Wired: A camera controller for the Xbox 360 promises 3D motion recognition that will turn your entire body into a game controller.
Code-named Project Natal, the planned controller will sit beneath your television set and be able to translate every movement of your body into a game control, Microsoft said yesterday as it unveiled the system during its press briefing at the E3 games fair.
Natal will let gamers browse the Xbox 360 menus and watch movies, and could help make interactive entertainment as “approachable” as other forms of entertainment, according to
Steven Spielberg, who took the stage during Microsoft’s presentation to praise Project Natal. “It’s not about reinventing the wheel,” Spielberg said. “It’s about no wheel at all.”
It’s an interesting and unexpected move by Microsoft, which already has captured hardcore gamers with its consoles and is now looking to attract a wider audience by cranking out casual games and turning the Xbox 360 and the Xbox Live digital media deliver service into an entertainment hub.
While rumours of a motion controller similar to the Wii’s have been doing the rounds, Microsoft said it is simply moving beyond the need for any handheld controller. The company also says Project Natal can pull off facial recognition, making the controller capable of determining who is playing a given game.
Top designers like Fable II’s Peter Molyneux are currently working on software to use with the hardware, although Microsoft did not say when the controller will be released.
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