960°

Natal Dated, Is "Impressive"

Looks like Natal's aiming for an October release, according to Jonathan Ross who attended the celebrity reveal of Project Natal this evening.

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thesixthaxis.com
Gigalol5180d ago

Heavy rain is NOT AAA exclusive

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

FACT

MAG is NOT AAA exclusive

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

WKC is NOT AAA exclusive

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time is NOT AAA exclusive

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

Yakuza 3 is NOT AAA exclusive

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

Demon's Soulzz is not AAA exclusive
http://www.metacritic.com/g...
god of war 3 is THE NEXT ONE....

FLOP ON THE WAY? Aaroon Greenberg say hi.

This is Living :D

peeps5180d ago

if you're gonna spam at least make sure the links work

ps12&3lover5180d ago

im pretty sure natal will have soooo many AAA games lol...i bet you cant wait to jump up and down waving your arms like an idiot while hitting balls with your head...sounds like something you would do anyway

ELite_Ghost5179d ago

lol have fun playing crappy 5 min "oh wow next game!" games...
ps2 had natal... its called an eyetoy...

and one last thing... natal wont change anything... it will barely sell 500k this year... its way too expensive at this crisis time...

Dev8 ing5179d ago

Let's compare AAA's (over 90 score)

XBOX 360
Gears in 2008, Forza 3 in 2009 and ME2 in 2010. That's 3 in 3 years.

PS3
LBP, MGS4 in 2008 Uncharted 2, killzone 2, MLB 09 the show, GOW Collection in 2009. That's 6 in 2 years.

360 has no games.

Gue15179d ago

huh I thought Demon's Souls won many Goty awards... At leats for gamespot it was game of the year. I that's not triple aaa then I don't know what it is.

L4d2 won nothing. And HALO ODST went down the drain! lol

What else the X360 has to offer anyway?

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5179d ago
The Simple Truth5180d ago

who would want to play that!?

I have no desire to look like a fool, nor do i have the room in my house.

Thanks, but no thnaks. I'll stick to playing heavy rain on my pad...

Ronster3165180d ago (Edited 5180d ago )

Sounds more like wiimote version 2.0 to me pal.

You say you have no room? your in trouble then when it comes to Heavy buttons.

Waggle Waggle.

awesomeperson5180d ago

"Sounds more like wiimote version 2.0 to me pal. "

How does heavy rain have ANYTHING to do with wiimotes? At all?

I do not even KNOW what your refering to, but if its to the arc, then isn't natal just Eyetoy Version 1.5?

Syronicus5180d ago

But to tell you the truth, if it comes up short in the hardcore gaming genres then it won't ever grace my entertainment center. I have a Wii for the kids and don't want to repeat the waggle for no reason. Same goes for the Sony Arc.

Corrwin5180d ago

I agree, waggle works great when it's used as an extra axis, or the equivalent of having one more button on the controller - like Killzone 2's sniper-adjust.

There have been far too many games that could have simply used a controller normally, but they had to shoehorn in waggle as a gimmick (De Blob is one of my favourite Wii games, but it would have been so much better just using a controller).

SilentNegotiator5180d ago

“Natal on Xbox [is] impressive,” the presenter said. "Not quite there yet"

k-Lan5180d ago

Good job SilentNegotiator! You just reviewed the entire article. Do you feel proud now? What's your take on Natal? Is it gonna suck? Too bad it wasn't made for the PS3 or it would be seen as the best thing since sliced bread.

Natal will work. Maybe not for the hardcore games at first but it'll happen eventually. I'll be happy using it for the menu's until i see some decent games and not all this demno stuff that the fanboys are going wild over.

King_of _the_Casuals5180d ago

I can't wait till Natal comes out!!! Not expecting it to be perfect, cuz it's obviously gonna have some lag. But still going to be brilliant nonetheless! I can already picture how much fun we're gonna have when I break it out during my house parties!!!

witchking5180d ago

I also have a Wii for the kids. I think I played bowling on it twice the first week we had it, and haven't touched it since. I keep thinking maybe I should pick up Metroid Prime Trilogy and see if there's any redeeming value to the thing at all, but then I think "I could spend that $50 on something I know I'll like on the 360."

I anticipate that if Natal is under $50, then I'll probably pick it up for the kids. I don't anticipate that I'll use it at all unless I can turn it on and off via voice and use my finger to navigate the Marketplace and dashboard menus. Other than that, I prefer a controller.

