E3 2009: Microsoft unveils Project Natal – Xbox 360 motion-sensing
E3 2009 kicked off yesterday in Los Angeles, and Microsoft was the first of the big three to show its hand. And show its hand it did, quite literally. As widely anticipated, Microsoft unveiled its efforts to bring motion-sensing to the Xbox 360. But forget the Wii and its pathetic efforts to simulate real-life, as Project Natal looks like a true game-changer.
In the build-up to E3 2009 there was strong evidence that Microsoft was preparing to enter the world of motion-sensing controls for Xbox 360 games. And so it proved, with Project Natal being the star of Microsoft’s showing at the event, as reported first by Engadget.
Project Natal is a sensor bar similar to one which ships with the Wii. Except this thing takes the concept of motion-sensing controls a couple (of hundred) stages further. The bar contains a 3D camera, depth sensor, and microphone, all controlled by a separate processor. And it makes full-body motion-sensing possible without the need for any extra peripherals or controllers.
Microsoft states, and the video below suggests, that Project Natal can detect any movements from any part of your body. This means the sky is the limit when it comes to the possibilities opened up to developers. They are really only going to be stifled by the boundaries of their creativity, rather than a lack of technical ability.
As well as the obvious uses for the device, the sensors are also capable of recognizing individual users and understanding emotion from facial expressions. So you can be signed in to your dashboard without actually signing in, and then interact with characters on screen by talking and expressing particular emotions.
Or at least that’s the theory. The demos on display and the hyperbole coming from Microsoft is very, very impressive. And for someone who has so far been wholly unimpressed by motion-sensing gaming on the Wii, that’s saying something. But I do wonder if the final product will either cost a fortune or have to be scaled back in order not to.
The idea of full-body motion-sensing of this magnitude excites me more than is healthy, and if true would blow Nintendo and its MotionPlus out of the water. But with Microsoft stating that Project Natal won’t be seeing the light of day anytime soon (until at least next year), I’ll take the pessimistic view until I actually get to hook it up to my Xbox 360 and try it out for myself.
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63 Responses to “E3 2009: Microsoft unveils Project Natal – Xbox 360 motion-sensing”
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June 2nd, 2009
Probably about 12-18 months at least before this sees the light of day.
I bet they’ll still be showing it at next years E3.
Looks good though…though it’s worth bearing in mind that PS Eye has been able to do the basic concept of this for 2 years…so it should be interesting to see if Sony have refined it for tomorrow.
June 2nd, 2009
Sounds like a recipe for very sloppy controls to me.
At least the Wii has some buttons.
June 2nd, 2009
PLAYSTATION Eye is still ten times better.
Microsoft’s E3 Conference was a major let down.
The Xbox 360 is closer to be a Dreamcast.
June 2nd, 2009
Looks very cool.
But honestly, another copy of tech/ideas from other companies. A mix between sony eyetoy and wii waggle.
June 2nd, 2009
Oh shut up Ivan …. FFS
June 2nd, 2009
June 2nd, 2009
Sony’s big announcement is that they’re killing UMD.
June 2nd, 2009
The Ivan bot seems to increase in stupidity whenever E3 rolls around. I noticed he was the same jibbering idiot last year.
June 2nd, 2009
This sure beats the PSP-Go news. No UMDs? C’mon!
June 2nd, 2009
Microsoft loves following Sega’s history good for them. Was the big news from Microsoft’s E3 i saw the conference but i didn’t anything new i already knew all of that without Hideo’s mistake.
http://e3.gamespot.com/press-conference/sony-e3/
http://video.ign.com/streaming/e3-2009/
http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/209543/8-things-every-playstation-3-owner-should-know/
http://www.gamepro.com/e3/
http://e3.g4tv.com/e32009/pressconferences/
http://www.us.playstation.com
http://home.earthlink.net/~ivan-playstation/
June 2nd, 2009
If PSP-go had touch screen, I would be interested.
