A Look At Project Natal From Japan - Microsoft stopped at nothing to impress with the new 'Natal' system at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show (TGS). As the latest piece of gaming technology to offer the "wow" factor, it is perhaps unsurprising that Microsoft went all out to show off its new project...
Microsoft stopped at nothing to impress with the new 'Natal' system at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show (TGS). As the latest piece of gaming technology to offer the "wow" factor, it is perhaps unsurprising that Microsoft went all out to show off its new project.
Natal, so-named after a city in Brazil, offers players an advanced gaming experience that is quite incomparable to anything else that is currently in the public domain. Its creators have taken the motion-sensing technology of the Nintendo Wii and eliminated the need for a controller. So, a player of Natal games will use his, or her, entire body during gameplay.
During the Tokyo Game Show, the creators of Natal unveiled further points of interest, such as the infrared motion-sensing camera, which will ensure that games are not effected by the lighting conditions in which they are played, but, moreover, that the game can be adapted to fit a room of any shape, size and furnishings.
Kudo Tsunoda, creative director of project Natal, explains that the game space can be automatically moved, by the system, to avoid sofas, chairs and, in the case of smaller rooms, even walls. While demonstrating the advantages of Natal, Tsunoda also revealed that the system's microphone is able to identify individual voices in a room full of players.
In addition, Microsoft employed the assistance of three of the most influential game developers in Japan, who all commented on their appreciation of, and enthusiasm for, the Natal system at the TGS.
On the not so bright side, Tsunoda announced that it would be impossible to adapt existing games for Natal, because the code changes required are more excessive than could be achieved with a software patch. However, during the Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft did demonstrate Natal-adapted games, including Beautiful Katamari and Burnout Paradise.
When are we expected to be able to buy Project Natal and get it in our living rooms? Mostly likely we are currently looking at a late 2010 release date - just in time for Christmas.
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