For a long while people have been talking about what really revolutionized gaming. Was it the 360 and PlayStation 3 with their crisp and beautiful HD graphics, or was it the little Wii with its motion control that had a "for anyone and everyone" appeal. Debate has been heavy on this issue on the internet, and it looks like it wont really be resolved anytime soon, even though quite a few are beginning to see the Wii mostly as a temporary entertainment solution.
Well, for one - Natal.
Microsoft's Project Natal, is going to be an add-on for the Xbox 360, which is coming out late year, and since its announcement at E3 this year, its been a very hot topic in the gaming industry. Many feel it will be another gimmicky entry into motion control, while others see great potential in it.
Natal is a form of camera, full of infrared sensors, voice recognition software and much more. It will allow you to control games with you body, your voice - nothing handheld needed. To turn off your Xbox - just say "goodnight" or "shut down". Play a quiz game with friends or family, and the first to answer the question will be recognized via voice recognition.
The main thing about this that is keeping people hopeful that it will truly become a revolution in the gaming media, is the support of major game developers and publishers. It seems it has attracted many of the big fish, and that can have a vital role in the product's progress from launch.
This project could truly change the way we look a video games, but it could also be another "eye-toy" or "vision camera". I for one see the potential, and encourage everyone to watch this video, they did include a bit of ridiculous content in it, but I guess Microsoft wanted to appeal to the largest audience possible.
If you were as intrigued by this video as i was, you should look at this video as well. A bit of a mindblowing video on Natal, and one of the projects being worked on for it named Milo.
This game system is awesome!!!!!! I didn't know that something like this was coming out. I thought the next new game system was something with a vertual reality helmet. This is insaine! I wonder how they did all this. How is it able to recognize everything that they did in the last video??
ReplyDeleteI actually just saw Natal for the first time the other day in Time Magazine's top inventions of 2009. It is mind blowing! If it actually has such a fast response time and such intuitive comprehension of body movements, then I can't help but think it will start a revolution in gaming. While I did find the Milo video amazing, I also found it a bit creepy. I feel like having such a realistic, personally connected, and interactive world could lead to some serious gaming addiction and reality issues. Nonetheless, the technology displayed with Natal is incredible, and has immense potential.
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