Project Natal will end the era of the game controller
Project Natal of Microsoft is a topic which has been talked about online for some time. But now Microsoft demonstrated it at a press event. The project may put an end to the era of the game controller as we know it.
Well it is hard to explain to children how we played our games ten years ago. Games like pong and on the Commodore 64 we not graphical sophisticated and the joystick wasn't user-friendly. But still these were the platforms and games I started playing with. Now I have a Xbox 360 and this is really great. So imagine the future of gaming when you think of the speed of change and innovation in the gaming industry. You must get a smile on your face when you think about gaming over ten years. This must and will be great. In the future of gaming you will see youself as one of the main caracters in the game and the games will have a lot of sophisticated artificial intelligence. UI also believe that the games will go of the screen and come into our real lives and environment. So will become for example your house you field of play. Great. But it also means the end of the controller as we know it. Microsoft gave us a glimpse into the future of gaming with their project Natal.
Microsoft presented project Natal on the Microsoft E3 press event. Project Natal will result finally in the end of the game controller. This is because project Natal let's you controle the game by gestures and speech.
Compatible with any Xbox 360 system, the "Project Natal" sensor is the world's first to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device
In the clip you will see a demo of what project Natal is. It looks all very easy but I must find out myself before I really can say that. But that this will become the future of gaming is clear.
Unlike other devices, the "Project Natal" sensor is not light-dependent. It can recognize you just by looking at your face, and it doesn't just react to key words but understands what you're saying. Call a play in a football game, and players will actually respond. Want to log onto Xbox LIVE? Simply step in front of the sensor
The system works with a 3d sensor which sits beneath your TV. The sensor is able to pick up body movements in full 3D and relays them to your avatar. In one example Microsoft shows a girl who controls an on-screen racing car. She does this by miming the action of holding a steering wheel and changes gears by grabbing an imaginary gear stick. When she makes a pit stop the rest of the family become pit technicians, changing her tyres and re-fuelling. This all by gestures.
Project Natal is still a concept but a very nice one. It shows us the future of gaming I believe. What do you think? Before this will be in the shops there has to be additional software developed and new games of course. I do not know when and if Microsoft wants this on the market.
More information about project Natal.