490°

Project Natal: More than meets the Eye?

CGReviews writes:

"I didn't see Natal coming. Microsoft really sucker punched me as I sat there in that auditorium, laughing with the dudes (and dudettes) next to me about how completely empty the Microsoft conference felt. And when they unveiled Project Natal, I was almost disgusted. It was buggy, gimicky and completely uninteresting. Furthermore, I was convinced that it was a complete knock-off of the PlayStation Eye."

"...I was wrong to count out Project Natal so early in the game. I believe it is a force to be reckoned with."

Read Full Story >>
cgreviews.com
GWAVE5280d ago

Even Microsoft's own supporters (Dyack) are beginning to doubt the "limitless power" of Natal.

The real question is why gamers -- the same gamers who hated the Wii and claimed it has no hardcore games and claimed motion controls were casual and unnecessary -- are suddenly bewitched by Microsoft's PR? Were they stricken with amnesia? Are they not aware that when they hated on the Wii by saying "I don't want to get off my couch and flail my arms to play a video game", they're hating on the very same concept of Natal as well?

Saaking5280d ago

Seriously, for the people so excited about Natal, why don't you buy a Wii? How come it's the very same people bashing the wii that praise Natal? Hypocrites.

I don't care about Sony's Motion controls or Natal, I have a Wii for that.

Blaze9295280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

You can say the same thing about the Playstation Wand no? Oh wait...but I don't see you posting similar comments there. Wonder why....

Syko5280d ago

With how much I see both of you in every single Natal story, I am just gonna assume you guys are experts on Natal and take your word for it. Thank you, You guys are very helpful to this whole community. Painstakingly reading every Natal article thoroughly multiple times and bestowing your wisdom on an entire community...Your services don't go unnoticed.

Saaking5280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

what? I did say the same thing about the Playstation wand. Read my comment correctly:

"I don't care about Sony's Motion controls or Natal, I have a Wii for that. "

EDIT:

@below- What are you talking about? Lol, I don't spend all my time on N4G

And like I said, if I wanted all that casual crap I'd be buying it on the Wii. Is it so hard to understand?

KingME5280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

Saaking, do you ever get off of N4G. Do you have a job, school or something. Or did you just graduate from HS and now live in mom's basement eating her food and playing the PS3 that she bought you so that you won't upset the neighbors?

EDIT: "So how would you play an FPS, or a TPS or a platformer? What exactly will Natal do that makes you so excited?"

How do you play FPS with a steering wheel? No one said that Natal was going to replace all game controllers for all genre's. How do you play singstar with a dual shock 3? Are you getting the point?

And for the guy that says all natal is going to do is satisfy the casual crowd, that's the same thing you say about the wii as it sells over 50mil. So what if it only satisfies the casual crowd. That's the problem with hardcore gamer, they think every damn game, controller, and periphal is suppose to be designed for them.

When did hardcore gamer's definition become self-centered stingy arse-hole?

wpggamer5280d ago

I think the ppl bashing the Wii the most is the Sony camp. Sony was dismissing it at launch, calling it a gimmick. MS was telling everybody to buy a Wii and 360. And I did.

Once the Wii took off, it became a target for crapware. Mainly because publishers realized that most Wii owners were non-gamers, that way they could make some money and nobody would be the wiser. Same thing with PS2. That's the biggest knock on the Wii. There are great games for it, just few and far between, and most of them have mario in it.

Natal offers a lot that wii doesn't do. And for the real casual player, I mean, some people have a hard time with wii or turning the tv on with a remote, and it's pretty easy. They may find natal even more inviting. I just like the tech. It's clearly a new way to interface. Ford is doing voice control with Sync (not new but polished). Apple did touch with iPhone (again, not new but polished). And now Natal is doing voice and "touch" together. Again, not new but polished (hopefully).

