Posts Tagged ‘e3-2009’
E3 was brütal! If you blinked, for a split/second, you missed something. Even if you were trine to keep up, it was a blur — staying a.wake like that, you only pushed yourself to the brink of your own dark void. That’s where Joystiq comes in; to crackdown on the madness; to reach out … with conviction — phew! Crysis averted.
We’ve scoured the dark corners and survived the inferno to piece together this roundup of all things Xbox at E3. Why? Just ’cause we love you. So, draw nier and shift your eyes past the break.
Continue reading E3 2009 highlights: The Xbox roundup
E3 2009 highlights: The Xbox roundup originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Though the big boss got to talk to that weird little android kid, my time with Project Natal was limited to using Microsoft’s motion sensing technology retrofitted onto Burnout.
My expectations were pretty high, as Grant came back with some pretty glowing reviews. I figured that it would work, but it wouldn’t necessarily supplant the controller as my preferred method of game interaction.
Continue reading Hands-on: Project Natal: Burnout
Hands-on: Project Natal: Burnout originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Nintendo Wii, E3, Peripherals
When Microsoft unveiled its controller-free camera technology dubbed Project Natal during E3 last week, you’d think that gaming peripheral makers might start asking President Obama for a bailout.
But not so. At least not for Nyko. The manufacturer of third-party accessories, whose core business is unlicensed Wii products, doesn’t see physical controllers going away anytime soon. In fact, Chris Arbogast, Nyko’s director of marketing, has a hard time seeing casual gamers letting go of the Wii remote.
“People in the casual market like feeling something physical to keep your hands aligned,” he said. “When you grab the Wiimote and swing it, it feels like you’re swinging a baseball bat, versus pantomining swinging a bat. I think that if you take all [the controllers] away and you’re just pantomiming everything, there may be some disconnect with realism there.”
Obviously, working for Nyko, Arbogast has to stay positive. However, if Project Natal does take off, we wondered if the company has a Plan B. Arbogast said it might force Nyko to “think outside the box.” “We’ll have to think of other ways we can accessorize and augment the players’ experience,” he said. “Not with a controller anymore, but with other things to add to that camera functionality. It could be a whole new avenue of business that opens up for us because we’ll be forced to challenge ourselves.”
Luckily for Nyko, Project Natal is probably a long ways off, with analysts saying it won’t trump the Wii just yet. Until then, you can enjoy another innovation in camera technology: the Nyko DSi Zoom Case.
Nyko: Project Natal not a threat, but a ‘challenge’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If there was one person we felt bad for during Microsoft’s otherwise stellar press conference, it was Tony Hawk, whose motion-sensing skateboard peripheral for Tony Hawk: Ride seemed to be rendered obsolete literally moments after its introduction thanks to MS’s new Project Natal. But Microsoft’s John Schappert he likely wasn’t caught by surprise.
“Activision certainly had seen our video and stuff like that, but I think in defense of Tony Hawk and what they’re doing, that product is shipping this year and it has a very real street date,” he said. “I think that product, just like many other peripherals is groundbreaking today. Natal is tomorrow.”
Fair enough. But if you see Tony Hawk walking around with a single tear anytime soon, you’ll know why.
Activision got the heads up about Project Natal originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Imagine you work for a small peripheral development studio who’s been working on a motion controller for the Xbox 360 for ages. Now imagine that Microsoft announces their own revolutionary motion control peripheral — one that’s supported by a bazillion dollar technology juggernaut. “Crap in a hat,” you would likely proclaim. However, Performance Designed Products, creators of the long-in-development Game Trak Freedom controller, doesn’t seem daunted by Microsoft’s recently unveiled Project Natal tech.
During our tour of PDP’s E3 booth, we had a chance to ask Senior VP of Marketing John Moore about the manufacturer’s new impressive competition. According to Moore, “we met with Microsoft, and they gave us a heads-up about Natal, so we knew it was coming.” Still, it’s not all doom and gloom. Moore said he thinks “there is still a need and room in the market for interactive peripherals.” Moreover, he claimed “there’s a possibility of using our infrared controller technology and incorporating it into Microsoft’s new product.”
We’ll have our hands-on impressions of the Game Trak Freedom, as well as its bundled software counterpart Squeeballs, within the next couple of days.
Xbox 360 motion controller dev not afraid of Project Natal originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tonight, I got an incredibly brief chance to test out Microsoft’s Project Natal camera technology with Peter Molyneux’s “Milo,” along with three other E3 judges. In the brief time allotted to the group, we experienced many of the same moments shown during Microsoft’s keynote earlier in the day: introducing ourselves to Milo, being recognized by Milo, taking a brief walk to the pier, donning a pair of goggles, and running our fingers through the water. Before any of us would interact with Milo, Lionhead’s Claire – seen above in a still from the E3 Milo video – had a brief, but natural, exchange with Milo. It began with Milo recognizing her face and addressing her by name.
Once Claire’s portion was over, we took Milo out for a spin. For my part, I walked with Milo over to the pier, grabbed the goggles that he threw at me, performatively snatching at the air, having already seen the video during the earlier keynote presentation. To put them “on” I had to make loops with my thumbs and pointer fingers and wrap them around my eyes. A guide on the bottom of the screen instructed me to make them just so. Goggles on, I leaned over the pier and splashed a reflection of myself in the water. I could drag a finger around or make a larger splash with my hand. I could even ripple the water by “lowering” my head towards the screen. And that was about it for my section (see above: brief!). But the most impressive thing I saw happened next.
Continue reading Taking a walk with Milo, Molyneux’s Project Natal ‘game’
Taking a walk with Milo, Molyneux’s Project Natal ‘game’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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