But when you're 42 and still gaming, you're old school. :-)

mastiffchild5180d ago

K-lan-why do you think using Natal to navigate menus to be better/easier/more efficient/quicker or any improvement over pushing a couple of buttons that ARE quick and accurate already? I'm not having a dig at all and it might be a big improvement but I just fail to see either how it will be OR why it needs to do it at all. At best I think people might use it while it's a gimmick but go back to buttons when they realise that that's just the best option for doing things like that. I just think there's things buttons will always be best for.

Certainly Natal is still a big mystery and a bit laggy(though less than it was which is promising)andcould well have a lot of great uses we haven't even dreamed about yet and I'm not writing it off or knocking it before I've tried it in any way but by the same tken we can't get too excited before we see something a little more taxing than that dodgeball game running less than optimally. Knowing MS they're keeping their powder dry and I hope that proves to be the case.

I also have to say I'm intrigued to see how both Natal and the Wands finally answer the question of how you get round bigger gameworlds. Sony NEED a nunchuck style second controller and and Natal will need something completely fresh to do the same job or risk not being able to do many types of game. A lot of answers are needed and more questions keep emerging all the while, imo. Roll on GDC/E3 and conference season and a little clarity to add some meat to the bones of our nascent opinions on the matter.

BiggCMan5180d ago

@witchking, please, PLEASE rethink about getting metroid prime trilogy, it is worth every penny. they are some of the best games ever created, and thats just fact. you definitely have nothing to worry about if you go and buy it, and its 3 games for the price of one, you cant beat that.

nveenio5179d ago

This casual stuff doesn't interest me at all. If they can apply this technology to real games in a way that actually makes the game better, sign me up. If not, I'll still have no reason to buy a 360 (though Fable 2 and 3 are starting to tempt me).

ChozenWoan5179d ago

1. The lag is still there
2. At about 31secs there is a "BAM! There it is" glitch
3. Notice how far away from the TV everyone has to be for these demos... my living room is not that large just FYI.
4. The only way people seem to be able to hit a ball in this game is due to them throwing out 15 of them at a time so that some of them are bound to hit you. To me as a gamer that feels cheep and requires next to no skill.
5. They still are not showing anything new since E309... at least Sony has given us this.
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

we won5179d ago

So what you are saying is you're FOS and just a bitter PS3 fan? http://www.n4g.com/xbox360/...

ChozenWoan5179d ago

No I'm a gamer, been one for 30years. Get a second bub then come at me son.

As a gamer I enjoy casual, mainstream, and hardcore games. However, nothing I've seen of Natal impresses me... and as a gamer, lag = death.

Raz5179d ago

Even the Wii has buttons - because doing everything with motion is just silly. ..Why wouldn't I just go play an actual game of basketball instead of waving my arms around in front of a screen like a goon?

5179d ago
zag5179d ago

Sony already have natal it's called PS Eye, been out for a number of years as well.

As for the video, shows all the reasons why people will get fed up with it.

You see the guy is stuffed after 2 mins of playing, and then a chick is saying see it's ok but if you have to shift all your stuff around to the edge of the room just so you can play a game with natal it's going to be a pain.

Just think of what it'd be like playing CoD via natal you'll be stuffed after a few mins, and some people would be playing it for hours straight on a controller.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 5179d ago
yoghurt5180d ago

The more I see this, the more I find it hilarious. I appreciate everyone has different tastes and views etc, but I just cannot see why anyone would do this, really.

RealityCheck5180d ago

I know this comment won't be popular but to be honest, seeing this guy jump around and flail is arms around is the saddest gaming moment I've seen since Wii Music (Myiamoto pretending to play the flute and Ravi pretending to play the drums).

I think this will be great for kids and casuals but unless they show some complimentary gameplay to hardcore games with a regular controller, count me out.

edhe5180d ago

The last thing i will want to do with natal is use it for jumping about like that game - what i do want it for is the other stuff such as interface control, mic, facial recognition and the extra depth that things like that could add to games.

We shall see.

Show all comments (131)
500°

Kinect Technical Specifications & Xbox 360 Requirements Revealed

The most notable reveal would perhaps by the requirements of the Xbox 360 console itself. While Microsoft has insisted since the original unveiling of Kinect at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2009, then known as Project NATAL, that the device would be compatible with all Xbox 360 consoles, the revelation of a dedicated port included on the newly redesigned Xbox 360 model has sparked rumours of incompatibility, which were quickly debunked.

