Kim: Project Natal will “reinvent the industry”

Mmm… hyperbole.

Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah.

As my daughter would say. She’s a bit rude, isn’t she? I don’t know where she gets it from.

Yeah, yeah, derivative, reinventing the industry, blah bloody blah.

Tell you what Shane, show me how it’s going to improve my favourite genres like action, FPS, sandbox and racing or show me exciting new possibilities with it and I’ll listen.

Hooray for the deep rooted cynicism of gaming culture.

Makes you wonder if anyone actually *enjoys* this hobby sometimes.

I’m actually excited for Natal… still doesn’t make what he said any less full of crap though.

“I’m actually excited for Natal… still doesn’t make what he said any less full of crap though. ”

Did the DS reinvent gaming?

Some who look at all the shovel-ware might say no. Some who looks at the many diverse games that use the touch screen at the core of their gameplay would say yes.

Is that reinvention? Not entirely, but it still bought a completely new way to play games to the tables, which is a pretty big deal.

Hopefully, the Natal won’t be any different.

Plus it was Shane Kim that said it. Which doesn’t help.

Shane Kim flaming is so 2008.

Aw, man. But it was so much fun!

Who are we flaming this year?

Cliffy B is always an easy target, but I think he was overdone a bit in 2007. Riccitiello also seems to get a hard time every so often, but why is beyond me.

I say we go with Iwata. He’s been saying some pretty delusional stuff lately, like the Wii satisfying the hardcore and all that.

Yeah, alright. I’m in!

I believe it when I see it.

Natal revolutionizing anything that is. Not Blerk flaming Cliff Barnes.

So, about that Iwata character…

Eye Toy + Wiimote…nice job Kim!

It’ll reinvent the casual market thats for sure, Netal out-casuals the Wii by the looks of it. The only way this could have any interest to the core is when its paired with the pad though i cant imagine it having much use other then simple head movement in that case.

And voice comms. Don’t forgett voice comms. Nothing beats shouting “Flank left” at your TV.

I’m not really all that amazed by voice recognition, Socom’s been doing it since 2003, with a headset bundled with every 360 MS could already start making games that use it.

OK Shane, I’ll bite.

But if it doesn’t reinvent gaming then I’m gonna be pissed…

“Eye Toy”

The Eye Toy does not have depth perception. Nor does it have motion capturing technology, which is basically what the Natal is, a low-quality motion capturing device. It detects physical movement within an object and applies it a 3D object on a 3D plane.

There’s no reason that object has to necessarily be a person either, when you think about it. It could be a wheel, or a golf stick, or a sword, or any number of things. It’s probably closer to the Six-Axis than it is the WiiMote, actually.

The device has *many* interesting possibilities. Imagine a Fight Night where you actually had to be the boxer yourself. The device is clearly capable of such things. We can only hope developers try to take advantage of it.

Tony Hawk must be pissed right about now though. They could have released Tony Hawk Ride without that stupid skateboard if they had known about this beforehand.

I’ve never really used the EyeToy but as far as i know it does/did do motion capturing without any other devices, i think that was the whole point of the EyePlay games.

The EyeToy judges movement based on light and gesture recognition. If it detects lights changing in a location, it regards that as movement. The device *requires* a well lit room to work, just to prove the point.

But you could use your foot instead of your head and it wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

It’s *completely* different technology.

It looks nice, it will allow new approaches, but its not going to replace many existing (and arguably better) approaches either.

I know its PR and marketing but why do execs always have to go over the top with the hyperbole? It actually ends up detracting from the subject rather than enhancing it.

In the end if your nuts about driving games a steering wheel and pedals is going to remain much better than Natal.

Platforming Lara Croft/Uncharted style is not going to be better with Natal (unless you not only have a large room but one with convenient furniture to climb on).

Certain sports titles, adventure titles and hopefully lots of new stuff could well be better.

Interface access will be better but that’s neither here nor there for the games – although I suspect the voice recognition is going to be more of a challenge than implied in the demo.

ROFL, my god

can’t wait to see how this shit addon will reinvent new ways to disappoint Microsoft. Ten gets you twenty it’ll be insanely overpriced and the casuals will say “zomg wii is cheaper lets buy it”

Not sure why people think this will be particularly expensive. The creators of the zcam (similar tech, but minus the microphone array) were initially targeting sub $100 and later reckoned they could do $69.99.

I’d be astonished if this launches for more than £60 (including a game or two).

What a load of BS! Wouldnt you just like to dropkick his smug little face? I reckon this whole natal things gonna really dissapoint when it is actually availiable, Its just another gimmick after all.

Mike O’ Connor, are you playing Devils Advocate? It’s a great game on Wii using motion controls. You know, those controls that Microsoft see as being the path to capturing the casual gaming market. No, of course they aren’t copying Nintendo.

It’s fairly straight-forward. Microsoft are now taking that leap that Nintendo did, but 5yrs later. Their new console is effectively a motion control system rather then the 720 or whatever we had probably guessed. They weren’t creative to take this risk before, so I wonder how they plan to really use this new tech beyond what they’ve seen other platforms do with similar stuffs. Big questions over whether they can really do this and…and they’ve announced it way before it’s ready. Be afraid.

PS3 of course, have their ten year plan so they are safe. Nintendo have their wii motion plus, with actual tangible games coming out in a month, so they are just absolute leaps and bounds in front of the rest still.

