Iwata: Nintendo passed on camera technology

by JC Fletcher { Jun 10th 2009 at 11:00AM }

For all the talk about Microsoft's Project Natal, one man isn't impressed -- in fact, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told the Financial Times that he's quite literally seen it before. Or, at least, he's seen motion-sensing cameras before.

Iwata told FT that Nintendo had previously experimented with camera-based motion sensing, but found better results with the accelerometers that became the basis of the Wii Remote. "Until they say when they're releasing it, how much it costs and what software it comes with," Iwata said, "we won't know whether that is the route we should have taken. However . . . I think they couldn't choose to release exactly the same thing."

Of course, it must be noted that pretty much everyone has seen motion-sensing cameras in games before, because Sony sold a lot of them starting in 2003. The idea isn't new, and thus it's not at all surprising that Nintendo has tried it. It's even less surprising that Iwata is psyching out Microsoft by downplaying the technology.

[Via Seattle PI]

Tags: camera, iwata, project-natal

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Wiizer @ Jun 10th 2009 11:05AM

I passed on that technology, too... and Nintendo's... and PS3's.

I'm waiting for the right one.

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jun 10th 2009 11:07AM

They're all full of shit until one of them releases a console that I can strap on my back and alter my perception of reality with.

If you see some dumbass hop off a cliff with a Wii2 taped to his back, that's me and I'm searching for the secret level.

Cesaria (seh-sare-ee-ah) @ Jun 10th 2009 11:24AM

I'm waiting to jack games directly into my spine ala eXistenZ.

Lunastra78 (PSN: lunastra78) @ Jun 10th 2009 11:57AM

But it uses voice commands so maybe you can just yell "BANG" every time to fire or say "VROOOM" to accelerate in racing games. Now that would be hilarious. ;)

Lunastra78 (PSN: lunastra78) @ Jun 10th 2009 12:00PM

Awww man I've been reply-"#¤%ed again :( That was suposed to be under "unknown"s answer to FlamingEffigys post.

FlamingEffigy @ Jun 10th 2009 11:08AM

Iwata seems really defensive about all that's happened at E3...

F1: Basu Gasu Bakuhatsu @ Jun 10th 2009 11:09AM

They revealed a fucking Heart-rate moniter. Of course he's going to be defensive!

NaeemTHM @ Jun 10th 2009 11:12AM

I think he knows he's only going to make 30 billion more than the competition and is pissed. 100 billion or bust!

Ninja_Nun @ Jun 10th 2009 11:15AM

Whoa chill man! the wii says your heart rates off the chart! New level unlocked for wii fit plus; heart failure.

Unknown @ Jun 10th 2009 11:31AM

i think Iwata has a point about the 360 camera tracking, but the PS3 development of 1:1 motion is something he ( and nintendo) should be scared of.
During Sony' s show something they said stuck with me, its that some games NEED buttons and the 360 camera tracking lacks buttons such as a trigger for a gun or a command button in a RTS to send units.
But really what did everyone expect, Nintendo has to be on the defensive because two HUGE companies are moving in on the waggle turf.

Nintendo has nothing to be worried about. Iwata was like 18 golden money banks in Japan somewhere and a money printing machine in his basements, Nintedo will be fine

Dreganfyre @ Jun 10th 2009 11:59AM

"such as a trigger for a gun or a command button in a RTS to send units. "

Even more so than buttons, Natal (and I don't know if Sony's has one or not?) is going to be missing the analog stick, I would think. How would you move around in an FPS, or any kind of action game really, in way that isn't tiresome and clumsy without some kind of analog stick? Leaning? :\

8-bit.artist @ Jun 10th 2009 12:28PM

@unknown

sony isnt moving in on the waggle turf because i doubt the games they will release will consist of waggling a controller back and forth like a lot of wii games do. iwata should be scared of sonys because you know they will make much better games using motion than nintendo has (sans maybe a wii motion plus zelda).

Daniel Clausen @ Jun 10th 2009 12:30PM

I think anyone who complain's about Natal lacking buttons are missing it. The current 360 controller isn't going anywhere. Natal is an extension to the current control system. So while MS is clearly aiming to have game to play sans remote you can expect RTS, FPS, and other titles to take full advantage of the existing controller. You may ever see some games feature a combination of the two. Imagine Halo where you use the thumbsticks. triggers, and buttons to play like you do today, but in addition you can use Natal to make gestures to meelee or teabag your enemy. :)

deanb @ Jun 10th 2009 12:39PM

@Daniel - so how you gonna be making this gestures to troops? your holding a controller in your hand, so unless you grow an extra set of arms your just gonna be sat in front of the camera playing a game. it would get really annoying having ot put the controller down every time you wanted to do certain moves. as for the voice command you can do that on your current headset.
Natal is MS wanting to take in the Wii gamers, its not aimed at the 'core' gamers that for now are perfectly happy with a controller.

