Course" (which was briefly hinted at in Parade's wildly flailing Natal preview), in which players will have to navigate a "summer camp"-esque row of hazards. As dangerous as that sounds, it's pretty tame compared to the other unveiled application: "Living Statue," which lets players record and send video messages using their Avatars. Which is great, because we were just talking about how awesome it would be to be bombarded with videos of our friends' Avatars doing pelvic thrusts and other suggestive maneuvers every time we turn on our Xbox 360. We look forward to learning about these applications (and more) during Microsoft's Natal sneak preview this Sunday.
Parade previews Natal, manic flailing ensues
A.J. Jacobs of Parade -- along with his children -- recently got a chance to try out Project Natal. Here's the thing though, it's kind of hard to remember anything in the article once you've seen the accompanying video -- especially with Jacobs admitting he accidentally "smacked" one of his children during one of the mini-games. Still, Jacobs has some nice things to say about Natal, noting that it isn't "the invention of flight" that the Wii was, but rather "the invention of the jet engine." After watching the video -- see it yourself after the break -- we hope he's right, because it certainly doesn't look like a jet engine. If anything, it looks like the people playing are standing behind a jet engine. We've had a few hands-on (or is it body-on?) experiences with Natal so far, and look forward to seeing how it's evolved in the past year once we step in front of its sensor at E3. In related news, one of the games in the video appears to be River Rush, which was rumored back in April. The game has players riding in a raft and avoiding obstacles. Jacobs points out, however, that the demos he played may not actually be released as games.
Natal 'River Rush' gameplay glimpsed, first wild gesticulation-related violence reported
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.
