Microsoft Unveils Full-Body Xbox Camera Controller + Virtual Kid

[admin]

A planned camera controller for Xbox 360 promises 3-D motion recognition that will turn your entire body into a game controller.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/06/e3-microsoft-live-blog/

Video:



Also there's this tech demo about a virtual boy that can interact with you through the full body motion system, video:

[admin]

Demo'd on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:



People are concerned about the red jumpsuits, because if that's what it takes for the Natal cameras to pick up movement, then people are going to have to dress pretty ridiculously as well as moving around pretty ridiculously to play games (although the latter is already familiar to people who play Wii games). But Natal features a normal camera and also an IR camera, so people's clothing shouldn't matter. The red jump suit on the show may have been because of the unusual conditions inside a TV studio.

Also demo'd was the fact that Natal will work some some existing games, as a substitute for the normal controller. This could add replayability to some older games. But Natal will probably work better with games designed specifically for it, and these would be Wii type games as opposed to the normal types of games that's found on the Xbox 360/PS3. So the good old controller will still very much be needed on the Xbox 360 for most games, although combinations of both types of controls could make things interesting (for example, playing a soccer game, you would normally use the controller, but when taking a penalty kick, you have to get up and actually do the kicking yourself).

Also, Jimmy Fallon is wildly unfunny. I just needed to mention that.

[admin]

Engadget has demo'd the thing for themselves, here's what they had to say:

The body tracking is truly impressive -- according to Kudo, it's picking up 48 joint points on the human body.

-- snip --

We watched a chair being dragged into the middle of the playing field, and the software was able to continue to track the human movement, as well as that person sitting down -- it didn't break a sweat. The accuracy is far better than you would imagine it could be; it's very impressive stuff.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/03/project-natal-video-hands-on-impressions-and-further-details/

IGN has also had a play with Natal and a modified version of Burnout Paradise, here's what they said:

The game controls surprisingly well, with your hands controlling the steering and your feet controlling the car's acceleration. Stepping forward gives your ride some juice and stepping back hits the brakes.

http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/989/989245p1.html