Psychofemm @ Jun 10th 2009 4:32PM

@deanb

"it would get really annoying having ot put the controller down every time you wanted to do certain moves"

based on the stuff I've read, it seems like some of the stuff they will do is much simpler and more natural.
i.e. in the milo thing you just lean forward (sitting or standing) and it zooms in, lean left look left, etc. etc...

so playing an FPS... lean slightly to look around a corner. lean forward to zoom in on a point of interest....

I know already do those subtle motions whilst playing games now... except with Natal they could actually work and be useful. instead of making me look.... special. ;)

I just know I'm excited about what ms, nintendo, and sony are doing... good competition, good for gamers... at least that's the idea.

Psychofemm @ Jun 10th 2009 4:35PM

and just for clarification... the leaning and jazz would be used in conjunction with a controller.

iofthestorm @ Jun 10th 2009 8:00PM

I think what he means is that they rejected regular visible spectrum cameras. It makes sense, because as anyone who has dabbled in image processing can tell you, it's very difficult to get it to work accurately. With the infrared camera, there's a lot less work that they have to do, and in fact the processing technology can fit inside the Wii remote. Obviously, this was a major concern for the Wii as it had very limited processing power compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3, so they needed to use technology that wouldn't require a beefy CPU to run, which I think Natal and the PS3 motion controller will require. People are misinterpreting Iwata's comments as dismissing camera based motion tracking, but in reality what he's saying is that it didn't work for them, but that doesn't mean that it won't work for MS or Sony.

The interesting thing to note is that of course, as you end up having to dedicate processing power to the motion control, that's less CPU time that the actual game code can have. I think ultimately this will prevent the motion control from being used in any titles with very good graphics, which is why the in-controller processing/accelerometer approach is easier to handle. Of course, this is all relative, as obviously even while running motion tracking, the PS3 and 360 can output much better visuals than the Wii, but it's still a tradeoff that developers will be making. Judging from the current target audience of the 360 and PS3, I'm not sure whether that's a tradeoff that the studios would be willing to make, but probably a few that want to try to expand their market will go for it, and we'll see what happens there.

I find it really odd that Microsoft and Sony are doing this now though, since it's halfway through their consoles' lifespans and it's going to require a new peripheral, whereas at least with the Wii remote it comes with the Wii. The installed base for these new peripherals is also going to limit the number of games developed for them. It's a chicken-egg situation; gamers won't buy them until there are a number of games for them, but developers won't want to risk the huge costs for a game that uses the new tech without an installed base to sell it to. I really think they should have waited until their next consoles to try something like this, but at least maybe they will bundle them with future SKUs to increase the installed base. Of course, it's problematic that there is no release date for either, but they have to be waiting for some actual games to pan out before they release the peripherals. Regardless, these peripherals are definitely going to make the console scene more interesting, but I can't help but feel that it's really too little too late for MS and Sony to introduce motion control to combat the Wii. I mean, technically the PS3 has had motion control in the Sixaxis but who uses it? The appeal of the Wii isn't just motion control, and I don't think MS and Sony have been able to fully understand that.

Woah, that was long. (that's what she said)

Anti-Villian @ Jun 11th 2009 12:28AM

Thankyou iofthestorm, that was a long and detailed post^^ thought you should know the effort wasn't wasted.

nig @ Jun 11th 2009 3:15AM

well he could be referring to camera as controls in lieu of the wiimote
like maybe they were checking this possibility out for revolution
and obviously, this isn't going to work if you built your console around it
no buttons and blablabla a lot of limitations.
already people are (well, were at one time) complaining about the lack of buttons on the wiimote
what more a controller-less environment
unless all you want is to play dodgeball and racing games.

maybe its cause ive been playing too much wii but i actually feel the fps controls on it to be extremely intuitive, gun actually feels like an extension of my hand
weird feeling
software may be lacking but as far as strictly controlling an fps goes, i think the wii is pretty damn good

F1: Basu Gasu Bakuhatsu @ Jun 10th 2009 11:08AM

Of course they passed on camera tech. Nintendo's history with new technology is downright appalling!
Case in point; the whole WEP debacle.

