[Scarlett.]

"Has anyone see this thing? You can completly use your own arms. it detects your face and signs you in according to your face. It mimics all of your movements. The guide is even motion controlled now. Your hands ARE the controller. ****ing sick."

Whoa

Also from DS;

"19:53: Don Matrick now discusses the evolution of the Xbox, and that controllers will evolve, asking if we can go behind the controller and make everyone enjoy the game. "Can we make you the controller? We can."

19:56: A video shows a racing game behind played with the hands, steering and changing gears, and another family member changing the wheel. A boy stomping through a city, mother and daughter playing keepy uppy, and a skateboard being scanned in. A girl then chats with her friend, choosing dresses with a flick of her hand.

19:58: A movie is then played via voice, and ended with a "Goodnight." The trailer ends - it's codenamed Project Nadal, a sensor that picks up 3D movement and voice. It will be packed in with each 360 when it releases, and will work with all existing consoles too."

[Scarlett.]

"Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios appears on stage and said that his team has played around with the device for the last few months. A video of what they have been working on - a boy named Milo reacts to voice and commands, as demonstrated by someone named Claire. Milo shys away from not doing his homework and walks to a lake and throws goggles at the screen. "Every player tries to grab them because they have a connection," explains Molyneux.

Claire draws an image on a piece of paper and shows it Milo, who recognises the image. "Claire is in Milo's world." After the demo, he said that whether or not you believe it, a demonstration will be shown behind closed doors at the show. "I hope you agree, this is a landmark in computer entertainment.""

****-ing-EPIC

[andyman]

Chewy=arista of gaming.

[Scarlett.]

Originally posted by andyman
Chewy=arista of gaming.

Nope, I like the PS3, nothing wrong with it, its just us 360's finally have a chance to gloat after years of "OOOooooh PS3 is better"

[andyman]

But the PS3 is better, it is better without even trying, plus it's sexy to look at.

[Tom4784]

I've never liked the idea of motion controls, it works for soem games yes but mostly it doesn't work that well. I'd rather had news about an MGS4 port really.

[Scarlett.]

Anywho, I <3 my 360 sho shoo andyman xD although I'd have a PS3 if offered :P

[Scarlett.]

Youtube video

The video cuts off just before the best bit >_<

[-=-Razor-=-]

It scares me, weither it will work or not, we will have to see.

[MR.K!]

I already made a thread on this.

[Scarlett.]

I made this yesterday, minutes aftyer the announcement :P

[Scarlett.]

Following up on its successful E3 press conference earlier today, Microsoft held a special hands-on event at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles this evening. Besides showing off the latest versions of games like Halo 3: ODST, Forza Motorsport 3, The Beatles: Rock Band, and Shadow Complex, Microsoft also had special "behind closed doors" demos of two of its more secretive projects, Project Natal and Alan Wake.

I'll admit that I was eager to try out Natal specifically to see just how real the onstage demo from earlier today truly was. After all, what Microsoft showed onstage -- not counting the incredibly long ultra-saccharine marketing video -- was pretty impressive. As Steven Spielberg alluded to in his surprise speech at that very press conference, a camera that could act as an "invisible controller" for hardcore and first-time gamers alike really would be a defining moment for the next generation of videogames.

Here's the amazing thing -- I played with the Natal for all of 5-6 minutes, and I have to say, it actually works.

The first demo I tried was what Microsoft was calling "Burnout Natal." Though it isn't a real game in development, the mixture of Burnout Paradise and the Natal camera was meant to provide proof that you could use the device's technology for practically any genre or software. How quickly I was recognized into the Natal's body identification system (just a few seconds) was surprising, and in a matter of moments I was controlling Burnout paradise with my feet and hands.

Most of the people around me during the MS press conference were groaning when they showed how a racing game would control with Natal in the aforementioned marketing footage, but truth be told, it's a lot more fun than it looks. Though I did miss the bit of resistance that a controller or steering wheel normally gives me, I was shocked to see how natural it felt to drive a car without actually being in one. How easy was it? To accelerate, I simply moved my right leg forward; to brake, I moved it backwards, and to pop it into a neutral position, I just stood straight up (or as straight as my spine would allow me to stand after 12+ hours of E3 spelunking). Driving was just a matter of pretending that I had a steering wheel in my hands, and every subtle movement I made was picked up by the camera allowing me to drive pretty well (and pretty straight) for the few minutes I got to try it out. As an added bonus, the motion for going into Burnout mode was an appropriate Top Gun Volleyball fist-pump. The whole experience was surprisingly fun and I walked away with nary a bad thing to say (which is quite an accomplishment, because normally I complain a lot).

My second go at the Natal was with the game highlighted specifically in Microsoft's press conference by former Fight Night father, Kudo Tsunoda, known as "Ricochet." Admittedly, Ricochet isn't my type of game. I'd rather sit on the couch hitting remote control buttons instead of virtual dodgeballs (which probably explains why I've reached the point where I get winded doing simple things like chewing and talking). Nonetheless, Ricochet provided a small dose of fun as I did my best to break targets with an increasingly-prolific supply of balls. The response here didn't seem as sharp as it did with Burnout -- but to be fair, there did seem to be a small learning curve with the aiming system. Though again, it's not my type of game -- but the good news is that, when speaking with Tsunoda about things in the works down the line, that there are plenty more games -- much more ambitious ones, in fact -- in development that we're going to see in the near future.

All in all, I found Project Natal to be quite refreshing. It's nowhere near the gimmicky device I originally took it for and the fact that it works already on a retail Xbox 360 (Burnout was running on an "out of the store" model, no debugs or special systems required) says a lot about its current stage of development.

To say that I'm anxious to see where Microsoft, and it's horde of third party developers, takes his next is an understatement.

[Hugo]

Have you watched the videos and live demonstration! :O
This has wiped out the Wii.

[Scarlett.]

Originally posted by Hugo
Have you watched the videos and live demonstration! :O
This has wiped out the Wii.

Indeed, the way you can move the dashboard is like summat out of a sci-fi film

I cant wait, I hope it dont cost a bomb

[crossieKIDD]

********* immense! wow never thought technology would go this far sooo soon!
wens it out?