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electronictheatre.co.uk
5054d ago Replies(12)
lzim5054d ago

odd, i was led to believe it lacked an internal processor and so also needed a core to itself, if not 1-2 processing threads.

Wikkid6665054d ago

The article says nothing about whether the processor is internal or it uses the 360s.

darthv725053d ago

Also, the notion of a dedicated port really lends nothing to the idea of older units being incompatible. I believe the kinect port is a custom usb port (think the original xbox controller ports) but one that will feed power and data.

Older models will require a splitter that will run off a single usb port (prob the back one) that will work for the data but not the power. That is why they keep saying it will have an external power for those systems.

As for the processor, combo of both makes sense. Using 360 cpu/gpu power to help calculate the finished product on screen along with the cpu in the kinect.

Remember people...this is not a cheap usb web cam (like the original live vision).

Inside_out5054d ago (Edited 5054d ago )

They say they are using 10-15% of one 360 P4 cores. I know that the Kinect we see today is a watered down version of the patented tech they bought and own. Maybe one day the " real " tech will be cost effective. It still is very impressive tech even without a super computer running it.

wicked5054d ago

No, the previous artical said they removed a processor, but I would guess that it had more than 1 to start with. So it will have some form of processor still within it. Arm9 or Cortex M3, all dirt cheap now but powerful.

IdleLeeSiuLung5054d ago

Does it matter? They showed Forza Kinect that looked amazing working with Kinect real time!

callahan095054d ago

Are you just talking about how the graphics are able to look amazing while working with Kinect? If that's what you're talking about, ok. The game itself, though, well... I think I'll stick with the real Forza, with an Xbox 360 control pad. The limited-control Kinect Forza they showed doesn't look like it's worth any attention, in my opinion. Why would anyone want to control a car like that, with hands held out and holding onto nothing, with no control over acceleration or braking? Just seems totally pointless to me.

CrawFail5053d ago

lol real time? I don't quite think it was real time.

Bigpappy5053d ago

You guy know that the motion tech is from prime sense right? Please go to their web site primesense.com,and have a look at what they say the tech can do. It can read fingers well enough to type with each finger and can be used while sitting. No one ever said it has to scan the entire body to work. What we have seen from kinect so far is not all it is capable of.

Reading these specs and trying to compare them to PSeye is pointless, because they are different types of cameras and provide completely differnt types of info to the consoles (Kinect is a 3D camera and provides 3D images. PSeye is a 2D camera and provides 2D images). Per Primsense, the camera is capable of providing video at 60fps, but the 3D is 30fps. The specs for 2 players active is for full body scans. There are no specs given for people sitting and just using their hands.

This tech is obviously a work in progress and has yet to be fleshed out. I suggest all you N4G Kinect experts, research before you post you doom and gloom so you atleast have solid facts for you skepticism. You can also relax and see what M$ does with the tech insteat of pretending to know more that the people developing the tech.

IdleLeeSiuLung5052d ago

The game was available for people to try on the show floor at E3 so yes it was real time. Wetter you like it for Forza or not wasn't my point.

That is up to the developer to figure out.

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+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5052d ago
Apolloeye5054d ago

So pretty much the same spec as the PS Eye, although I thought the eye went up to 120 Hertz...

Theonik5054d ago

The eye goes to 60Hz i think. Regardless the eye should be capable to do any Kinect shown so far with less lag. (they revolve on a 2D axis and only use the depth tracking to separate players.) I am really disappointed by the tech and how it is utilised thus far.

shoddy5053d ago

More or less powerful we need to see the product.
So far it seem the pseye can do anything kinect can do.
2d 3d I not yet see the advantage.

IHateYouFanboys5053d ago

no, the PSEye cannot do 3D tracking. Kinect can.

the PSEye does 2D motion recognition, Kinect does 3D motion tracking. they are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT things.

Sheikh Yerbouti5053d ago

Going from alkaline to lithium was a significant step for batteries, but at the end of the day it is just a battery. PSEye and Kinect are kind of the same way. At the end of the day it is a game camera - with camera games.

IHateYouFanboys5053d ago

@Sheikh Yerbouti: your example is not really on the same scale of difference as PSEye/Kinect.

a better example using batteries would be the jump from standard batteries to rechargable batteries. theyre both doing the same thing - being batteries - but one of them does things that the other one cannot possibly do, which is be recharged and used again. it does everything the standard battery does, and more.