Dirty @ Jun 10th 2009 11:08AM

As a 360 fanboy, I think sonys looks like it has the most potential for being what I want. I still like controllers though.

jynxycat @ Jun 10th 2009 11:18AM

Whenever someone says they're a [system here] fanboy, it means they really aren't.

Dirty @ Jun 10th 2009 11:21AM

Yea I guess your right. Just trying to be honest.

Markez @ Jun 10th 2009 11:21AM

Agree 100%. You should download the Natal vid on your 360 and show it to the new missus, see what she thinks. My girlfriend (I almost wrote girlthread?) thought it looked "absolutely retarded". Sorry for the crass language, I'm just quoting for accuracy.

Markez @ Jun 10th 2009 11:22AM

Why TF did my comment land elsewhere, blackhole!?

Markez @ Jun 10th 2009 11:24AM

Oh for godssakes, I know plenty of programmers and developers that can fix this asinine problem if anyone at the parent company actually cares. Email me.

Peter Moore @ Jun 10th 2009 11:08AM

All the companies do this. Downplay a competitor's technology then come out with your version a couple of years later.

Microsoft and Sony naysayed the Wii 2 years ago, and now...

So, expect a Wii camera thingy out in 2012.

NaeemTHM @ Jun 10th 2009 11:15AM

Exactly. Heck when the PS3 debuted with its boomerang of doom, Ol' Kaz laughed at the then mysterious "Revolution". The very next E3 he was all "Dudes we totally had the idea for a motion control all this time....just ask Bob in accounting!"

NaeemTHM @ Jun 10th 2009 11:23AM

It's like a comment graveyard!

Old Professor Zertoss @ Jun 10th 2009 11:32AM

When comments are posted at the exact same time, it breaks the comment system.

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 10th 2009 11:13AM

Iwata: Nintendo passed on camera technology, HD, Good Online, HDD's, GREAT 3rd party games, satisfying the core gamer

There, fixed.

Cody @ Jun 10th 2009 11:28AM

And they're still blowin out the competition!!

Go Magic!!

Vcize @ Jun 10th 2009 11:31AM

I hate that Cody likes all the same teams I do...

xFenixKnightx @ Jun 10th 2009 11:37AM

lol Vcize

No, seriosuly go fucking Majic!!! Ugh they could be up 2-1 right now if they would have made that tip in on game 2. :(

I hate Kobe!

Gasol looks like he was hatched.

And Sasha Vujacic just looks very punchable.

Mr Khan @ Jun 10th 2009 11:52AM

Well apparently the market neither needs nor wants any of that. So there it is.

Snakku @ Jun 10th 2009 12:05PM

Yeaahhh. gooo magic

I also hate Kobe. Selfish prick.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 10th 2009 12:58PM

Go Lakers!

Anyway, who cares what the market wants. This generation has proved the old saying correct "A person is smart, but people are dumbasses"

CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jun 10th 2009 1:33PM

"Well apparently the market neither needs nor wants any of that. So there it is."

Spoken by a true, biased Nintendo Fanboy. Maybe the casual gamers that love Carnival Games, Wii Play, and PETZ DOGZ IMAGINE! don't need or want any of that, but I have a hard time believing that any Nintendo faithful wouldn't love to have a Mario or Zelda game done on PS3 or 360 level of hardware. I'd gladly replace my waggle to jump/swing sword for HD, good online, downloadable content for Mario, Zelda, Mario Party, Mario Kart etc.

religiousjedi @ Jun 10th 2009 2:07PM

tmac likes the Lakers?!?!?!

*a la Luke Skywalker*

"No...that's not true! That's IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!"

CJLopez @ Jun 10th 2009 2:17PM

BAM!!! there it isn't

Cody @ Jun 10th 2009 3:22PM

"Gasol looks like he was hatched."

ROFL my god i'm crying over here Fenix!

My friend said the other day he looks like Ratatouille. LMAO poor Gasol...

He's killin us in the paint though!

ThatPCgameryouhate @ Jun 10th 2009 5:10PM

Go Celtics!
Crap, I missed out.
Anyways, I think that a Physical device is better than a motion sensing camera- however, this is more like a side add-on for the 360, whereas the Wii remote is the controller.
Iwata may be right, but I think the 360 might gain the upper hand (but not the market).

ThatPCgameryouhate @ Jun 10th 2009 5:11PM

Slaziman @ Jun 10th 2009 5:29PM

@Cody & Mr Khan

Do you own stock in Nintendo? What's the deal with you guys, you're losing any credibility you still had. It's okay to like the Wii but using "HA BUT THEY R SELLIN LIEK HOTCAKES" as a rebuttal for it's shortcomings is beyond pathetic.