MasFlowKiller5280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

my problem with natal is the first party support,
MS has a mayor lack in first party support and
also the core of the Xbox is shooters,
i dont see how full hardcore game are going to work on natal,
and about the PS wand if they dont address the missing analog issue
in its control than this sh!t is going to be terrible,
i dont want to hold my DS3 in one hand and the wand in another,
I think out of the 3 the PS wand has a bigger chance of making it if they address the analog issue if not then all we got is 2 new platforms for mini games

2-oj5280d ago

Natal will be the downfall of video games.

Bigpappy5280d ago

He just read the N4G fanboy post and ran with it. He knows nothing about Natal and am no longer explaining the differences between Natal and PSeye(Eyetoy). Just know that they are different. MS already copied PSeye with the vision cam. Why would they go out a get a new camera to do what they could already do with the vision cam. Just one stupid argument after the other.

Xi5280d ago

is that why their next game is ps3/xbox?

Bubbles_Kitty_Cat5280d ago

Let's not kid ourselves, if Natal was being developed by Sony we would be hearing stuff like "Only possible on the PS3" and "Power of the Cell, baby" by the same folks who are constantly telling us how bad Natal is going to be. lol

SilentNegotiator5279d ago

Are you actually going to buy natal?
Are you really going to play camera games?
Fork over the inevitable, unreasonably price (IE. Xbox HDDs, charge accessories, etc)?

Games that restrict you to standing around in a small 3D world, where you're limited to gestures? Are you going to use the controller in tandem with it to control characters? And then what, you're going to flap your arms like a chicken to make the camera useful?

You're all just trying to defend the Xbox, you're not going to buy Natal, and if you're delusional enough to, you'll be bored in 10 minutes.

Bubbles_Kitty_Cat5279d ago

Yes, I intend to buy a Natal, if the games that are available for it appeal to me.

I know that people like to minimize Natal by suggesting that it will be exactly like the Wii, but developers have already said that they will be using it in very unique and creative ways.

I can't wait to see the things that will be done with it.

Hoggy19835279d ago

I might buy the Natal as well. The reason I say "might" is because it isn't out yet and I have no real idea how good or bad it will be. It could be completely revolutionary or it could simply become a conduit for crap, uninvolving games.

My point is this, neither you or I know what Natal will be. On that basis I don't believe anyone has a basis to whine, in an absolute sense, about how awful it will be nor do I support the reverse opinion of hailing it as the second coming.

Lets just wait and see huh?

beardpapa5279d ago (Edited 5279d ago )

I don't really care about motion controls at its current state or whether one is better than the other.

What I do care about and what I'm interested in is if tangible or precise sensory feedback is necessary and to what extent motion controls can bring to the gaming industry.

We live in a day when 2D side scrollers are no longer the normal video game you see every month and then. These days, it's all about 3D. And with 3D progressing as well as console controls evolving, we've seen more and more complex button combinations.

The question is, how will motion controls solve that? Is there really fun and excitement in actually crouching to make our virtual avatars crouch?

With a controller, we get a sensible click when we press down on an analog stick to crouch. We get 100% acknowledgement from the feedback to know the character on screen will crouch. If we perform a physical crouch, how can we tell if the computer had successfully registered that crouch instead of something else without some sort of reassurance?

Is driving an imaginary wheel really that exciting compared to an actual physical fanatec or logitech? Will I be able to feel the bumps as I hit the inside of a corner? Or is pulling a wand back to fire an arrow really that easy? Afterall, I can't gauge how much tension I'm sensing from "pulling" that string.

+ Show (12) more repliesLast reply 5279d ago
Bungie5280d ago

Yah

i think NATAL is innovation and give developer more ways to innovate with their games

can't wait to see more

Saaking5280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

So how would you play an FPS, or a TPS or a platformer? What exactly will Natal do that makes you so excited?

@below
exactly

nveenio5280d ago

@Saaking

I think that, as it's been shown, Natal won't do anything but satisfy a casual crowd.

The PS Motion Controller, however, should be pretty cool with FPS or TPS games. Especially once 3D is available. For instance, RE5 is supposed to be both MC and 3D compatible when those features launch. How much more fun would that game be with the precise aiming of MC and the intensity of 3D (I've played it in 3D on PC, and I play everything in 3D now).