June 2nd, 2009
If the demo represents half the initial abilities it’ll sell like no tomorrow.
It’s a genuine step-change in gaming.
It’s a genuine step change in computing too.
Not much need for a keyboard, mouse or any sort of controller.
What it’ll be like 3 or 4 yrs down the line is anyone’s guess but I have a felling that if its done right it’ll change gaming, computing and home a/v radically.
June 2nd, 2009
The only way this will have any measure of success is if they included it with the arcade. Otherwise I see it being another forgotten peripheral.
I always figured Sony would be the one to perfect the ps eye for motion control games as it was their idea to begin with.
June 2nd, 2009
They did do a great job of showing it off. Having the voice and motion integrated into NXBE (or what ever they call it) is a really nice touch.
Ultimately I think games & art thing they showed were cool, but not my cup of tea.
Peter Molyneux – is full of crap. I think he way oversold the whole AI interaction aspect of it. He has a history of over hyping things. The water effects and scan were the only things that were real, and yes – the PS eye does do that.
Over all it’s a very cool idea and seems to be very nicely done. I’m not sure this is going to change gaming the way they were hyping it. I can see this being a novelty item, but not a revolution in gaming.
June 2nd, 2009
Waste of time…
X360 owners are not going to waste their time moving like idiots like the wii owners do
June 2nd, 2009
Crackdown 2 is the only game im interested in.
and Metal Gear Rising. but as we all know its also coming for the PS3.
im really disppointed M$ didnt announced new IP or any new games. Splinter Cell boring, it doesnt have all the Icony characters as MSG4
June 2nd, 2009
MGS on the 360 almost seems like a slap in the face to splinter cell. I always associated splinter cell with the Xbox brand and when MS announced it finally got the series, I was just thinking of Ubisoft, muttering profanities to themselves.
June 2nd, 2009
M$ is really Killing halo, the Franchise was pretty much dead after Halo 2, but come on, they think they can survive with just Halo and Gears of War.
June 2nd, 2009
phranc’s got it right…that’s why I don’t really see Gears coming to the PS3, it’d be a slap in the face to Guerrilla.
June 2nd, 2009
What a load of crap. I doubt that will ever work that well. I hope Soney doesn’t go with this nonsense.
June 2nd, 2009
Well there we are, it’ll never happen or it’ll never work or it’ll be too expensive.
Nothing to see here then, eh?
Bitter much, ladies?
June 2nd, 2009
Nothing new where are the new announcement that we did not know Microsoft is full of shit. I mean Crackdown 2 pathetic that ain’t nothing good mediocre. Raiden = Not Snake baby
June 2nd, 2009
LMAO
Laughably desperate Ivan.
Get the blinkers on, put your fingers in your ears and shout “la la la la la…..etc etc” as loud as you can.
We just saw where everything from PCs to gaming to home entertainment is headed in the next couple of years (this Natal stuff is so much bigger than just gaming) and all you can imagine is a laughably weak bash.
June 2nd, 2009
Settle Mr RAGE.
June 2nd, 2009
Love the idea, but I doubt any of the current gen consoles would have the processing power to cope with the requirement of both realtime voice recognition, visual recognition and highspeed motion detection. You’d struggle to get a £3000 PC to do this, if at all. Maybe the PS4 or xbox 720 could manage.
June 2nd, 2009
Ivan – In infamous I’m playing through as a good guy. I’m more than halfway through the game and all of the sudden I keep getting negative karma for the story missions. It’s happened on the last 5 story missions or so. WTF?
June 2nd, 2009
Barnabe;
while in a mission, if you kill (by mistake) alot of innocent people you are going to get a negative Karma at the end of the mission.
HH,
“this Natal stuff is so much bigger than just gaming”
we all know everybody who bought a Wii doesnt even play it anymore. M$ is desperate right now but the Natal thing is going to be a failure.
