Xbox 360 motion controller dev not afraid of Project Natal

by Griffin McElroy on Jun 3rd 2009 2:35AM

Imagine you work for a small peripheral development studio who's been working on a motion controller for the Xbox 360 for ages. Now imagine that Microsoft announces their own revolutionary motion control peripheral -- one that's supported by a bazillion dollar technology juggernaut. "Crap in a hat," you would likely proclaim. However, Performance Designed Products, creators of the long-in-development Game Trak Freedom controller, doesn't seem daunted by Microsoft's recently unveiled Project Natal tech.

During our tour of PDP's E3 booth, we had a chance to ask Senior VP of Marketing John Moore about the manufacturer's new impressive competition. According to Moore, "we met with Microsoft, and they gave us a heads-up about Natal, so we knew it was coming." Still, it's not all doom and gloom. Moore said he thinks "there is still a need and room in the market for interactive peripherals." Moreover, he claimed "there's a possibility of using our infrared controller technology and incorporating it into Microsoft's new product."

We'll have our hands-on impressions of the Game Trak Freedom, as well as its bundled software counterpart Squeeballs, within the next couple of days.

Tags: e3-2009, gametrak-freedom, microsoft, pdp, performance-designed-products, project-natal, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (36)

i bet he crapped his pants when he was watching the press conference,

- maybe it can work with the natal - kinda like the ps3 with eyetoy?

The device would need some tweaking - a light source to track - but then Natal would have all bases covered.

there is actually a lot of potential with a motion controller + natal, full body time crisis type of games , fps's ect....

My exact thoughts. I could end up working great. I could imagine games like tennis would be really, really fun with both.

i feel bad for these guys.

You mean like Sony's tech? Ironic. Natal does more I know, but that suggestion made me smile. Of course, I'm past predicting either Sony or Microsoft's success over the Wii anymore.

no, not like sonys tech. tech just identifies where the things in your hand are moving. with natal this thing could recognize your body movements too. a 1:1 tennis game would be cool. body and all. wait. that would require alot of running. and a large space.

Agreed.

"a 1:1 tennis game would be cool. body and all. wait. that would require alot of running. and a large space"

Heh, true. But if it realistically recreates a tennis match then I can suck in game as well as in a real tennis match. I'm curious how much Natal will cost though. Are there any details on the camera? One advantage the Sony demo may have is a cheaper cost, though fewer capabilities aside from 1:1. As Ninty proves, it dosn't have to be revoluationary, just cheap and workable.

Aside from that I'm concerned Microsoft may just fritter away the tech trying to ambulance chase Nintendo's audience. The tech demo for Sony at least hinted at consideration for games other than "We're in the Movies" and Lips. Still Natal offers quite a few possiblities:

* Sims 4: Manipulate your sim by performing such actions as bathing, pissing, making love, and eating.
* Gears 3: Pantomime curb stomping your little brother for extra brutality.
* And more...coming 2011

Police 911!

I agree that this should work well with Natal. I actually was saying that yesterday on other sites but, actually, I feel that this is necessary to have. To be honest, with as great as the Natal tech seems to appear, if it does coincide with motion controllers, at some point, I think they will lose a huge consumer. I cannot imagine playing an FPS without a controller, period, end of story. The rumbling of the controller adds to the visceral feeling of badassness as u take heads out.
Truth be told, I only see a no controller type Natal game where it mimics the end user being in a movie type game, or something like the Milo deally,where u use on screen items, scanning and voice recognition to get through it and, honestly, I don't think the 360 current has the right medium for that. Blu-ray could help that along plus they would need hard drive caching for such an ambitious type game.
I could be wrong but I believe MS NEEDS motion controllers with Natal as an option.

Bowling the killer app of this generation will finally be on 360

Couldn't have said it better myself. Before I got rid of my Wii, that's all I played.

Lol. High Velocity Bowling on the PS3 is TONS better than that Wii game. U even hold the controller as if u are holding a bowling ball. Can't do that with the nun-chuk...plus u have HD graphics and realistic looking people as well as DLC for new characters, bowling balls, bowling alleys.

i have to say that i will be spending too much on games this coming year... i might even consider the motion sensor gimmick but i doubt it.

I know Microsoft is aiming at having your entire body as the controller, but I believe the motion controller and Project Natal would work so well together if given the opportunity.

its Dr. Zoidberg!

