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Xbox camera mirrors players' movements on the screen
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor2 Jun 2009
Microsoft today sparked a high street computer games war by unveiling new games controller technology that it says is leaps ahead of the Nintendo Wii.
The Xbox 360 Project Natal system is a high resolution camera and microphone that tracks players' movements. Users simply move in front of their TV to play games, rather than holding a controller. To play football games, they simply kick, and for fighting games they move as if they were really fighting.
Microsoft hopes Project Natal compete with Nintendo's hugely successful Wii, which uses a controller that players wave around in the air.
Microsoft claims that the system, which can plug into an Xbox 360 console, is so sensitive it can recognise individual family members and even read facial expressions. Players can also navigate through menus simply by waving their arms, or via speech.
The computer firm has also signed up Hollywood director Steven Spielberg to create games for the system.
Speaking at E3, the annual electronic entertainment expo in Los Angeles, Speilberg said: "Everybody loves movies, but the majority are too intimidated to pick up a controller. The only way to bring interactive entertainment to everybody is to make the technology invisible." The new system, to go on sale next year, can also recognise objects. In one demonstration, a piece of paper with a drawing of a fish was passed in front of the screen. The system scanned the drawing and a virtual copy of the paper, complete with the drawing, instantly appeared in the game on screen.
Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, said: "This is about breaking down barriers. For far too long, the controller has kept people from games. Project Natal eliminates the need for a controller. It's going to bring people together in a way we haven't seen before."
He added: "This is not about competing with the Wii. It is about taking the industry to the next frontier." But experts say it is simply the latest attempt to attract new games players.Rob Temple, of T3 magazine, added: "This is way ahead of anything else on the market, and several steps on from Nintendo's Wii. It's going to be fascinating to see the two go head to head."
Other experts hailed the system as a major breakthrough that could have implications outside of games, such as allowing the disabled to interact with computers. Paul Jackson, of Forrester Research, said: "From a conceptual point of view, it could be quite significant."
Microsoft also announced it was adding Facebook and Twitter to its console, along with the Loondon-based personalised radio service Last.fm.
