Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft’
With Project Natal on schedule for a 2010 arrival, it’s no surprise that Microsoft’s annual Gamefest conference will offer programming tracks designed to get developers up to speed on how best to design for and implement the technology in their Xbox 360 games.
The tech summit, which runs from February 10 and 11 in Seattle will offer two types of Natal-themed sessions. The first, Project Natal Design, promises to help devs with “creating new ways to work, building showcase experiences, divining user intent, and designing gestures for UI versus game interactions.” The second, Project Natal Technical, will “dive deep into gesture recognition, avatar retargeting, speech recognition, advanced raw stream processing, handling different player environments, and many other topics.”
Avatar re-what? Advanced raw stream huh? $100 says Microsoft just hands attendees Minority Report on DVD.
[Via Gamasutra]
Devs to get Project Natal tips at Gamefest in Feb. originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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With Shadow Complex setting very specific week-one sales records on XBLA, Epic and Chair would be kind of nuts to not consider a sequel. One job listing out of a recent crop on Microsoft’s employment boards seems to out that likely scenario, implying that Shadow Complex is a bona fide franchise for Microsoft Game Studios and Epic. Said listing specifically calls for a Lead Producer to “lead the publishing side of games made by Epic: Gears of War and Shadow Complex.”
Additionally, Microsoft appears to be looking for more able bodies to join its growing pool of Project Natal and 343 Industries employees. Existing job listings call for everything from designers to engineers to even a few artists. Sadly, the company isn’t looking for MJOLNIR armor models yet, but just in case, Microsoft, you know how to reach us.
[Via Develop]
Microsoft lists more jobs for Project Natal, 343 Industries; hiring Shadow Complex, Gears of War franchises lead originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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While reports circulated last week that Project Natal would launch sometime in November 2010, Xbox UK boss Neil Thompson says the details were only rumors. Speaking with Eurogamer at a launch event in London for the console’s new social media applications, Thompson said the rumors “weren’t accurate” and claimed Microsoft has yet to determine “a lot of things” related to the launch of its new motion-sensing technology.
According to the rumors, Microsoft was set to ship around five million Project Natal units next fall, alongside 14 supporting titles at a price point that could go as low as $50 (£30). When asked about the rumored details and price, Xbox’s head of Europe, Chris Lewis, jokingly added, “Now you know better than to listen to that stuff! We will announce in good time.”
However, Lewis did remind Eurogamer that Microsoft is striving for “unique” and “compelling” experiences with the technology. “That has to happen and will happen,” he said. As long as whatever “happens” doesn’t follow Microsoft’s traditional Xbox 360 peripheral pricing scheme, we’ll be happy.
Microsoft: Natal launch details ‘not accurate’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sitting on Time Magazine’s 50 Best Inventions of 2009 amongst notables like the world’s first AIDS vaccine (still in trials) and meat farms seems like an awkward place for Microsoft’s Project Natal. But that’s exactly where it resides, paired with glowing praise for its boundary-breaking implications.
“Since time immemorial … one barrier that has stood between gamers and total Tron-like immersion in their video games has been the controller,” the piece posits, going on to say that Natal will break that barrier by allowing the player one-to-one access between the game and the game’s controls. “You move your hand, and the Master Chief (or whoever) moves his hand. It’s that simple. And that cool.” Though we’re excited for the many prospects Project Natal seems to offer, we’re a bit more intrigued by teleportation.
And yes, that’s seriously on the list.
Time picks Natal as one of 2009’s best inventions originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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MCV’s sources say that Microsoft will have 5 million cameras ready for launch, with a “great launch line-up” of 14 games. While a November launch of a major video game item seems plausible even in a year overloaded with spring releases, this information remains unverified and, therefore, suspect. And we’re tempted to say that the price is too good to be true. If it does turn out to be $50, our expression of delight may be the first thing the fancy camera sees.
Rumor: Project Natal launch details leaked originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A variety of new job listings have emerged on a Microsoft employment site, including positions for Project Natal and — perhaps more interesting — positions for a new Halo game. These listings for Halo, likely for Halo: Reach, call for designers, AI developers and animators — even a multiplayer game design lead.
As for Project Natal, some listings point to “a large franchise,” whereas others quote “an excellent next-generation” project — which could be just about anything. We confirmed with Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb that the listings were legit, though he couldn’t provide us with any more info beyond that.