June 2nd, 2009
I think that in order for natal to take off it has to be able to detect very small movements.
I don’t want to swing my arm in a robot like fashion like he had to on stage, I want to point with 2 fingers and move around like that, all while not sticking my arm out in front like a lemon.
As it stands I am betting its a hell of a alot faster and more accurate to use a remote control (or gamepad).
June 2nd, 2009
A release in Fall 2010 at the earliest, according to Keighley.
Which is not at all surprising.
June 2nd, 2009
Roca, but it’s happening on missions where there are almost no civilians around. A sewer level & the level with the tower and Ray sphere for example.
Some of the other missions, I might have killed civilians… but it seems like it just started giving me negative Karma regardless. It’s not that big of an impact on my rank and I can get it back easily. I’m just concerned it might effect the story.
June 2nd, 2009
uhmmmm thats weird.
June 2nd, 2009
@BJ.
watch the grenades. Sometimes when you wrap people up with the grenade, you can inadvertantly kill them and earn negative karma.
June 2nd, 2009
“It’s a genuine step-change in gaming.
It’s a genuine step change in computing too.
Not much need for a keyboard, mouse or any sort of controller.
What it’ll be like 3 or 4 yrs down the line is anyone’s guess but I have a felling that if its done right it’ll change gaming, computing and home a/v radically.”
Are you absolutely SURE you’re not getting at least a LITTLE carried away here, Mr. Hockum?
-Arvis
June 2nd, 2009
I wonder why they chose the name Natal?
At the moment we are Pre-Natal, and in a year or so we’ll be Post-Natal… And if it sucks we can all claim Postpartum depression.
I should sell my marketting idea to link Natal with Pregnant Women… It could be groundbreaking and revolutionary!
June 2nd, 2009
mgs coming to the 360? now that’s funny…
why am i supposed to want a ps3 again?
June 2nd, 2009
Spideydog
Go do your lame leg-humping stalker act on someone who’s interested.
SW
The people playing the racing game were using more ‘fine’ movements.
Arvis
Even if it takes a couple of years refinement can you honestly not see the potential this has?
Computing and gaming and home entertainment controlled by voice and body movement only, coupled to facial recognition?
You really don’t think that will be big or have the much wider application I’ve mentioned?!
June 2nd, 2009
No no, Happy, don’t get me wrong, what you’re describing sounds great, of course. But I think it’s a little… premature, to leap to that just from the little camera device Microsoft exhibited. I mean, the PS2′s EyeToy had similar body movement recognition (not nearly as advanced, mind you) but that was like 5 years ago now and we’re still a long way away from any real “step-change” in that kind of technology. Natal seems to be an upgrade, certainly, but I don’t see how it really changes anything quite yet.
I don’t know, maybe I don’t fully understand it yet.
-Arvis
June 2nd, 2009
Arvis
I just can’t see Microsoft doing the whole ‘Minority Report’ demo (Spielberg’s attendance obviously not being coincidental to this either) if they were not close to releasing it and it being as shown.
They have been making all sorts of noises about the death of input devices in computing generally, it seems pretty obvious to me that this is what they have been hinting about.
The next year or so will show all, I guess.
June 2nd, 2009
Well for all the nay-sayers there is already people who have got a try at the new motion control and they have testified that it does work just like you saw it and they were also skepitacle about the functionality they saw at the Press Confrence. That to me say a lot about the practicality of this new device. Oh I can’t wait. But I understand that the Motion Control from Gametrack is also coming. That has a waggel device and it’s suppose to be coming to the 360 and the PS3. I just believe that a Motion control like the Gametrack device is just better for shooters.
June 2nd, 2009
Now they just need to combine 2-3 of these cameras(+ software) with a VR headset and I will buy as many as I can fit into my house (yes, still waiting for a REAL/Cheap in house VR system).
June 2nd, 2009
I’m looking forward to the 1st true ‘air guitar’ GH game.
(extra points for some good rock-star gurning & wiggling fingers?)
