Xbox games without controllers?

[jwinslow]

Microsoft Plans 3-D Camera for Xbox 360 - WSJ.com

MAY 12, 2009, 3:06 P.M. ET
Microsoft Plans 3-D Camera for Xbox 360

Microsoft Corp. is developing a new videocamera for its Xbox 360 videogame console that will allow players to control games with the movement of their bodies, according to people familiar with the matter.

The new device from the Redmond, Wash., company is a novel twist on Nintendo Co.'s Wii videogame console, which allows users to swing a tennis racket and other objects in games by holding a plastic wand in their hands.

Unlike the Wii, the Microsoft camera won't require users to hold any hardware in their hands to control in-game action, people familiar with the matter say. The camera uses 3-D technology to give players more accurate control over games than earlier game cameras did, they add.

The device could be shown as early as the E3 game industry conference in Los Angeles in early June, though it likely will not be released until next year, these people say.

This has been rumored before, it's just picking up more steam now.

 

[Dryden]

A pipe dream, I think. Technologically, it could be proven and done in R&D and even demoed at a trade show or event like E3 where vendors have control over things such as the lighting and backdrop. Honestly, the technology has been around that this could have been done years ago.

In practice, however, there are simply too many variables in the living room to make this workable. Whether it's the distance people stand from their TVs/cameras to background interference to foreground interruptions from multiple people stepping in front of each other, I don't know what "3-D technology" can sort through all that static and accurately track a body in motion. If such technology existed, entertainment industries wouldn't still be using green screens and body suit mo-cap. The second problem is whether the camera can actually track two to four people at once. If it can't, than Microsoft has completely missed the charm of why the Wii worked to begin with.

I'd bet cash-money this winds up being nothing more than a glorified P.O.S. stereo-mic quickcam like the EyeToy, otherwise a major piece of the puzzle with how it works isn't being explained.

 

[TRON 2.0]

The software maker said it will release technology that lets people play video games by moving their bodies instead of clicking hand-held controllers. The service is tentatively called "Project Natal" (pronounced nuh-TALL), and will work with any of the company's Xbox 360 consoles, Microsoft said.

Cont...Microsoft will make Xbox games without controllers - CNN.com

 

[BUCKYLE]

If I wanted to work out, I'd join a fuckin' gym.

 

[osucollegebuck]

If I wanted to work out, I'd join a [censored]in' gym.

LOL my #1 reason for not owning a Wii

 

[jwinslow]

HD Videos:
http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6210712/?hd=1&tag=top_stories;play_btn;15
http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6210718/?hd=1&tag=top_stories;play_btn;13

Gizmodo summary so far:
Gizmodo - God Bless Xbox: Microsoft's E3 News Roundup - Xbox 360

LOL my #1 reason for not owning a Wii

Which is a pretty big feature of this development. You don't have to give up graphics and laziness to play, you just have the option for the latter.

 

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

Could be cool for some games, and not so much for others.

 

[BuckeyeNation27]

The fanboys who bashed the Wii now own one.

 

[Dryden]

Because catching a Wiimote with your face when you and your drunk friends are playing Wii Sports Tennis isn't bad enough, now there's this, where you can inadvertantly round-house kick each other, your plasma, your dog, and your little sister too.



I am still not convinced until I see a real stage demo with real people.

 

[jwinslow]

where you can inadvertantly round-house kick each other, your plasma, your dog, and your little sister too.

You say this like it's a bad development for the rest of us.

 

[Dryden]

You say this like it's a bad development for the rest of us.

I say that with the realization that there is little real utility in these applications outside of being a gateway to introducing non-gamers to social gaming.

I expect the market for people who want to stand in front of their TVs and play motion controlled sports mini-games not made by Nintendo is about as big on the 360 platform as it is on Nintendo's own platform.

The tech in the video looked good, no doubt, but it doesn't answer any questions, such as (1) does it actually work that well and with zero latency in your living room (2) does it work 100% of the time, every time, with no interruptions/interferrence from your friends (3) does anyone actually want to play any of the games demonstrated in that mock-up video anyway?

Honestly, the coolest feature demoed in that video, to me, was the videoconferencing, and I don't have any use for videoconferencing.

My gut feeling is that Nintendo caught lightning in a bottle four years ago, and MS is going to spend a gazillion dollars trying to duplicate that feat. However, barring some really revolutionary gee-whiz technology that hasn't been shown/explained yet, this will make about as big a dent in the marketshare of the Wii as the Zune has managed to do to the iPod.

Going by MS's conference highlights, it appears to me that they're now not only three years too late in countering Ninty's blue ocean, but they're going to swim out there to make it a red ocean, which is precisely the wrong time to finally do it -- because Ninty's market appears to be withering just fine on it's own due to oversaturation and fad-backlash. A complete lack of compelling games properly leveraging the Wii Remote hurts too.

MS's big game announcements were Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2, Halo ODST, Alan Wake, Forza 3, and that a Solid Snake-less MGS: Rising and FFXIII are multi-plat. Over half these titles don't even drop until Spring 2010.

