If you haven't been watching the E3 convention online or on G4, you missed an announcement and tech demo that probably has Nintendo sweating a little bit.
Microsoft introduced an add-on for the 360 that allows players to interact with and play games without any controller whatsoever! It also has face recognition and can log players on as soon as they step into view! They are calling this new technology "Project Natal", and it looks pretty impressive!
In the live demonstration, a player controlled a shadow version of themselves on the screen which mirrored her movements and allowed her to interact with digital balls and deflect them toward a wall in order to break it. A sort of virtual reality "Breakout" game.
Nintendo demonstrated an add-on to the Wii controller that will make it more precise and Sony demonstrated a controller in development that basically catches up to Nintendo's controller add-on.
Only time will tell if Natal can deliver (tech demos are just tech demos after all), but if they do, it will be a crushing blow to Nintendo and Sony.
I'm too lazy to find the link, but if you want to see the video yourself, just google "E3 2009 Microsoft Press Conference" and you'll find a couple viewing options.
2 comments:
I will believe the Natal when I see it ... not just at a tech demo ...
I agree. I elaborated a little more in my overview of E3 on Paeter's Brain, but I'm suspicious of tech demos, even though they spark the imagination. And I particularly got the feeling I was being lied to when the AI "Milo" character was being demonstrated.
So I feel like, "That would be sweet!" and "Yeah, we'll see..." at the same time.
Post a Comment