June 2nd, 2009
Sorry, I don’t like it. I don’t like anything about the Natal, and the Milo thing creeps me out.
I like my Fourth Wall thank you very much. Talking to fictional characters would be just too creepy.
June 2nd, 2009
Kev:
“Producer Dan Greenawalt promised over 400 cars from 50 manufacturers,â€
as the just announce “The PSP GT will feature 800 cars and 35 tracks.â€
The PSP version is pissing all over FORZA 3
June 2nd, 2009
Roca
You say that like anyone cares.
400 cars, 50 manufacturers v 800 cars.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Yeah really incredibly important.
June 2nd, 2009
4:06 p.m.: Tretton wraps up the briefing. Looks like Sony kept a couple bits of news under wraps, namely the motion control demos and Final Fantasy XIV. Readers, what did you think?
4:05 p.m.: The size of these enemies is pretty astounding. An enormous reddish creature lurks in the background. For those familiar with the series, he’s about as big as Ares in the early parts of the first game. God of War III is slated for release in March 2010.
4:03 p.m.: Kratos vanquishes a minotaur wielding a huge staff. Attacks work similarly to how players would battle a cyclops in earlier games.
4:01 p.m.: The demos shows Kratos navigating a series of tunnels by grabbing harpies with his swords and using them to fly across.
3:59 p.m.: Saving the best for last, it seems. Kratos makes his appearance, as developers prepare a demo of God of War III.
3:57 p.m.: Next up: Gran Turismo 5. Sony whips out a brand new trailer for the racing franchise. The game looks great. I wonder how they handle the release of this game for owners of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.
3:53 p.m.: The game focuses on a young boy befriended by a giant creature resembling a griffin. The two characters seem to work together cooperatively.
3:52 p.m.: The recently leaked video of their latest project looks to be legitimate. If you haven’t seen it, search for Project Trico on YouTube.
3:50 p.m.: Tretton now discussing the next project from the developers behind ICO. The game is called The Last Guardian.
3:45 p.m.: Players can also create their own tracks by driving a vehicle around a blank, green field. Players can turn tracks to dirt and add mountainous terrain. The level of customization is rather robust.
3:44 p.m.: Producers showing ModNation Racers in action. The style of play is reminiscent of Mario Kart.
3:42 p.m.: Players can create their own drivers and go-karts, United Front producers say. The templates look similar to the LittleBigPlanet characters, without all the burlap.
3:41 p.m.: Tretton introduces United Front Games developers to discuss ModNation Racers, a community game inspired by LittleBigPlanet, where players can play, create and share.
3:39 p.m.: Tretton says motion controls for the PS3 will launch in Spring 2010.
3:38 p.m.: The producer jumps into first-person view to demonstrate use of a bow and arrow. One remote serves as the bow, while the other pulls the bow string.
3:36 p.m.: Using two remotes, the producer is controlling a figure carrying a sword and shield. Holding his right arm high to guard, he executes quick flicks and strokes with the other controller for sword attacks.
3:35 p.m.: The controller can be used to write with as well. A producer is using it to write on a virtual notepad and to coat a wall with a can of spray paint.
3:33 p.m.: Now developers are using the remote as a mace, a whip and a gun. The device looks about as big as a Wii remote.
3:31 p.m.: The controller on screen is changing to different objects, including a tennis racket, baseball bat and stop sign. Movement seems quite precise.
3:30 p.m.: The developer is holding a wand with a bright blue light at the end. The device will incorporate the PlayStation EyeToy camera.
3:29 p.m.: PlayStation joins the motion controller party. Developers for the technology are about to show off a demo.
3:28 p.m.: “So there’s one that didn’t leak out, huh?” Tretton says to laughter after the Final Fantasy XIV trailer.
3:26 p.m.: To the audience’s shock, Tretton just revealed another exclusive for the PlayStation 3: Final Fantasy XIV Online.
