Tue, Jun 02, 2009 | 12:56 BST
Spielberg ‘throws away’ current work to focus on ‘heart-breaking’ Natal
Steven Spielberg has told the BBC that everything he’s working on with EA is now in the bin. Why? Because now he’s got Natal.
“I’m currently making videogames through EA, and right now I’m so excited to be able to write for [Natal],” he said, talking alongside MS entertainment boss Don Mattrick after the Microsoft E3 press conference last night.
“That’s what I’m most excited about, because it sort of changes the paradigm of what I would have written for last week, now all that has been thrown away and it’s a whole new world, a whole new beginning.”
The body-sensing tech, the creator said, will pull down the barriers experienced by many when they first pick up a game controller.
“This is going to try to bring those that are intimidated or scared of the technology, with what the buttons do or what the controller does, this is going to give people that don’t usually play videogames access to a whole new world that we know is compelling but they haven’t quite discovered yet,” he said.
“I think they’ll discover it through Natal.”
Spielberg added that Natal is a step in allowing developers to create truly emotional content.
“I don’t really know of a convergence, and I can’t give you a date for convergence, but so far, the videogame industry has not allowed us the opportunity to cry while we’re playing a videogame because we’re too busy putting our adrenaline rush into the controller, or to wherever we have to swing our arm with the Wii controller, to get a result, to achieve a level of success,” he said.
“Because of that there’s no room for a videogame to break your heart. I think, in terms of a technology, we have a little more room, to be much more emotional with the Natal technology than we ever have before.”
You must watch that interview. Hit this for details on the Nintendo and Sony conferences today. Let’s see if they can do better than this.
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Posted in: E3 2009, Hot, Microsoft, Simulation, Xbox 360
Tags: Don Mattrick, microsoft e3 press conference 2009, project natal, steven spielberg
26 comments
#1
Blerk
02/06/09, 12:50 pm
Boom Blox 360 confirmed!
#2
G1GAHURTZ
02/06/09, 12:51 pm
Go back to making films about sharks, Steve.
#3
Suikoden Fan
02/06/09, 12:53 pm
That’ll make EA happy
#4
Patrick Garratt
02/06/09, 12:53 pm
It’ll certainly make Microsoft happy.
#5
blackdreamhunk
02/06/09, 12:54 pm
lol natal was a pc gaming product first.:P natal is system that would work better for onlive rather xbox 360. I have to agree natal could work.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-10239304-235.html
#6
G1GAHURTZ
02/06/09, 12:58 pm
LOL!
You really are relentless! LOL!
I give you 10/10 for effort.
#7
Psychotext
02/06/09, 1:03 pm
Natal with onlive… yes, that would be a great idea.
/moves
/waits
#8
anasui
02/06/09, 1:06 pm
I thought he started throwing away his work with Indy 4
and all of this to work on the new Eyetoy…oh god, real-time writing the new chapter in videogame flops, cannot miss this one
#9
Gekidami
02/06/09, 1:07 pm
When someone wants the whole games industry to be made up of casual mini games can they really be considered a gamer?
#10
Suikoden Fan
02/06/09, 1:08 pm
no
#11
Michael O'Connor
02/06/09, 1:08 pm
““I don’t really know of a convergence, and I can’t give you a date for convergence, but so far, the videogame industry has not allowed us the opportunity to cry while we’re playing a videogame because we’re too busy putting our adrenaline rush into the controller,”
The guy clearly hasn’t played Ico.
The ending of that game made me bawl like a complete baby for half an hour… =’(
#12
BillyBatts
02/06/09, 1:13 pm
Jeez, he’s starting to look old isn’t he?
#13
Gekidami
02/06/09, 1:15 pm
Casual gamer movie director whose full of himself proves that he knows nothing. plenty of games can make a person emotional which is more then i can say for his movies.
#14
Morrius
02/06/09, 1:18 pm
Jurassic Park: Natal edition.
FUCKING RUN FOR IT THERES A FUCKING T REX.
AWW TOUCH THE LICKLE TRICERATOPS.
FONDLE THE RAPTOR GENITALIA.
etc.
#15
JonFE
02/06/09, 1:27 pm
What about Natal support for that next-gen Indiana Jones action-adventure LucasArts were working on? Can you imagine the possibilities?
Oh come on Steven – you know you want to!
/drools
#16
Gekidami
02/06/09, 1:30 pm
What possibilities exactly?
#17
JonFE
02/06/09, 1:36 pm
Acting the part of Indy throughout the game of course! Punching and kicking and whipping your enemies for starters!
#18
Gekidami
02/06/09, 1:41 pm
So it wouldnt be an action adventure any more but a sort of on-rails RPG…?
#19
pleasant_cabbage
02/06/09, 1:44 pm
Why would it need to be on rails? They’ve already demoed camera head tracking and movement by just moving one foot and this works with the pad too.
#20
JonFE
02/06/09, 1:44 pm
On the contrary, all the action could be pretty much live. Moving/running forward could be assigned to a standard controller, but fighting and interacting with the environment left to Natal.
#21
Gekidami
02/06/09, 1:45 pm
So you would have to switch between the pad and your bear hands? Sounds awkward, unless you want to swing the pad as if it were a weapon i guess…
#22
JonFE
02/06/09, 1:56 pm
I’m quite positive that if they can accurately detect and analyze in real time all those body movements they showed on the video (and I realize that is a very big IF) detecting walking would be the least of their problems, so maybe a pad isn’t actually necessary. Running on the other hand could prove problematic.
However, holding the pad while performing the various actions could also work – it’s not that heavy anyway.
Anyway, the proof is in the pudding, as they say (is that an actual phrase? – English is not my native language)… If MS can get Natal to work as demonstrated, an action game like that may prove to be feasible easier than, say, Lionhead’s Milo project…
#23
anasui
02/06/09, 2:06 pm
yes, phrase is correct, altho it’d be more like Proof of the pudding is the eating
it definitely proves something. It proves that my girlfriend can’t do pudding for shit
#24
JonFE
02/06/09, 2:20 pm
Thanks anasui for the clarification!
#25
Suikoden Fan
02/06/09, 3:19 pm
My mate said imagine the sex games you could have with Natal, i’m not sure how to respond to him
#26
Cort
02/06/09, 3:50 pm
“…right now I’m so excited to be able to write for [Natal]“.
Woohoo. Aliens and happy endings for morons.