14 DAY TRIAL // The biggest announcement made by Microsoft at this year's E3 trade show was its working on something called Project Natal, a device that would bring complex motion tracking abilities to the Xbox 360. And on the same occasion, while showing off Burnout Paradise played using the new control method, Microsoft claimed that both Bungie and Epic were already experimenting with the new system. Now, the company seems to be back pedaling a bit, warning players not to expect motion-controlled shooters any time soon.
Alex Cutting, who is a producer on Halo 3: ODST, has told Videogamer.com that “A lot of people are interested in what Natal's presence in Halo's going to be. We are committing to only doing it when it makes sense. We are not going to produce a gimmicky feature that just takes advantage of motion controls when it doesn't feel right.”
He also believes that the resistance related to Natal and motion tracking for all genres of videogames might be compared with the way people viewed the control scheme featuring the dual stick setup on console before the arrival of Halo: Combat Evolved.
It will only take one developer with one project that really manages to take advantage of the motion tracking in unique and interesting way for the whole industry to shift towards Project Natal and its Sony equivalent, the wand.
Still, with big developers like Bungie and Epic Games, the makers of the two arguably most important shooter franchises in the world, Gears of War and Halo, planning, for the moment, to concentrate on classic controls, it might be a while until motion tracking attracts the more hardcore gaming crowd. In order to make sure shooters join the motion control trend, Microsoft should probably announce and produce a weapon-shaped peripheral for Natal.