Unless Natal comes up with an additional way to expand to a more serious crowd, then I don't think it'll last long. It'll just be a short lived fad...like Wii Fit. Now that every housewife in America that bought Wii Fit at launch is still fat, demand has quieted down.

Golfcoachh5280d ago

I am more excited for the possibilities that this brings for navigation of home theatre things. I know most hope it will change the way we play games, but I am still waiting to see how they implament this to make a judgment about games. I am looking forward to walking into my media room saying power on or whatver, it scanning my face, realizing who I am, bringing up my netflix and scrolling around ala minority report type movements. I also have read Microsoft is planning on implamenting this to computers, so that would mean that my 2000 plus dvd and cd collection that is stored on my media center could be accessed. Maybe it will end up being a natal on each of my tv's and when I walk into a room, or my wife does and wants to watch tv, it will recognize which person is getting ready to watch and auto pull up her or my video or audio playlists. I think in this area it is very exciting, for games, gotta wait and see.

Ju5280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

To be honest, I want the "Wand" to work exactly like the Wii motion controller. Sony should be so bold and just rip off the Nunjuk. Why not? It's just a 50% sixaxis anyway. What's so bad about it? Sell it as an option like the Nunjuk and done with it. You need a stick to run, the Wand doesn't have one. You don't need one for Baseball or Golf or Tennis games, one controller is sufficient to get started. But shooters with Wand - and head tracking (!that's not possible with Wii motion) would be the killer. Natal needs a controller for that (which defeats its purpose) and Wii-mote doesn't come with a camera (no head tracking). There you go, a reason for Sony, which has both.

M$ might have the better business idea as always. Just sell something broken to make people spend more on the upgrade (err, fixes), like buy Natal until you realize it's useless without controller just to run out an buy 1 out of those 100 additional "controlling devices" MS will start selling right after.

Godmars2905280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

The thing is - Natal is being made expressly for the freaking casual crowd!

How has it gone from being a hardcore casual user interface!

Make up your minds people...

bacon135280d ago

^exactly

Natal is meant for soccer mom's and casual gamers. Do you really think you will be playing Gears of War 3 and the next Modern Warfare on Natal? Please its all just going to be shovelware titles for clueless parents to buy their kids.

JeffGUNZ5280d ago

I have read many articles about Natal just to obtain as much information as possible. From what I have read, they want to appeal to the hardcore gamers as well, by doing a hybrid style. Like Gears of war for instance, you control the character and shoot with the controller, but when in cover you can move your head left or right to peek out around the corner, or doing subtle things like that, which would be cool.

What I am excited for is the direction Natal could take RPG's. No longer clicking options of what to say, but actually speaking to the people you encounter in the game. Picture Mass Effect with Project Milo like responses. Being able to have that personalized interaction between characters in an RPG style game would be astonishing. Can they do it? I don't know, I hope. I guess we will just have to wait and see what they can come up with.

Cacolaco5280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

I'm not all that keen on talking to my TV... I want to play a character that I can identify with, but that doesn't mean I want to actually provide the voice for it. Also, the casual crowd is a lot more likely to have little kids running around. (They tend to make a lot of noise, something that voice software tech isn't going to like)

Of course, Mass Effect isn't a casual game, and that brings us back to controls for less casual games not being as good a fit for Natal.

I think that we're asking for too much from Natal. It's capabilities shouldn't be shoehorned into every game that comes out. I like controllers.

badz1495280d ago

FPS with natal? watch this video and make sure to watch it till finish!

velaxun5279d ago

I sincerely hope that video was a joke....

badz1495279d ago

oh I think it is. I posted it just for fun!

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 5279d ago
Xwow20085280d ago (Edited 5280d ago )

will bring new way to play games.
but i think the author of the article is right project natal is the pseye , MS claims that they the first to show this tech but its not.
see
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
and u will know why, even the game the idea of the game Ricochet was stolen from the tech demo in the video above.