They probably weren't expecting many sales anyway.

at first glance i thought that said squeezeballs and thought:

that aint no game i wana play!

So you think John Moore will go through Post-Natal Depression?

:o) Nice one

There's no reason for any developer to be afraid of Project Natal. There may be several instances where a physical controller might be preferred to, or used concurrently with it.

If anyone should be afraid, it should be whoever thought of that PS3 "glowstick" thing. That had to be embarrassing for Sony having to follow Microsoft's event with that. It's kind of like being the guy who brings "snakes" to a fourth of july celebration.

It's like Sony panicked the night before E3 after seeing NATAL in action and just glued one of those old motion capture ping pong balls on the end of a stick and whipped up some animations to go along with it. The presenters were super excited about it too. It's too bad E3 doesn't share The Gong Show's same format.

I hope they don't just stick the crappiness that is the 360's D-pad on that thing and pray that all goes well.

Anyway, it would be interesting to see this working in conjunction with Natal. Having Natal (your body) controlling the main interactions and movements of the main character.

Things like movement in the 3D space realm and melee attacks with a gun. Singnalling specific gestures with your fingers to command a group of soldiers at your disposal. Like gesturing two fingers as a command for two soldiers, and then signaling to either the right or the left side - by flicking your fingers in those directions you give that order for them to flank the enemy from either of those sides.

As for this motion control device, it could be used for controlling the other aspects of the said weapon. In this case, a gun with lots of little knobs and stuff, with lots of functions, like scope and infra red scopes and what not, or grenade launcher function on the same weapon.

The possibilities are endless!!

I'd prefer a controller to Natal (which isn't a controller!!!). I get very animated when I play games. I can imagine getting amped up, flailling my arms and Natal thinking I meant to do something I didn't.

If Natal can track your body and hand movements, and read your facial expressions, I'm sure it can track the movements of an object in your hands. These guys are boned.

The question is whether it can track angles as well as the Gametrak or Wiimote can. I'd be surprised if it could, but maybe I'm underestimating the current state of the art.

What I dont get is how to move in the game using Natal. Both their demos showed people standing essentially in the same space. I can understand you can move short distances but its just weird how you would move say in an FPS without a controller. If any of the Joystiq folks can explain or explain further it would help me clear up the confusion. Without a controller I dont see it being possible(but then what do I know :) )

That thing looks like it controls my bed.

I'm surprise nobody commented that the photo shows that the controller is wired. Why would I want a wired motion controller with a 10 foot cord for me to trip on?

It's just tied down so no one steals is.

We use the same hand wand technology to calibrate 10 year old combat simulators for the military. This technology isn't new - it's just available to consumers now and encased in sleek plastic casings to make it appear "cutting edge".

Combining both full body recognition with a detectable remote would just equate to more and more accuracy overall. Kudos to these guys for thinking ahead and bringing something else to the NATAL table.

More proof that Nintendo did revolutionize gaming with the Wii. Look at what they've forced Microsoft to invest in!

Nintendo did not revolutionize gaming with the Wii. PDP (the people making the Gametrak Freedom) have been making motion sensing controllers for a while, even before Wii came out.

There is technology above and beyond the Wii standards, that has been around for years. In fact the basic idea/technology behind Project Natal has been around for a long time too. I remember seeing a fighting game set up at the GameWorks that had body motion tracking (maybe not as broad/comprehensive in scope) in Seattle years ago.

Most "gamers" do not play on their Wii consoles much, from what I have seen. That's not much of a revolution.

If the controller is over 20 dollars no buy for me

Microsoft's big problem with trying to Grab Market from the Wii is XBox Live.
That Family in their Demo would have to Pay $200 a year for XBox Live if each person in the Family desires to play Online.

Microsoft REALLY Needs to make Live either Free, or have a Per Console Live Charge.

My Family Personally only has 1 XBox Live Account. Which makes the Buddy List kind of Broken.

On our PS3 we each get our own account because of the Free part of course...
The Wii... Well the Wii online is pretty much non-existent...

So how do you appeal to the Wii Families when Live for a Family of 4 is $200 a year... You Don't!
Microsoft you need to come up with a solution or you will continue to lose the Casual Market. Period.

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Xbox 360 motion controller dev not afraid of Project Natal

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