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Microsoft’s Project Natal

June 11th, 2009 |

E3 is over and a lot of surprises have come out. Sony delivered a great show as well as Nintendo but nothing surprised us all more than Microsoft’s Project Natal.

Before I start, it’s best to describe what Project Natal is with this video.

Amazing isn’t it? So let’s get started what is Project Natal? Is it real? Is it out yet? Or is just a figment of your imagination? Let me tell you more about it.

What is Project Natal?

Project Natal is a gaming accessory that is currently being developed for the XBOX360 by Microsoft. For those who don’t know what an XBOX is, it’s a gaming console or device meant for playing games with a game controller. Project Natal, according to Microsoft, aims to change the gaming industry by turning the game controller from machine to man.

Don’t worry, Microsoft won’t be making robots or anything. What Microsoft plans to do is make the customer, ergo you, the controller. What does this mean? Every movement you make will be detected by this accessory. But how is that possible?

Project Natal has an RGB Camera, depth sensor and a multi-array microhphone along with a processor running on proprietary software. With these features, Project Natal can provide the customer with full-body motion capture, facial recognition, and of course with the microphone, voice recognition capabilities. That means you can interact with the game using both your body and voice. Sounds like the Wii doesn’t it?

Nintendo Wii vs. Microsoft’s Project Natal

Nintendo surprised the world with it’s revolutionary gaming console called the “Wii”. Originally named as the “Nintendo Revolution”, the Wii has been a great example of electronic-gaming evolving to a more physical activity rather than just a test of mind and wits. With the “Wii-mote”, gamers were given the opportunity to see their avatars or “Miis” move according to the movement the player does with the controller. The only problem Nintendo had was it didn’t feature next-generation graphics. The movements in the game also could be cheated by just flicking the Wii-mote. In a sense, Nintendo may have a revolutionary device, but it didn’t deliver the Wii as the next-generation of gaming.

Project Natal, instead of being Microsoft’s next gaming console, is proposed as an accessory for the Xbox 360. That means all the power of the XBOX 360 can be used to develop games using this accessory. Using next-generation graphics technology, the Xbox 360 along with Project Natal could be the true phase of next-generation gaming. Without using a controller of any sort, Project Natal sure does deliver a lot of promise versus the promises of Nintendo. The question is, will Project Natal really be able to feature all the things they showed in E3?

What does it look like?

Much like the Nintendo Wii’s Sensor, Project Natal is aroudn 9 inches long and is placed horizontally above or below the Monitor/TV display. As you can see on the right, it is connected to a base using a ball joint meaning it can be tilted or even rotated according to preference.

Are there any games that already support Project Natal?

As of now, there are no games that support the capabilities of Project Natal. But Fable Creator, Peter Molyneux, has been working with Natal for his upcoming project called the “Dimitri Project” or currently known as “Milo”. The game gives the player the capability to communicate and interact physically with a character named Milo (or Milly depending on who you choose). You can talk to him, catch whatever he throws at you and even interact with the objects in his world.

Video: Peter Molyneux on the “Milo Project” for Project Natal

During E3, Peter Molyneux showed a demo with Milo using a documentary video of the project being in development. The problem with the video is that a lot of people are claiming that the demo was recorded and entirely scripted. Although, knowing all of Project Natal’s capabilities, the features of the “Milo” game could be possible. The only problem is if it will be as responsive as it was in the video. The demo itself could be compared with the Killzone 2 demo during the Playstation 3 announcement a few years ago. The whole thing could either be fake or real.

Opinions on Project Natal

Do I want Project Natal? Definitely. Why not? It looks like it will be fun and anyone can enjoy the game without memorizing 12 buttons on a controller. Also, if Microsoft can truly achieve what they’ve shown on a lot of demos, the possibilities are endless. Imagine what the next Sims game would be like. Imagine a new type of First Person Shooter where you can actually dodge incoming fire physically. Also, boxing with Manny Pacquiao would be possible without getting hurt. But what I really want from this peripheral is to use it for motion capturing purposes for 3D Animation. Now that would be great.

The problems that I see so far with this accessory is the same thing I’ve experience with the Nintendo Wii, the responsiveness. Is it 100% accurate in terms of motion sensor? Will the voice recognition be able to recognize words to the extent of not over-repeating yourself? If Microsoft can clean up those issues then Project Natal will truly be the future of interactive entertainment.

Another concern I have is the pricing. This piece of equipment has amazing features that surely costs a lot during development. Also, if you need an XBOX360 to use this accessory that would make it feel like buying two gaming consoles in one. That is of course the price of Natal will be around the rumored price of $200 or more.

Project Natal truly looks promising. As someone who grew up with gaming and watching Sci-fi movies, Natal truly feels like the new wave of the future. I can say I’m truly excited on what this peripheral can offer and I’m willing to wait for this to come out before even thinking about getting a Playstation 3.

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