3:23 p.m.: Final Fantasy XIII looking very strong. Eager to see how they’ve handled the battle system.
3:20 p.m.: Tretton moves on to Square Enix, and a trailer for Final Fantasy XIII.
3:18 p.m.: Producers take Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying machine for a test flight. It works much like a glider. Assassin’s Creed II takes place in the 15th Century during the Renaissance.
3:16 p.m.: Ubisoft showcasing a demo of Assassin’s Creed II. It begins with an outdoor party nears the canals of Venice. The detail on buildings and the bright fireworks exploding in the air is amazing.
3:14 p.m.: Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto) is working on an exclusive for the PlayStation 3, titled Agent. Very few details on the game.
3:12 p.m.: God of War III concludes the montage, and generates the loudest applause.
3:10 p.m.: Tretton highlighting the PlayStation 3 lineup. Among the games shown: Final Fantasy XIII, Batman: Arkham Asylum, inFAMOUS, Ninja Gaiden and Tekken 6.
3:08 p.m.: Watching the bizarre image of Chun-Li from Street Fighter IV performing the running man on PlayStation Home. I’m scarred.
3:05 p.m.: Tretton moving on to PlayStation Home, the social network for the PlayStation 3. Tretton says third-party publishers such as Activision and Eidos will add content to the service.
3:03 p.m.: Tretton advances to the PlayStation Network, which currently has 24 million registered users worldwide. Tretton says more than 475 million pieces of content have been downloaded. PSN will add 50 PlayStation One titles to its library, including the highly-revered role-playing game Final Fantasy VII.
3:00 p.m.: Sony trots out a montage of the big titles for PSP in 2009. Among them: LittleBigPlanet, Jak and Daxter and Soulcalibur.
2:58 p.m.: Tretton returns to reveal a new portable version of Resident Evil, in a game “specifically designed for the PSP platform, Tretton says.
2:54 p.m.: Kojima unveils trailer for Peace Walker. “The cries for a hero bring the dawn of the new era,” the teaser proclaims. Footage of game in action is very impressive. The game is scheduled for release in 2010.
2:52 p.m.: Solid Snake will also appear on the PSP Go, in a game called Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The game takes place 10 years after Metal Gear Solid 3. Creator Hideo Kojima calls it a “true sequel to the Metal Gear Solid franchise.” The main development team from Metal Gear Solid 4, for the PlayStation 3, will work on the game, and Kojima will write the plot script.
2:50 p.m.: Gran Turismo will serve as a launch title for the Go on October 1st.
2:48 p.m.: Sony showing a trailer for Gran Turismo on PSP Go. Arguably the best looking PSP game I’ve seen in a while. Also, another note on PSP Go: Hirai says the device will be significantly smaller and lighter than the current model.
2:45 p.m.: Yamauchi says this will be a full-featured version of the franchise for the portable, including Legacy License mode, ad-hoc racing with up to four players, and the ability to share cars in their garage with other players.
2:43 p.m.: Kazunouri Yamauchi, the creator of Gran Turismo, is on stage to reveal the debut of the racing franchise for the PSP.
2:42 p.m.: Users of the PSP will now have access to Sony’s video download service, Hirai says. Sony has also announced new content deals with Showtime, G4, TNT and a host of other networks.
2:40 p.m.: Media Go will also work on older PlayStation Portables, Hirai says. The PSP Go will sell for $249 starting October 1 in North America and Europe.
2:38 p.m.: The device will include 16GB of internal Flash memory, built-in Wi-Fi and Integrated Bluetooth. The main screen slides upward to reveal a directional pad, thumbstick and four face buttons. PSP Go will also provide access to a new online store called Media Go.
2:36 p.m.: Sony executive Kaz Hirai pulls out the revamped PlayStation Portable, called the PSP Go. “We have a few different names for the device. The first is the worst kept secret of E3,” Hirai says.
