Project Natal - 360 Eyetoy?

[fast]

Ok so I glanced at Kotaku this afternoon and I couldnt pass this one up. I mean the coolest thing Natal lets you do is navigate the dashboard with your hands. But if you have played an Eyetoy game (apart from Eye of Judgement) you know what to expect with this. Its a neat idea, but if people dont want to swing their arms, what makes you think they will swing their entire bodies?

[gradualmeltdown]

well wii fit has sold nearly 18 million units, seems like activity isn't the problem. if it really works count me in looks way better than wii anything. hell this is from a person who uses the wiimote as a musical instrument

[sakicfan84]

On one hand I really wanted to hate it. On the other hand, I thought it was actually a pretty impressive demonstration. Really depends on what this means for actual games to me. That's what I'm not sure about. Really need a lot more details on this before I get excited.

[Dakinggamer87]

I'm interested to see where this tech goes and the demonstration was impressive.. Did anyone notice the bashing MS gave to Nintendo about their controller in that segment...

[nickfil]

On one hand I really wanted to hate it. On the other hand, I thought it was actually a pretty impressive demonstration. Really depends on what this means for actual games to me. That's what I'm not sure about. Really need a lot more details on this before I get excited.

yeah. The hardware is cool, but I want to see some games get reviewed before I'm convinced to buy.

[jfrost]

I'm very unimpressed with these gaming devices made that are supposed to amplify the immersion, and this includes all motion control titles on the Wii. They make me more aware that I'm playing a game than if I was simply holding a controller in my hands. Not expecting much of this.

[Unleaded Logic]

On one hand I really wanted to hate it. On the other hand, I thought it was actually a pretty impressive demonstration. Really depends on what this means for actual games to me. That's what I'm not sure about. Really need a lot more details on this before I get excited.

yeah. The hardware is cool, but I want to see some games get reviewed before I'm convinced to buy.

Yeah, while it all looks amazing, I have to see it myself to believe it. My wife made me crack up after we were both done watching it. I asked her what she thought about it and she just responded with "Its bullsh#%! No way it will really be like that!"

I guess we shall see.

[(-_-)]

I just saw the video of the thing. It made me sad. Sony is going to announce the exact same thing at their conference. Everyone will be able to flail around with their imaginary peripherals playing crappy minigames. Watching the kid in the martial arts game and the girl talking to her friend made my day. Because, you know, everyone will be standing in front of their home console in full body view just waiting to start a video chat with their friend so they can discuss what virtual clothing they will wear that day. It is indeed a cool idea, but that's it. I just feel like there is promises being made that cannot be fullfilled. The fighting that the kid was doing doesn't sound plausible to me. It would either be like most wii games, where you swing something in a direction, and you do an action, or they somehow pull off 1:1 motion mapping and we have tv's being broken, and countless accidents happening with retarded children thinking they can pull of a flying dragon kick to the virtual character on screen. I have always been unimpressed with the action gaming side of games using motion. I'm just ranting, but I'm irritated that they make it appear like you can do ANYTHING but with no real substance behind any of the claim. They show all of this potential with crap examples. They all look like promotional webcam flash games on the internet. I also recognize the fact that this is an attempt to appeal to the same crowd that bought a wii in the first place, which also saddens me, because I want to be apart of it too. Basically I'm terrified that the world of gaming will blend itself into casual entertainment...roar.

[RadarScope1]

if people dont want to swing their arms

well wii fit has sold nearly 18 million units

I also recognize the fact that this is an attempt to appeal to the same crowd that bought a wii in the first place, which also saddens me, because I want to be apart of it too. Basically I'm terrified that the world of gaming will blend itself into casual entertainment...roar.

It's pretty clear who they're catering to with Natal. I think one of the major things for me is the fact that because it's purely body movements, there's no other weird or watered-down controllers to buy. The 360 controller -- which IMO is great for core games -- isn't going anywhere. I don't think anyone thinks those demos in the video had any kind of depth to them. But that's not the point. If it's cheap enough people will be into it just for the party/novelty/innovation factor.

But I agree with Nikfil - games. It's all about what they can serve up on this thing. People have had their Wii sports and fitness titles. There's gotta be something more. I think it's encouraging that they seem to have Molyneux on it. I thought the video implied that his team has a dev kit and is already at work on something, hopefully more than just that demo. What are the chances the Rare people have kits already? Probably pretty good. How long will they give third parties until launch if all the other devs aren't getting kits until just now? We'll see.

As far casual taking over, it seems like a lot core titles were announced today. As a 2D fan I thought Shadow Complex was kind of cool little surprise to come out of today's show. http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09 ... plex/50057

[(-_-)]

I understand all that, and it makes sense, and it's more than likely that lots of good will come from it. But it's still itching at me. I feel like I've been taken for an idiot. The video just looked ridiculous. Real world 3d scanning? Seriously? The only thing being shown in the part of the video with the skateboard, is an instance where you could stick something in front of a camera, align it with a stencil, and then take a pic. Then whatever was within it is mapped to an in game object. I don't see how it is capable of scanning something perfectly like that. I just feel like it wasn't presented truthfully and gives false excitement.