Kinect does everything the PSEye does (2D motion recognition), and more (3D motion tracking). no amount of software updates can change the hardware in the PSEye, and the hardware is not capable of 3D motion tracking as it lacks infra-red.

IaMs125053d ago

Yes i see your point but how you guys feel about the PS3 can be said the same way.

The PS3 may produce better graphics and be more powerful then the Xbox360, but by the end of they day its still only a console. Also inferior to PC :)

PirosThe4th5053d ago

... PSeye can do 3d as you say... even eyetoy... they used shadows and other stuff to recognize it.
Move is also 3d...

Sheikh Yerbouti5053d ago

Lithium batteries are rechargeable batteries.

Kinect isn't a true 3D camera - it can't render a picture of your butt if you are always facing front. It makes an approximate 3D model using visual cues. The PSEye can do the same, although it will be cruder.

Plus, just because the technology is different, doesn't necessarily mean gameplay will be.

@lams12
Yes, you're right. Similarly Kinect will have some good games, different from PSEye, only if Microsoft makes them. But they haven't made games too different from the PSEye.

Theonik5053d ago

Which is what i meant from the start. None of the games they have shown so far could not have been on the PS Eye.

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Xwow20085054d ago

"Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players"
I think now its official that just 2 ppl can play at the same time.

Godmars2905053d ago

Love that you're quoting something and you're getting disagrees.

Sheikh Yerbouti5053d ago (Edited 5053d ago )

Only room for two anyway when you think about it...
but it can keep track of six people during a game in regards to facial recognition. I think that's impressive.

I would love to have Kinect built into my laptop, so only I can get in even without a password. Why is Microsoft wasting this on the XBox again?

Ilikegames765053d ago

still couldn't play it sitting down. Honestly, some guys are so easily impressed by copy cat technology.

blackpanther255053d ago

i was at the engadget show and kudo showed its 3d tracking and when two people where on screen......one person would be red while the other would be green.......but as soon as a third person steped into the camera view two people automatically turned gray and it couldnt read their movements well.

what i took away from that event is that the kinect is pretty kool but for right now it can only work with two people(they could still be working on it)

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150°

Kinect Re-Appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon & Miranda Cosgrove

Xbox Evolved:

"Microsoft is holding no breaks in making sure the general public knows all about Kinect. What cooler spot to also show it than with Jimmy Fallon? "

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xboxevolved.e-mpire.com
Coded-Dude5061d ago

although i usually watch fallon. i'll have to catch an internet clip of it later.

ProA0075061d ago

it's nothing you have to see. trust me. zzzzzzz

tokoshix5061d ago

I'm sure it's just the usual marketing stuff, so nothing really interesting. Pretty much learned everything about the device at E3.

Tony P5061d ago

The more I see this targeted at non-gamers, the sadder I get.

I want a Kinect game I can be *proud* to own as a gamer. One day.

sonarus5061d ago

I saw it full of lag. The girls was standing there and her character just started twitching out of control.

Plus you can clearly see the game is full of Lag. Regardless though i don't care...its a piece of tech directed to casual gamers so kudos to MS for this. Unfortunately i don't fall into the casual crowd so this does not interest me one bit.

What does interest me though is a cheaper 360 slim with a hard drive and wifi capablities for 50 or maybe 100 bucks cheaper

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5061d ago
Blaze9295061d ago

was pretty funny. same demos they showed at E3 though. Nothing new. But they sure are marketing it quick.

AridSpider5061d ago

Yeah they did the same thing the day after they announced Natal last year with Good Morning America and Fallon back when it was called Natal. No doubt this thing will sell I suspect. Will it succeed technically though is the question

ProA0075061d ago

well they did say they are launching this like the launch of a new xbox.

AridSpider5061d ago

Well they price has not been 'confirmed' yet by anyone....

AridSpider5061d ago

wow first that girl's co-worker hosts the Kinect event and now she's her playing it. I see the audience Microsoft is definitely going after with Bieber, Cosgrove and McCurdy - teenage pop audiences.

Cueil5061d ago

it's that female crowd that they would love to hook into...

JasonXE5061d ago

She's kind of hot.

/pedobear

Boring show.

SpaceSquirrel5061d ago

Interesting. They did the same last year as well.