The Lazy One5280d ago

the camera they are using in that video is an early gen version of natal. It was never released for the PS2 because microsoft ended up buying 3dv.

Natal also calculates a boned character based off the user, which is something the guy in that video says their original version doesn't do on board. The boned character had to be done on the system. Natal processes all of that in the camera, as well as extrapolates that data if part of your body goes off screen.

Essentially what that video shows is that sony missed a large opportunity by not buying the Zcam last gen.

wpggamer5280d ago

This is from the same company right? So your point is? We all know that natal didn't just spring out of the ground at e3. There was some research and development before e3. Whoa, shocker I know. But sometimes companies do work ahead of time.

koehler835280d ago

I hope so. All that's met my eye so far are a couple chicks kicking air in front of a screen.

5280d ago Replies(6)
Show all comments (78)
90°

All Call of Duty Black Ops Games Ranked

The Nerd Stash: "Developed by Treyarch Studios, Call of Duty: Black Ops games are some of the best in the series in terms of gameplay, story, and -- of course -- Zombies."

Read Full Story >>
thenerdstash.com
Rynxie1d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h ago )

Black ops 4, because it was the last cod of duty I was able to dominate with a +2 k/d ratio. Before all the freaking cheating started to happen. It was nice catching people off guard and shooting at them first and getting the kill. Unlike now, where I shoot people first, but they gun me down with less hits, less time, literally feels like they can kill me in a split second. At times, they are able to run away after me shooting them way more than necessary, yet, the second I'm spotted, I'm dead, there's no me running away to cover. They can do cartwheels, summersaults, backflips and gun you down perfectly. They can shoot you across the map with perfect accuracy. They can jump around like morons and gun you down without even having to correct their aim. They have superman split second perfect reactions. That's the best way to describe it, everything they do is spot on perfect. They can spam and spray (no praying) their gun from far away, because they have no recoil or bullet spread. It always feels like I have to aim and also correct my aim when moving around, while these pricks don't have to do the same.

And yes, I know how to play fps games. I dominated many fps games like: Resistance 1&2, kz 2&3, Socom, MAG, Crysis, Gotham City Impostors, blitz brigade etc. all with 2-4 k/d ratio. Kz2 (lag input controls) and resistance (no aim assist in resistance) being the hardest and were the games I reached either close to a 3 k/d ratio or above.

I truly got to enjoy blacks ops 4 and got my money's worth out of it. Afterwords, I would either stop playing cod games after a while, because of the cheating, or would skip buying cod games for a year or two before buying another.

80°

25 Games We Want To See Get A Sequel

BLG writes, "Do you ever get that feeling after you’ve finished a game that you just wish there was more? Or do you spend years hoping and praying for a sequel that never comes?

This list compiles some of the top games we desperately want to get a sequel. Please give us more of our favorite games!"

Read Full Story >>
bosslevelgamer.com
DefenderOfDoom23d ago

Would love to see a sequel to the 7th gen FPS campaign SINGULARITY from RAVEN Software..

80°

Moving In My 30s Made Me Nostalgic For Physical Games

GL: "Staff writer Shaz reflects on his small library of physical games he's kept throughout the decades, and how a recent move made him nostalgic."

Read Full Story >>
gameluster.com
Sciurus_vulgaris8d ago

I lost my drive for collecting physical games due to many discs lacking the whole complete game. Instead, of collecting games I started collected figurines.

Popsicle6d ago

I am a collector have a room dedicated with a couple original arcade cabinets, physical game library, old and new consoles and controllers backlit with LED lighting. It’s very cool to have but with emulation being so strong and prevalent, I sometimes feel foolish because the hobby is expensive and like another said, the full game is not always on the disc. Could probably spend more wisely but I enjoy it.

shinoff21836d ago

Most games are usually on disc still. Of course you got you publishers that are hit and miss, Activision, ubisoft, ea, Microsoft, where the rest of the game needs downloaded.