Kotaku editor Stephen Totilo had the opportunity to give Microsoft’s Project Natal the once-over, thought he had the device all figured out, spotting three flaws in the system. However, it would seem that by his own admission, all three analysis were wrong.

His first thought was that it would not be able to handle multi-player gaming, but project director Kudo Tsunoda directed his attention to a display which showed how easily the device was reading both their bodies as they stood before the sensors.

“We appeared on screen as simplified, mutli-jointed stick figure skeletons within silhouettes of our bodies. It clearly saw us as separate people. There would be no problem, he said, for the system to support a game that let us play at the same time and track our movements separately.”

Totilo thought that he might be able to get away with playing Burnout Paradise one-handed, but it seems that notion, too, was in error.

“I guessed that it was reading my hands as a single unit moving in space and that it wouldn’t be programmed to know or care if I put one hand behind my back. It did. When I put my hand behind my back and just waved one hand in front of the TV, the Burnout car failed to steer. The Natal needed to see two hands. Maybe it’s cooler to drive one-handed, but Natal not letting me do it was impressive in its own way.”

Another thought was that Natal would have to be played in bright light, but the dim illumination of the hotel rooms, barring Molyneux’s own Milo demo room, would seem to prove otherwise.

Finally, Totilo also thought that while Project Natal could pick up a wide range of body movements, finer movements (such as those by individual fingers) would not be picked up. And while the demo in use did not provide actual proof of the concept, using a short stick to represent each hand, Tsunoda claimed such detection was actually possible, “though the sensitivity would be different at different distances.”

In conclusion, Totilo figures there will be plenty of time to analyze and scrutinize the device, but “So far, it’s fun. And it works.”

If it works as promised, the device could dramatically raise the ante in the competition between the Xbox, Wii and PlayStation and usher in a new era of immersive entertainment.

Code-named Project Natal, the device is a horizontal bar about nine inches wide and stuffed with cameras, depth sensors and array microphones.

SOURCE: Microsoft

The prototype controller looks huge in this image supplied by Microsoft but it’s not much wider than the Nintendo Wii sensor bar.

It can detect the voices and motions of people nearby, so they can interact with an Xbox and games just by talking and moving their bodies.

Prices and timing weren’t available, but it won’t be available until 2010 at the earliest and will probably cost around $200. Microsoft has already given game developers tools to start building games that uses the device.

At first it sounds like a challenger to Nintendo’s Wii, which uses motion-sensitive controllers. but Natal recognizes gestures and motions made by the entire body without any sort of controller in the hand, Microsoft Vice President Shane Kim said.

“This goes way beyond the Wii,” he said.

Natal will also add voice control, so users could walk up to an Xbox and use their voice to start a movie or check messages.

Kim said the device is intended to remove “barriers,” making the Xbox more accessible to people who are intimidated by all the buttons and controls on a traditional game controller.

During a rock concertlike production at USC’s Galen Center this morning, the company is also unveiling 10 new games and new services for the Xbox 360.

Microsoft’s adding Twitter and Facebook to the 360, so users of those social networking services can check and post messages from the console. Adding these services is part of Microsoft’s effort to make the Xbox Live network “the next generation social and entertainment network,” Kim said.

New details are also coming out about the Zune video store that’s replacing the Xbox Live video marketplace. The Zune software will play full 1080p movie rentals instantly, on demand, if users have a fast enough Internet connection. Kim said early testing suggests users need a 6 to 10 megabits per second connection to get the instant play.

Also being added to the 360 is the Last.fm music service.


Source: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/

Steven Spielberg and Xbox’s Don Mattrick on the ‘revolutionary’ hands-free control system

Microsoft has unveiled its new control system for the Xbox 360 console, at E3 in Los Angeles.

Project Natal is a fully hands-free control system that will use face recognition and motion sensors to allow users to play games.

Film director Steven Spielberg, attending the launch, said it was “a window into what the future holds”.

Although still in the early stages, Microsoft has sent prototypes to all the main game developers.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Spielberg said he had always stated that “the main barrier stopping people getting into video games was the complexity of a games controller,” and that Natal was “a whole new world”.

“There is technology now that recognises not just your thumb, it recognises your entire person. The technology knows who you are,” he said.

Mr Spielberg drew an analogy with the film industry, saying it was evolutionary step for games.

“It’s like the square screen we saw all of our movies on in the early 1950s. Then The Robe came out in Cinemascope. And then came CinRam and Imax followed. That’s what [Natal] is.

I think the technology looks very interesting but its success depends on the content and how easy it is to use Piers Harding-Rolls, analyst

During the demonstration, British developer Peter Molyneux showed how Natal could not only recognise faces, it could recognise facial expressions to determine what mood a player was in and react accordingly.

Mr Spielberg said this offered new opportunities for game development

“The video games industry has not allowed us the opportunity to cry, because we were too busy putting our adrenalin rush into the controller, or wherever we swing our arm with a Wii controller to get a result,” he said.

“Because of that, there is no room for a video game to break your heart. We now have a little more room to be a little more emotional with Natal technology than we did before.”

Speaking to the BBC, Piers Harding-Rolls, senior analyst with Screen Digest, said the success of Natal depended on a number of different factors.

“I think the technology looks very interesting but its success depends on the content and how easy it is to use,” he said.

“The other aspect is cost and how they will get it out to the user base,” he said.

“That said, I think Microsoft would like to get it out sooner, rather than later.

“Sales of the Xbox 360 hit their peak in 2008 and are now expected to decline, in terms of console sales, so you would expect them to get it out as soon as possible to rekindle interest in the platform.”

Leak

The details of Project Natal had already leaked out a few weeks ago when the US patent office released documents, filed by Microsoft, of a “motion sensor that makes use of face recognition software and biometrics”.

At the time, most experts believed that Microsoft was patenting concepts, rather than an actual application, and would focus on a motion detector similar to the Nintendo’s Wii controller.

Speaking to the BBC, Shane Kim, Microsoft’s Cooperate Vice-President of Xbox Strategy and Development, said it was worried the story was going to break before the official launch.

“Most of the information was out there, but no one was able to put the full story together,” he said.

Games bonanza

Project Natal was not the only big announcement from Microsoft.

It will let people achieve skate supremacy in the comfort of their own living rooms Tony Hawk

The company unveiled 10 new games for the Xbox 360, including Beatles Rock Band, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Tony Hawk Ride and Final Fantasy XIII.

Tony Hawk Ride comes with its own skateboard controller, similar to the Wii Balance board, although this is the first time such a device has been available for the Xbox 360.

Tony Hawks, who was at the launch to promote his game, said it was something he had wanted for some time.

“I always wanted to do a game with a skateboard controller but the technology wasn’t there until now,” he said.

“It will allow anyone to grind rails and catch big airs; even if you have never been on a skateboard, it will let people achieve skate supremacy in the comfort of their own living rooms.”

And in a follow up to the news that Microsoft had signed a deal with Sky to show content via Xbox Live, Microsoft said it had entered a joint agreement with Facebook and Twitter to create what Mr Kim called “full integration” between three of the largest social networking sites on the planet.

“For us, it’s a very big priority to make Xbox Live the next generation of social networking,” he said.

Both Nintendo and Sony consoles stream video content using the BBC iPlayer.

Mr Kim played down allegations that Microsoft had opted to team up with Sky purely to differentiate itself from its competitors.

“Our partnership with Sky is about bringing great video and entertainment to our UK customers. That was our focus,” he said.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8077369.stm