Project Natal: Microsoft Develops Full Body Control Technology for Xbox 360
During Microsoft’s 2009 E3 Press Conference event in Los Angeles, Microsoft revealed their brand new take on interactive video game controllers. Rather than match Nintendo’s Wii Motion Controller or try to retro-fit the Xbox 360 pad with an accelerometer like Sony’s PS3 Dualshock Sixaxis, Microsoft has decide to go a step forward with Project Natal.
Whether Project Natal is a glorified camera system or a brand new way to play video games is still hard to say, but if the Xbox 360 demonstration of games like Ricochet (a simple dodge ball like game) or Paint Party (a simplified version of MSPaint that uses your movements to paint a picture) are any indication, it is indeed a contender to knock down Nintendo Wii’s console as the casual gaming console.
Along with a new section on their Xbox web site featuring information about Natal, Microsoft’s Press Conference also featured a presentation by Peter Molyneux, which showed off Project Natal’s potential for intelligent interaction with artificial characters on screen. The game, called Milo, used a direct relationship between the player and the titular character as they wandered around his world and played in the lake by his house.
The pure possibility presented by Project Natal is certainly something to look forward to, as it could transform gaming and entertainment as we know it. Details on price and release were not stated.
