Project Natal

If you don't know what it is by now, you are not a console gamer, at least not an up-to-date one. E3 2009 is still ongoing, but I can already conclude that Microsoft beats Sony and Nintendo this time by releasing this astounding motion-sensor based new toy that goes with XBOX360. How amazing is it? So amazing that I am finally thinking about buying a XBOX360, the only current console system I don't yet have at home.





The idea isn't totally new, as motion capture technique has been used in movie making for a long time now (is that why Steven Spielburg was the person who announced it, hem), and wii is sort of based on this initial idea. And this time, US side is the one who renovate the interactive play to a completely higher level-- so much maybe I should say, invent instead.

In my POV, the two biggest advantages of a controller-less system like this are also its largest pitfalls. 1, language limitations. So far no other voice recognition systems work as well as English ones, and this will not help with the already grim sales of XBOXs in Japan. In a sense, you can even say this new thinie promotes English learning, and spoken English (lol). 2. targeting casual gamers. Sure it's flashy, entertaining and irresistible, but the replay value for experienced gamers are limited (looking at my wii dusted for more than a year now). It takes too much energy and effort to play many other categories of games with it, quickly tires people out and can not replace the conventional controllers. That said, it can always come with both choices and who would mind one more kind? Not me. Certainly the language would be even less a problem for me, but I'll never be able to share the joy with my mom, you know~

Sony and Nintendo, you can both do better! :)