“PS3 of course, have their ten year plan so they are safe.”

bar voice recognition isn’t this just an eyetoy in effect?

I read this from an article, it was really good read however I couldn’t get the link to work.

“Your first car is as special as your first love. Whether you purchased it after years of working after-school jobs, or it was a graduation gift from thrilled parents, that otherwise soulless piece of machinery takes on the characteristics of a beloved pet. You name it, we dress it up, you let it become an inextricable part of our personality, and you have trouble letting them go. Even after the thing has become a leaky, noisy, smelly hazard to the health and safety of everyone around it, you still hold onto it for long after it should have been retired.

As we endure the Next Great Recession and are forced to make our possessions last longer, I wonder if the same sort of attachment will apply to home video game consoles.

At the E3 Expo last year, Sony Computer Entertainment America’s Jack Tretton said the PlayStation 3 is on a ten-year life cycle; and at this year’s event, Microsoft executive Shane Kim said the same of the Xbox 360. Not only will these devices be supported for ten years, they will be the primary video gaming vehicles for Sony and Microsoft for twice as long as most other video game consoles in history.

Power Up with Tim Conneally feature bannerMy peers have fond memories of the Nintendo Entertainment System, but by the time we were all about to enter high school, there were newer and better things to look forward to. By Sony and Microsoft’s timelines, a kid who got a PlayStation 3 in the second grade will theoretically have that console until he’s a freshman in college. That may not seem like a very long time to an adult who finds himself saying the Berlin Wall was knocked down “not that long ago,” but to a kid and computer alike, it’s forever.

In the United States, every fifth autumn for the last 24 years has brought the market at least one new major video game console. These releases are preceded by months of concept art, tech demos, and early launch title name-dropping. Following this cycle, the next console-bearing season will come in 2011. The period of time when we’d normally start seeing the first wave of hype for the next-generation consoles is right now. Instead, we’ve got companies showing off flashy new accoutrements for the current generation.

Rather than debut a brand new car, they’re offering improved steering.

By concentrating primarily on new peripherals and software support, gaming companies can save themselves the short-term risk and expense of console development in this unforgiving economic climate. But as a result of this choice, manufacturers are kicking console gaming behind PC gaming — which continues to advance unencumbered — by another generation.

Already, EA Europe Senior Vice President Patrick Soderlund has said the Xbox 360 has been “maxed out”, and Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto said the Wii has reached the point where games are getting too demanding for its limited resources.

While the current generation of consoles is indeed the most computer-like, they are still considered “closed box systems” — that is, their components cannot be upgraded. If these systems are intended to last for ten years, there will have to be some hardware acceleration to keep up with developer and user performance demands.

But we’ve seen what happens when game companies try to accelerate a closed system with add-ons…You get the 32X CD system, or the video game world’s equivalent of adding a huge aftermarket spoiler to a Nissan Sentra.

For consoles to truly make the jump from the sentimental kid’s toy to the first car, a degree of openness and upgradeability needs to be planned into their development. As we learned to change our own tires, oil, filters and such to keep our beloved beaters running, so too will kids learn to chain multiple GPUs and optimize the airflow in their video game systems to keep them going for ten years or more”

Some good thoughts in that post, but it does somewhat overlook the Wii. Sure it’s a new box and a new controller, but it is at the end of the day, little more than a reboxed Gamecube. 360 lite or PS3 slim bundled with their respective motion controllers will be no less fresh than the Wii was… although the fact that they carry the same name means they won’t be perceived as fresh.

Did you write this BDH?

“manufacturers are kicking console gaming behind PC gaming — which continues to advance unencumbered — by another generation”

“Mike O’Connor, are you playing Devils Advocate?”

I apologise for not having a cynical, apocalyptic, and negative outlook on the industry. Do forgive me.

“Microsoft are now taking that leap that Nintendo did, but 5yrs later.”

Sure, it’s blatantly a move to grab the same market as Nintendo, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s very different technology, nor does it discount its potential.

It’s clearly not a revolution though… It’s a technical advancement.

And the chnace that something will revolutionise gamign halfways throguh the generation, while trying to capture the success, a competitor has had for the first half of the generation is delusional.

But whatever. I don’t want to take a stnace on it particulalry. It’s just a stupid thing to do. Make your own insanely difficult technolgoy to get to grips with, when people are struggling to create games for the market leader’s odd motion technology. All the while having the smallest first party.

It is just stupid to me.

“Tony Hawk must be pissed right about now though. They could have released Tony Hawk Ride without that stupid skateboard if they had known about this beforehand.”

And waited 2-3 years.

@Michael, it doesn’t discount it, but it’s at a massive disadvantage, that should be greeted with some cynicism.

People who shout they are goign to revolutionise stuff, never do. It creeps up on people.

no I didn’t write that the name of the article is called “How long can Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 survive on life support?”

Mike – “I apologise for not having a cynical, apocalyptic, and negative outlook on the industry. Do forgive me.”

Sure, I agree that’s definitely there, I argue with such people on a daily basis. But in this case, i don’t think being skeptical of what Mr Kim is saying necessarily ticks those boxes.

It’s just…this is not as staggeringly new or that risky, because both Sony and more importantly Nintendo have already done these things. Yes, I am impressed with z-cam technology but i’ll be more impressed with tangible games within some kind of time frame. Right now, getting excited about smoke & mirrors seems odd.