Game Play for the Future: Project Natal XBox 360
Project Natal, which is the working name for Microsoft’s latest technological advancement, has already set the gaming industry abuzz with excitement and anticipation that is palpable.
This year, Microsoft revealed the exciting new addition to the Xbox 360, a motion-sensory system that promises to be more impressive than Nintendo’s Wii. This is hard to believe, considering Wii is the world’s best selling console, something it achieved relatively quickly. Nevertheless, participants of the Tokyo Game Show and E3, claim that the graphics, gameplay, response and fun of playing Natal XBox 360 is sure to knock Nintendo’s socks off.
Natal, which will be re-named before its launch, has already impressed industry professionals at the Tokyo Game Show and E3 in Los Angeles this year. So far, working demonstrations of the system have included a ball bouncing game in which players must deflect red balls off any part of their body and a XBox 360 Natal version of Burnout Paradise, which is played without the use of a controller.
Unsurprisingly, there has been a great deal of interest in the system from game developers, many of whom have been announced as collaborators by Microsoft, such as Sega, Konami, EA, Disney and Capcom to name but a few.
It cannot be denied, a system that has whole body interface, facial recognition, voice recognition and expression interface technology opens numerous doors for game designers. Ideas that would have previously been the stuff of dreams are now made possible by the motion-sensory technology of Microsoft.
Additionally, it is believed that Project Natal will attract a completely new fan base to gaming, because the controller is made conspicuous by its absence. Steven Spielberg, a public supporter of Natal, explains that technophobes will be attracted to the system for its ease and lack of complex controls. Again, this is an exciting opportunity for developers to create games that would not perhaps appeal to the usual gamer. What’s more, they can pitch their software to a whole new audience. Exciting times are afoot in the world of gaming!
One thing is for sure, Natal XBox 360 has already altered the way that developers approach creating games and when it is eventually released (sometime between the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011) it will advance gamers expectations too.
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Tags: natal, project natal, Xbox, xbox 360
