Alex Beech from Xboxer360.com writes "I wonder if anyone at Microsoft involved in the Natal project likes games. Since its announcement all they have shown us is renders of what they hope people will do with it. Glossy staged advertisements of smiling happy families, accompanied by disingenuous PR reps spinning the company line and not single real game. I watch as the Microsoft powerhouse tries to convince us that they have been working on the project for years, that it will revolutionise gaming and that it is a new concept that Nintendo didn't beat them to four years ago. I watch, listen, and finally ask myself if anyone is buying it."
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.
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.
So pretty much the same spec as the PS Eye, although I thought the eye went up to 120 Hertz...
"Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players"
I think now its official that just 2 ppl can play at the same time.
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? "
although i usually watch fallon. i'll have to catch an internet clip of it later.
was pretty funny. same demos they showed at E3 though. Nothing new. But they sure are marketing it quick.
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.
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."
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.
gotta agree, MS is exactly like nintendo 2 years ago. hey, what ever happened to that dumb ass vitality sensor.
I think they are saving the Natal game announcments for E3 to gain as much momentum as possible. What good would it do to unveil them now, almost a full year before its release?
Write first, think later seems to be the trend of todays gaming "journalism".
Whoever wrote this is a man after my own heart. It's like my brain took a crap on his site, and he put his name at the top as author.
"Natal’s need for frenetic movement will also demand more space, a valuable commodity in many homes. Admittedly I live in Japan, where living space is somewhat limited, but my apartment is on the large size but I still struggle to stage a good two-player game of Wii Tennis. The idea that I will have to move the coffee table out of the room every time I want to play a game on my 360 is not filling me with anticipation."
That's something I've been thinking about for awhile now that no one talks about, particularly regarding the Japanese market. Large homes, or even large apartments aren't nearly as abundant in Japan as they are in the United States. Even in the US it seems like anyone stuck in a studio apartment is SOL if they wanna get their Natal on, unless they wanna juggle some furniture every time.
Looks like the Xbox guys are finally starting to realize that Microsoft is only concerned with talking about how great their products are, instead of actually being concerned with how mediocre their products really are.
The evil Microsoft spell has been lifted. At least for some.
Natal will suck, Arc will be much better but they both will fail.
well, I kind of agree with them...
I consider myself semi hardcore i guess. rpg's, shooters, racing games.. on top of that although i own both consoles i am more of a 360 fan, still i have to give props to sony. they have at least shown us some hardcore games that could use it. MS has not even done that... just the usual hit the ball crap and what not.
maybe i am just loosing my creative spark here, but I really can't see how natal would be used in a truly compelling way in a game like halo reach or anything of that level.
as far as i am concerned they just want to jump on the wii bandwagon. maybe its a harsh way of looking at it as it's still early days, but thats how i feel right now. it's up to them to convince me otherwise.