Show all comments (31)
200°

Hey Microsoft, Where Are The Core Games For Kinect?

Meodia writes, "So about a year ago when Project Natal was first starting off, many Xbox 360 and even other gamers were worried about the future of their console. A local shovelware dumping ground didn't sound quite appealing and Natal looked like it would serve extra servings of it. But Microsoft reassured us, holding our hands and telling us that everything would be alright. Since then, nothing has changed. After that "conference" at E3, we were shown nothing but how to please little girls."

xHarvey5065d ago (Edited 5065d ago )

Kinectimals. Raising a tiger isn't hardcore? lol

ipwnall5065d ago

Bubbles to you sir.

I'm extremely aggravated about this Kinect business. I mean, look at the image in the article. Those are the games for Kinect's future. Do we want to be playing those?

B-Real2065065d ago

They told you to wait till gamescom and now you will wait.

005065d ago (Edited 5065d ago )

But you won't be when that tiger mauls you.

ShinMaster5065d ago

"Wait till E3" they said.
Well E3 has come and this is the result.

Moonboots5065d ago

LOL! +bub for funny on that one!

PS: I love you Skittles! Don't eat me!!!!

BiggCMan5065d ago Show
HolyOrangeCows5065d ago

"Wait until E3"
"Wait until Gamescon"
"Wait until release"
"Wait until next E3"
"Wait until...."

So if we want core games, the best option is the waiting game?

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 5065d ago
Alcon Caper5065d ago (Edited 5065d ago )

hey ms remember this list from tgs 09?

Activision Blizzard, Bethesda Softworks, Capcom Co. Ltd, Disney Interactive, Electronic Arts, Konami, MTV Games, Namco Bandai, Sega, Square Enix, THQ Inc. and Ubisoft

>:(

Imperator5065d ago

Behind closed doors being shown to paid celebrities who could care less about gaming.... if there's even any at all.

Mr Logic5065d ago

It needs buttons. There is only a limited a limited amount of things you can accomplish through gesture recognition.

Inane_Asylum5065d ago

I heard Kevin Butler say buttons existed in the future...

...I believe him...

Moonboots5065d ago (Edited 5065d ago )

Obviously Kinect is a casual device designed for those gamers first and foremost and that is the message MS wanted to send at E3 much to the angst of the core. And they have been saying all year that is what to expect.

I am going to give it some time because I don't think MS are going to ignore their core for long. And in the mean time enjoy my controller on games like Gears 3, Reach, Fable 3, Kingdoms, Black Ops, etc etc on the 360.. Not even going to mention my plate for the other systems I own.. There is just no time to play it all. (heaven?)

Redempteur5065d ago

Don't you see ? hardcore games are coming ..just now they annonced .. BURGER KING !!

............

neverming .

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Arnon5065d ago

It's funny because after the Microsoft conference, we actually saw some. In fact, I'm surprised that they showed off the shovelware they did, and then an hour later Sonic Freedom Riders and Child of Eden were shown off and completely destroyed what Microsoft displayed.

Imperator5065d ago (Edited 5065d ago )

Child of Eden is a multiplat, and do you have any gameplay vids of Sonic (I honestly want to see how it works).

@Orange Juice, Ah, I see. Looks kinda simple though. wouldn't really call it a core game.

@Arnon, if that's the case then Kinect really does have the edge in that game... but that's just one game. MS needs to show a LOT more.

Orange Juice5065d ago (Edited 5065d ago )

http://n4g.com/news/546595/...

There you go

EDIT Now that I watch the gameplay closely its most likely a game for kids. I couldnt see an adult "hardcore" gamer playing this game for an extended period of time.

Erotic Sheep5065d ago (Edited 5065d ago )

Eyetoy Antigrav says hi..

Arnon5065d ago (Edited 5065d ago )

Child of Eden is multiplat, but it's exclusive to Kinect in regards to motion controls. The developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi does not have a dev kit for Move.

http://www.computerandvideo...

HaVoK3085065d ago

If core gamers are anything like me they could careless about them.

pimpmaster5065d ago

gotta agree, MS is exactly like nintendo 2 years ago. hey, what ever happened to that dumb ass vitality sensor.

gynecologistcobra5065d ago

Like Nintendo two years ago? As in, raking up a fuck ton of cash?

pimpmaster5064d ago

as in having nothing to offer for the hardcore audience. and only for casuals

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