The Project Natal. The Revolution has Come!

Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft’

A year after its reveal, Microsoft's controller-free motion camera has an official launch date of November 4, 2010.

The Kinect will also have 15 launch titles, we've listed several after the break. Microsoft did not announce a launch price.

Continue reading Kinect available November 4 with 15 launch titles

Kinect available November 4 with 15 launch titles originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft's Kinect unveiling pulled back the curtain on a new video chat program, aptly titled Video Chat. Here, gamers will be able to participate in face-to-face communication and even share photos -- remember Photo Party?

The program is entirely navigated through gestures. No price nor a launch date was revealed by Microsoft. We'll let you know when we find out.

Kinect gets gesture-based Video Chat originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We've got either good or bad news depending on how you felt about the rumored name change for Microsoft's motion-sensing Project Natal. The new brand "Kinect" has just been confirmed by USA Today. The story, which includes no pricing or timing info, seems to have been slated to run tomorrow, though we imagine it might have been rushed out when the name started circulating after appearing in an Italian ad.

There's even a list of games!

[Huge thanks to Jake for the heads up.]

Kinect is in, 'Project Natal' is out originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Have you ever wondered what Project Natal actually sees through its beady, robotic eyes? A direct feed of the Natal's point-of-view was recently revealed to the audience of Microsoft Israel R&D's "Think Next" convention yesterday afternoon. Just past the jump, you can check out NextGen-News' video of a live demonstration from Microsoft VP of Hardware and Technology Dr. Ilan Spillinger and a female participant, both of whose genders and movements were successfully identified and Avatar-ified by Natal.

Watch the video after the jump to see Spillinger get more excited by this technology than anyone has ever been excited for anything else on the planet, ever.

[Via Engadget]

Continue reading Microsoft shows how Natal recognizes players, gender

Microsoft shows how Natal recognizes players, gender originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Israel-based company Side-Kick is a new studio "focused on the creation of motion control games for next-generation game consoles and digital living rooms." We're not quite sure what a digital living room is (The Matrix?), but the rest seems fairly self-explanatory.

Led by Guy Bendov, co-founder of Double Fusion, the new company also includes former Eidos and PrimeSense alums, the latter being responsible for the tech behind Microsoft's upcoming Project Natal. So, the studio definitely has built-in familiarity with Microsoft's new motion-sensing device and, based on that next-gen line above, we assume the company will also produce PlayStation Move content.

Side-Kick has a few games in development right now -- Mini Demons is only briefly shown via its website -- and will be on-hand to display its new wares at Microsoft's ThinkNext2010 event and E3. We've contacted the company for clarification on which platforms it's currently targeting.

Update: A Side-Kick representative got back to us, stating that "Natal and Move are the targets for now since they use camera systems to track movement." Well, we're glad that's cleared up!

Side-Kick founded to work on motion-based games for 'next-gen' consoles originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft has sent out a "save the date" email announcing its major events leading up to E3 2010 (June 15-17). The first event, the "World Premiere 'Project Natal' for Xbox 360 Experience," is open to all ages and will be held on Sunday, June 13 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. No further details have been provided, though Microsoft announced earlier this month that it's bringing "the full lineup" of Natal titles to E3.

The following morning, on Monday, June 14, Microsoft will hold its annual E3 media briefing at the Wiltern Theater. The event will be restricted to ages 18 and older. With the media getting a taste of Natal the night before, it should be interesting to see what Microsoft has up its sleeve for the actual briefing. Expect more details on both events in the near future.

Microsoft to host E3 Natal event June 13, media briefing June 14 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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