Live from E3 it’s mind-blowing innovation
from…Microsoft?
Yes, I gave into the allure of Xbox’s E3
Press Conference. With rumours of previously exclusive titles coming to the Xbox (360
owners were offered instead of a port, a brand new Metal Gear game) as well as anticipated
sequels (Forza 3 and Crackdown 2 made appearances) it was hard to resist. But Microsoft already had me, hook, line and sinker when they refused to quell
rumours of a motion tracking device similar to that of the Wii. Hours into the press conference yielded only
trailers and live-gameplay, leaving me curious if all the peripheral-hype was for
naught. But then Xbox finally revealed the cards they’d held close to the
chest. Now, keep in mind that I waited a good while after watching the live
footage to write this article, just to let the hype run its course. So when I
say the following I do so moderately sober from the euphoric effects of the
Xbox marketing rhetoric; what Microsoft has here has the potential to revolutionize home entertainment.
A bold claim, n’est pas? Well, I can assure
you that it’s a tamed down version from what Lionhead Studios Peter Molyneux and Steven
Spielberg (yes, that Spielberg) had to say on stage. If you didn’t watch the
event, here’s a breakdown. But be sure to check out the trailers linked in this article as this thing almost needs to be seen to be believed:
- The peripheral is being called by its
codename ‘Natal’ (reportedly after a Brazilian city by one of the staffers working
on the project. And while it was partly selected to reflect the ‘birthing’
motif, Microsoft wants you to say it like ‘Natal’ in ‘Natalie’
as opposed to ‘pre-natal’)
- The camera is capable of tracking full
body movements in 3-D in realtime without any additional hardware (so you can
forget about finally using that motion-capture suit you bought at that garage
sale). From small movements such as wrists flicks to navigate menus, to head
nodding and kicking to play sports game, the Natal is capable of
some pretty impressive feats
- Natal can detect
multiple people at once. This means full motion interaction between, say two
players in a head-to-head game or a nuclear family playing a game show (in the
demo said gameshow was Buzz and each family member would buzz in by slamming
their fists in a downward motion)
- The peripheral also sports facial and
voice recognition. One application of this is to have your Xbox turn on when
the camera sees you in the room. The system will also use voice recognition to
differentiate between players. But as Peter Molyneux would later show, Natal can do so much more
- It will work with all Xbox 360s (old and new)
- Neither a price or release date was announced
A couple of examples:
-During the event there was a live
demonstration of a woman on-stage playing a full-body version of Breakout.
Basically she would swing her arm in the direction of a ball hovering
on-screen. Natal would immediately represent that movement and knock the ball into
action. It would then fly down a corridor and destroy some blocks before
bouncing back at her. She’d strike the ball once again, with the game apparently picking
up on the momentum of her swing and representing that in the increased speed of
the ball. The woman used all her limbs, heading the ball, using her thighs, even
kick-serving a starter ball that was about chest high
-Another example, viewable in this trailer, shows a girl with her hands held as though they were wrapped around a steering
wheel. She’d turn them and on-screen the race car would turn. She then pulled
into a pit-stop at which point her father stepped forward and proceeded to replace a
tire, unscrewing the bolts and leaning over to pick up the on-screen
replacement tire.
And if that wasn’t enough, Peter Molyneux
came out and showed off a tech demo of an interactive app his Lionhead Stuidos has
been working on. In short, it was a fully animated child named Milo who was capable of
recognizing facial expressions (and therefore, apparently, emotions), as well
as recalling voices. In the demo was a Lionhead employee interacting with Milo and carrying on a dialogue. When Milo asked her to draw him a picture,
she did so and then ‘handed’ it over the camera. The boy reached up and
‘received’ the picture and proceeded to comment on the colour and shape of the
fish she had drawn (!)
Needless to say, this was one hell of a
potent presser. And while it’s best to reserve judgement on these things until
we get a hands on, it’s hard not to get excited, especially when they offered up a live,
working demo. The potential here is immense. And for the first time in its in decades
we’re seeing Microsoft take the lead (even though that lead comes from buying
out a potential rival). Now it’s up to the developers to make the most of it.
We’ll keep you posted as certain press personalities have been selected for a
closed door meeting with Milo later on this week.
