Checking In On Project Natal

itwbennett writes "A couple of interesting articles followed Robbie Bach's announcement at CES that Project Natal, Microsoft's controller-free Xbox 360 control system, will be shipping in time for the 2010 holiday season, writes blogger Peter Smith. First, Popular Science has a nice look at how Project Natal works, focusing mostly on the software and how 'Microsoft engineers are teaching the Natal 'brain' what various parts of the human body look like so that Natal can tell your ascot from your elbow.' Microsoft is staying mum on the hardware, although Smith notes that we know it involves an infrared camera. 'If you don't care about how the tech works but just want to know if it'll be worth buying,' writes Smith, 'you might be interested in an interview with Robbie Bach in the Financial Post. In the interview Bach claims that 70%-80% of Xbox 360 developers are working on some kind of Natal-enabled gaming software, and he assures us that first-party studios are also hard at work.'"

Sport

[Jurily]

If I want to use my whole body to play, I'll go outside. Don't take my keyboard/mouse/controller away from me.

reason why it took so long

[bigmaddog]

They had to develop techniques to counter certain types of misuse [penny-arcade.com]...

Re:Sport

[Polumna]

I can't wait to see the achievement lists.

Re:What kind of games will actually use it?

[decipher_saint]

I would like it to control some kind of slapping device linked to Xbox Live Chat...

Re:Sport

[Anonymous Coward]

Unfortunately for you, Natal is unable to track the movement of body parts smaller than 3" in profile.

Re:Sport

[rehtonAesoohC]

An earlier article said that Natal was accurate down to 3 centimeters... As long as they're accurate within 10 inches, it would work for me! =P

Re:Sport

[PopeRatzo]

As long as they're accurate within 10 inches, it would work for me! =P

Oh, you're into fantasy games.