14 DAY TRIAL // During all of last week's Tokyo Game Show presentations, Microsoft's new motion controller Project Natal had the most outside representatives speak on its behalf. The show was put in motion by Microsoft Game Studios Kudo Tsunoda, which tried to give the public a better understanding of the new technology. First on the list was Project Natal's “infrared vision.” Xbox 360's motion-sensing technology camera picks up the full-body movements made by the player and reproduces them in-game. The camera sees only the infrared spectrum so in spite of the lighting conditions of the room, be it bright or dark, it will register the player’s movements without any difficulties.
The infrared field generated by the camera isn't limited to the player outline and will be cast over a large area. This way, the system can analyze the environment in which the gamer is set and make up for its confining limitations.
"We can configure the play space around your living room," Tsunoda said. "Let's say you had sofas that were squeezing in this way, we can automatically move the walls of the court in. If you don't have a wall that goes back that far, they can move the wall up. So we can totally customize the play area to the dimensions of your personal play area." Remains to be seen whether this will bring Microsoft any law-suits regarding a breach in privacy, considering it will be able to register all objects inside a room. And even if lawsuits aren't in the making, some embarrassing moments for player are bound to come up as Natal will recognize different items around the “play-area.”
The bad news is that previously released games, compared to the release of Project Natal, won't support the new controller. Even Kudo Tsunoda agrees that the modifications needed to be brought to the game code are far too complex to be provided by a simple update.
But good news is in sight as Microsoft has revealed several publishers that are currently developing games that will make use of Project Natal and which will go on sale sometime next year. Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Capcom, Disney, Electronic Arts, Konami, MTV Games, Namco Bandai, Sega, Square Enix, THQ, and Ubisoft, all have games planned for next year that will be compatible with the new controller.