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Activision got the heads up about Project Natal

by Justin McElroy on Jun 3rd 2009 7:44PM

If there was one person we felt bad for during Microsoft's otherwise stellar press conference, it was Tony Hawk, whose motion-sensing skateboard peripheral for Tony Hawk: Ride seemed to be rendered obsolete literally moments after its introduction thanks to MS's new Project Natal. But Microsoft's John Schappert he likely wasn't caught by surprise.

"Activision certainly had seen our video and stuff like that, but I think in defense of Tony Hawk and what they're doing, that product is shipping this year and it has a very real street date," he said. "I think that product, just like many other peripherals is groundbreaking today. Natal is tomorrow."

Fair enough. But if you see Tony Hawk walking around with a single tear anytime soon, you'll know why.

Tags: activision, e3-2009, john-schappert, microsoft, project-natal, tony-hawk, tony-hawk-ride, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (24)

i don't need Project Natal to tell me that Tony Hawk is obsolete.

yeah, skate. told me this 2 years ago.

+1, I lol'd heartily.

Tony Hawk also said....

"We actually tried to get [Tony Hawk Ride] running with a camera, but it wasn't accurate enough. Plus you can't really do ollies, grabs and flips when you're just standing on nothing.""

Wait, so you're actually supposed to be doing flips with the RIDE peripheral?

I smell a lawsuit coming...

I'm assuming you're supposed to put pressure on the board in the same way you would to do a flip, but not actually do one.

natal isn't a threat to current peripherals. it'll take a few years to get to a point where it's viable for use in video games. until then, peripherals aren't going to die.

I'd feel bad if Activision wasn't already trying to stuff a myriad of plastic death down our throats.

Now all I can say is:
AHHHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Myriad of plastic death...

...

OH!

You mean coasters.

"stuff a myriad of plastic death down our throats"

i could make a joke out of that, but i'll stay classy and leave you guys guessing

Are we talking about army men?

Army Men 4D confirmed.

Project Natal is not going to be able to capture the level of info this board does. For example, when you tip the board forward, the camera won't see much of a change in your outline at all.

I do say though that this board accessory will face an uphill battle due to being so specialized and relatively expensive.

Tony missed his chance. He should have pre-dissed Natal while he had the chance. He could have spent that time stating something like, "One day, fat evil men will try to convince you into riding an imaginary skateboard...."

"Microsoft's John Schappert he likely wasn't caught by surprise."- Ed (oh wait, he is at E3 while I am sitting here correcting others...) SUX TO BE ME.

Apparently so. I can see it all ending in disaster. Boards shooting forwards breaking the TV, BR player, squashing the pet dog,etc.

Personally. I play in a tiny room so no peripheral for me.
Not that I'm actually bothered though, my neightbours below might kill me for jumping up and down on a bit of plastic above their bedroom every night.

This story says exactly what I was thinking when I saw the press conference with video of that boy jumping around in Natal on the skateboarding game. And sort-of burn with the Microsoft PR saying Ride is the innovation of today and Natal is the innovation of tomorrow.

I think most developers are going to combine a peripheral with Natal. Sometimes you still need to feel like you're holding/standing on/touching something, and sometimes you still need an analog stick to move further than the the distance between your couch and your TV.

I could never feel bad about Activision. They have enough money the way they milk their series (And they all sell well)

Why should they care? Natal comes out, at earliest, a full year after Ride is set to. I mean, Ride is supposed to be for this fall, right?

This is basically horseshit.. Natal is still basically a pipe dream that is in the earliest stages of being ready. The ride board is production ready and will be available for purchase in October. Also, it is tuned for a specific application. I don't see how these products really overlap.

Natal usually refers to a birth and this project is still in its infancy. Tony Hawk has been payed. Don't feel sorry. Activision knew about the project but if there is a chance they can make a buck in the meantime you know they will leap at the chance. I think they have shown that Tony Hawk is one of the franchises that can be exploited on an annual basis. This is just a way to blow a quick breath of air into the corpse until they can refresh the series with the Tony Hawk Natal version. Don't think they aren't thinking it. They get to make money off of Tony Hawk motion twice and they only have to pay to develop the tech once.

If you're looking forward to Project Natal, check out http://www.project-natal.com for the latest news around the web.

Hmmmm I really think Project Natal will revolutionise the gaming industry, much like the wii has changed a lot of how the market is today, i put the rest of my opinions on my blog at http://www.theurbanshogun.com/2009/06/microsofts-project-natal-will-be-end-of.html if anyone wants to discuss ..

love the site =]

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Activision got the heads up about Project Natal

Reader Comments (24)

Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 7:46PM cbarrentos said

Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 8:34PM Cptkrush said

Posted: Jun 4th 2009 4:39AM Jonathan H said

Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 7:49PM Skytwin said

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Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 7:55PM MarkezJM said

Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 8:01PM Sly C said

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Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 9:14PM Lokust said

Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 7:53PM spin cycle said

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Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 8:03PM The Wicker Man said

Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 8:18PM Skytwin said

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Posted: Jun 3rd 2009 9:36PM Mr Khan said

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