[Via HotBloodedGaming]
Microsoft hiring for Project Natal and Halo originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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While we may be nervous about Microsoft’s Project Natal branding strategy — remember, that’s just a codename — the suits in Redmond share no such concern. That’s because the Natal project is following Nintendo’s lead in more ways than just easy-to-play, motion-based technology. It’s also following Nintendo’s branding strategy.
On May 11, 2004 Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced the “Nintendo Revolution” to the E3 audience and, while he didn’t show off the motion-based controller (we wouldn’t see that for another sixteen months, at TGS 2005), he did promise “an unprecedented gameplay experience.” The Revolution would offer “something no other machine has delivered before.” The following May, over two years after first announcing the “Revolution,” Nintendo revealed the product’s final name just before E3: Wii.
When we asked Microsoft’s Robbie Bach, “When can we stop calling it Natal?” at a recent Open House event, the exec wasn’t shy about comparing the company’s strategy to Nintendo’s. “When Nintendo came out with the name ‘Wii,’ people sort of said ‘Oh gosh, that’s kind of a goofy, weird name.’ I haven’t heard a comment about it being a goofy name since the week after they announced the name,” Bach said. “And suddenly, people just called it the ‘Wii’ and moved on.” And, specifically, they’ve moved on to buying them en masse.
Continue reading Microsoft discusses Wii-esque Project Natal branding strategy
Microsoft discusses Wii-esque Project Natal branding strategy originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If given the choice of becoming a (presumably) anthropomorphic vegetable, Phil Spencer would opt for an eggplant. Sure, we spoke to the confident head of Microsoft Game Studios about other things — Halo, Project Natal, Fable, Crackdown, the Xbox 360’s successor, blah blah blah — but with that profound scoop out of the way, there’s barely any reason to read this interview.
Mind you, the part where Spencer suggests that alternate forms of input (whether in addition to or in substitute of traditional controllers) might become a common expectation is pretty interesting. You should definitely read that.
Joystiq: We just came out of the Tokyo Game Show panel discussion for Project Natal …
Phil Spencer: The creators panel.
Yes, the creators panel. Hideo Kojima was there; they brainstormed about all these games. How much focus is Microsoft Game Studios placing on Natal development internally in comparison to other projects?
It’s a big focus for us in first party. As a first party, I think it’s our duty, it’s our responsibility to look at the new technologies that we bring to our platform. We did this with Live. We did at launch of 360. When we look at Project Natal as an opportunity for first party to truly innovate on our platform, creating new experiences, new intellectual property, we’re very focused. A large percentage of the studio right now is thinking about Natal as part of what they’re doing.
Continue reading Interview: Microsoft Game Studios’ Phil Spencer
Interview: Microsoft Game Studios’ Phil Spencer originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Epic and Microsoft have long been cozy bedfellows, comfortably sharing the covers with each other for years. Now that partnership has extended to Microsoft’s proposed game changer, Project Natal. Speaking to Epic’s marketing maestro, Mark Rein, OXM asked what Natal’s use of the Unreal engine implied for the futures of both companies.
“I think any future Xbox games we make will have some Natal support,” Rein commented. “We always want to have something that exploits the unique capabilities of a platform.” While Rein had no idea what type of game Epic would make with Natal, he did have some ideas on how Natal could improve the hardcore experience — namely, simplifying the controls.
An example he used was taking one’s hand off the controller to mimic throwing a grenade, or using a hand gesture to signal your squad move to a certain location. On paper it sounds great, but we have to question how much such controls could improve on what is arguably one of the easiest things one could ever do: pushing a button.
Mark Rein: future Epic games will have ’some’ Natal support originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Speaking at the First Annual Microsoft Open House in Manhattan yesterday, E&D Division prez Robbie Bach danced around the issue of pricing the company’s upcoming motion tech for Xbox 360. “Relative to Natal, we’ll see how the pricing/costs work out,” Bach said. “But I think people should expect it to be like other things: We work through the price curve, just like we have with other products.”
Though muddled, Bach’s comment does not suggest that Natal will hit retail costing an arm and a leg (geddit?), but rather the device’s launch price will be set high enough for significant discounts to go into effect over time. Using Wii as the bad example, Bach emphasized that Nintendo’s launch price and its new discounted price aren’t notably different. “When you start at $249, I don’t know that a [price drop to] $199 — I don’t know how much difference that’s going to make in the marketplace,” Bach observed. “We’ll see.”
Project Natal price to launch with room to drop originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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