2:34 p.m.: Tretton focusing on the games, including Dissidia Final Fantasy, Rock Band Unplugged and an Assassin’s Creed title. But what gets the crowd roaring is the Hannah Montana PSP bundle. Nothing like sarcastic applause.
2:32 p.m.: Tretton moves on to the PlayStation Portable. Is the rumored announcement of a new handheld imminent?
2:30 p.m.: Beaudoin says they will run demos of the game featuring full 256-player matches. Still can’t wrap my mind around that number.
2:28 p.m.: Teans are broken up into eight-player squads. About 30 or so players can be seen on the screen at once.
2:26 p.m.: Tretton introduces Andy Beaudoin from Zipper Interactive, who will show off a demo of MAG, a military shooter that can host up to 256 players online at once.
2:24 p.m.: Drake just escapes a building collapse during his encounter. Stunning.
2:21 p.m.: Footage of the single-player campaign for Uncharted 2 being shown. The vistas and environmental details are incredible. Lead character Nathan Drake is battling an attack helicopter one-on-one.
2:19 p.m.: Tretton discussing inFAMOUS, adds it is one of 35 exclusives expected to appear this year on PS3. Naughty Dog developers arrive to talk Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. The multiplayer beta debuts tonight at midnight.
2:18 p.m.: Sales data: PlayStation 3 has sold 22 million globally. By comparison, Xbox just passed 30 million, while the Wii is over 50 million.
2:16 p.m,: Tretton on the lifecycle of the PlayStation 2: “We’re committed to this system as long as consumers see value in it.” Tretton says 100 new titles will release for PS2 this year.
2:13 p.m. ET: Sony Computer Entertainment Jack Tretton takes the stage to kick things off, following a long montage of the PlayStation lineup.
June 2nd, 2009
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You’re a loser
June 2nd, 2009
Oh I just love watching that Video.
June 2nd, 2009
You just keep proving my point HH. You have anger issues !!!!!
June 2nd, 2009
You continually personally attack other posters and cry foul when your pulled up on it …..
June 2nd, 2009
GT PSP > Forza? Where’s Kev?
June 2nd, 2009
Oh please, it’s probably going to be like GT4 where you have the one car with about 10-15 different decals on it.
June 2nd, 2009
Spideydog
You sensitive little flower.
You think that’s an “attack”!?
LMAO
poor wittle wee lambykins
Wise up or go stalk someone else, fool.
June 2nd, 2009
Yeah I’m going to agree with harry here. I suspect you’ll get multiple versions of the same car.
One thing to remember tho is that they do have multiple ‘genres’ of racing now such as rally, nascar etc. That could be a reason for the number being so high also (because of course the more cars you have to more ‘duplicates with differant paint jobs’ you’ll get)…
June 3rd, 2009
And yet your still going – Mr RAGE You call me the stalker and your personal attacks continue.
Besides, when I said personal attacks, I was referring to the ones you have been flinging at everyone else. Not me.
You still live in denial !!!!
June 3rd, 2009
!!!!
June 3rd, 2009
Ok boys, i’ve seen enough.
*throws the warming KY jelly, rubber gloves, egg beater and stirrups at both of you*
The sooner you two get this over with, the sooner we can move on to the more important things.
June 3rd, 2009
Stop trying to ruin my fun Harry ….. lol He just kept on biting !!!!
June 3rd, 2009
Olive branch out —–>
June 3rd, 2009
Real men use rusty old pieces of metal.
June 3rd, 2009
Rusty old piece of metal —–>
June 3rd, 2009
Hugs and kisses (but don’t expect anything more).
harry, you’re a sick sick man.
(stirrups and egg beater!
FFS
and I though my education was pretty broad!)
June 4th, 2009
T3 give their impressions (after a try out with the Natal stuff) here –
h**p://www.t3.com/news/microsoft-xbox-360-natal-first-play?=39035
June 8th, 2009
Could someone please remove Ivan’s fake live blog spam above?