A Preview the Xbox 360 Project Natal And Just What It Can Do
Following hot on the heels of the Wii’s motion capture technology, Microsoft hope to trump this one better with Xbox 360 Project Natal. Announced during 2009′s E3 conference, this optional accessory for the Xbox 360 is claimed to allow fully controller-free interaction with games, sensing movement and interpreting that as controls in the game.
Xbox 360 Project Natal is claimed to be available around the end of 2010, and Microsoft hope that the accessory will become an essential component of all Xbox machines. They also say this revolutionary technology will lengthen the shelf-life of the 360 considerably, and is, for all intents and purposes, a next-gen piece of hardware.
The accessory includes a depth array coupled with an RGB camera, which gives the Xbox 360 Project Natal a 360 degree range of interpretation. The sensing is so accurate that even minute facial nuances can get recognised and displayed on-screen. The range of recognition may also be extended or shortened as the player sees fit, with the chance of including surrounding objects such as tables or cabinets.
Aswell as movement, the Xbox 360 Project Natal also has the facility to translate audio. The multi-array microphone included can be used to register audio and convert vocal recognition on the television. These elements blend to provide complete interactivity between player and videogame.
As the software used to create both Natal and the games it will interact with is quite unique, Microsoft have said that existing Xbox 360 games likely will not support Natal, and that a new set of games are currently in progress. Various tech demos demonstrated at E3 included Space Invaders Extreme and Paint Party, a game in which pots of paint are manipulated by the player to color surfaces.
Winter will tell as to if theXbox 360 Project Natal will cause the impact Microsoft are hoping for. While the specs are clearly revolutionary and due to trump even the Wii’s calling card, Microsoft need to announce more interesting titles to gain heightened public interest. With the right games coupled with it, theXbox 360 Project Natal might really be the future of gaming!
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