Is the best MS has to offer gamers this year really Facebook, Twitter and a Natal teaser?

IMHO, the biggest news out of E3 so far is the PSP Go. MS's gaming division has no direction. They're chasing a 50M casual market and ignoring the 150M handheld market.

 

[jwinslow]

I say that with the realization that there is little real utility in these applications outside of being a gateway to introducing non-gamers to social gaming.

A new realm of blooper reels is a useful utility to me. That was the extent of my remark (though I'm glad to be reminded how you feel about MS :p).

MS's big game announcements were Left 4 Dead 2, Crackdown 2, Halo ODST, Alan Wake, Forza 3, and that a Solid Snake-less MGS: Rising and FFXIII are multi-plat. Over half these titles don't even drop until Spring 2010.

L4D, Crackdown & Forza are not on par with Mass Effect 2. Wake is debatable. Splinter Cell is more entertaining to me than half of that exclusive list as well.

 

[jwinslow]

Gizmodo - PS3 Motion Controller May Be Best Game Motion Capture Yet - PlayStation Motion Controller

After Xbox 360's Project Natal, Sony is also adding their own motion controller to the PS3, aptly named The PlayStation Motion Controller. It's the best motion control demo that we have ever seen, but it may be arriving a little too late. The sampling of the motion is 1 to 1, extremely accurate and smooth, very tight, and moving at 60 frames per second.
Like the Wiimote, the new controller is a stick. However, instead of using gyroscopes and electronics, the PlayStation Motion Control is much simpler and elegant—and apparently way more effective than Wii Motion Plus. It uses a technique similar to Hollywood-style motion capture, with the PS Eye camera tracking a purple ball on the stick. There can be two sticks, which also have a trigger for first person shooters. The actual effect on screen is amazing, and it seems to kill the Wii Plus. The only bad news: The PlayStation Motion Controller will be launched in Spring 2010. It may just be too late.
The only question is: Would it be able to compete with the stick-less Project Natal?

Gizmodo - Hands On: Is The PSP Go! Too Small? - psp go

I just finished groping the PSP Go! After a few minutes with the new handheld, I know why Sony is keeping the classic PSP intact. The PSP Go! feels considerably smaller than the wider PSP—mostly because it is. And the feeling of actually playing is akin to a cellphone/PSP hybrid, a device like we expected to see from Ericsson for some time. Borrowing from Kotaku's game review process for a moment, here's my take on the PSP Go!:
What I Loved:
• The chrome triggers are the perfect level of clicky, and they extrude from the Go's body at just the right amount.
• With brushed metal, piano black and matte black, it's a nice looking machine in person with hardware that, for the most part, feels premium.
What I'm Not Sure About:
• Both the D-Pad and main game buttons don't press down very much. Sure, they were responsive, but it barely felt like you were pushing them down. The feeling would take some getting used to.
• The position of the single analog stick makes the device feel smaller than it really is (in a bad way). And it's just tough to use in its current, tiny-hand-intended system. I was left wondering, is the PSP Go! small, or are my hands just big?
What I Hated:
• The start/select buttons are just a waste of space on the controller. They could have been stuck anywhere. Instead, they spite you, taking up the spot that the second analog should be. Also, these two buttons simply don't feel as premium as the rest of the device.

 

[Dryden]

Yay. A voice for sanity and reason! :)

Five Things I Want to Know about Project Natal - PC World

...

Will Project Natal work as advertised?

The Natal-specific games Microsoft showed off yesterday at E3 were very Wii-like in their look and feel. One was a futuristic variation of Pong called Ricochet, where you would smack bouncing balls with your legs and arms against a wall; the other was something called Paint Party, where you use your avatar to create murals against a virtual canvas. Both games used very basic graphics and the movements required to play them were not particularly advanced. That may be due to the fact that both games were prototypes used as proof-of-concept software rather than commercially available games, but it wouldn't surprise me if earlier versions of Natal were rather limited in what they could do.

However, Microsoft also provided a video showing off other uses for Natal including a martial arts fighting game, a Pole Position-style racing game and some kind of Godzilla meets Pokemon rampage fantasy. But in the Natal demo video Microsoft was quick to state that the games shown were a product vision and that actual features and functions may vary.

Microsoft is famous for these types of product vision videos where it shows off what it thinks the future will look like. Those videos always look cool and are almost never accurate. The difference here is that Microsoft has a physical prototype accompanying its vision. But those disclaimers from Microsoft make me wonder how functional Project Natal really is.

...

 

[Dryden]

Well, shit. Everything I wrote ... I take it all back!

Interesting plot twist! Remember Johnny Chung Lee, the CMU wiz that demoed his own 3D head tracking hack using a Wii and a pair of safety goggles with LEDs about 18 months ago?

He's come out of hiding. He's been working for Microsoft on Natal.

If Johnny Chung Lee is amazed by the tech he's working with, then I'm amazed too.

I'm gonna ROFLMFAO if Ninty had the opportunity to hire Lee after his YouTube videos and passed. That could wind up being the dumbest business decision since Western Union passed on the patent for the telephone because the telegraph was so profitible.