14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's E3 press conference was one of the most expected at this year’s edition. Gamers and journalists alike were keen on finding out just what the Redmond-based company had up its sleeve and how it would attacks its rivals and win the console war.
While it was highly rumored and speculated before this E3, it seems that motion sensitive features will soon be added to the Xbox 360, thanks to the new Project Natal. Microsoft aims at profiting from the success and popularity that motion sensitive controls have gotten thanks to the Nintendo Wii and taking it to a whole new level.
Consisting of a peripheral that can be added to any Xbox 360 ever made, Project Natal combines an RGB camera, a depth sensor, a multi-array microphone and a custom processor running proprietary software. This all-in-one device will track full body movements in 3D, unlike other previous cameras or sensors that proclaimed such a thing. It will detect not only small movements but even directions or a shift in the tone of the player's voice.
Not being light dependent, Project Natal will not only track face movements but also react to key words and even comprehend what people say. If you want to make a play in a football game, the characters on screen will reach to your directions.
Also interesting is the fact that you will be able to navigate through the New Xbox Experience and the Marketplace by simply making gestures in front of the TV, similar to the Hollywood movie Minority Report.
Speaking of Hollywood, Steven Spielberg, who is the visionary director and producer of this project, stated that “The next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear. With ‘Project Natal,’ we’ll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us.”
Are you interested in this new project and the opportunity of motion sensitive features for the Xbox 360? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.