Codemasters: Natal won't replace traditional controls in racers

And so another knell is sounded for Natal. Microsoft needs to get proactive about this, or the thing will be DOA

didn't microsoft say that they were aiming at the casuals with natal and not the hardcore???

I don't really look forward to gaming without a controller. I've got my fingers crossed that some great things will come of it, but I'm doubtfull.

It's wonderfully innovative and amazing technology... just not very applicable in my opinion.

"and thinks gamers won't trash their controllers and steering wheels for racing games when Natal is unleashed on the public."
Codemasters, MK Wii says Hi aloft it's millions of sales, albeit Wii owners had no choice.

Will it let me put my hand out the window and give other drivers the finger?

What you need is a dual analog/dual IR/motion interface. That way, you could actually move your gun independent of your head and you could dual-wield in different directions. That would be fucking sweet.

it seems right on, theres a lot of things that happen in a racing game that you cant do with any camera. i mean theres a handbrake right next to the stick, no way it can tell where youre hand would be

I think Natal will be good as a supplemental controller, not a complete replacement. Even the Wii has the nunchuck with an analog stick on it. The only other alternative might be a mouse - supported by the console to be a pointer as opposed to other solutions already seen - and analog setup. Analog i smuch easier to move with but a mouse is much more precise, so this is the only logical solution unless you use a physical pointer. And lt's face it, 1:1 motion is needed for any motion-sensing to be practical for shooters or RTS games is you're going to use a pointer.

I think, in the real world and for 'core' gamers, the Playstation motion controller makes more sense based on what we've seen so far. All these next-gen technologies, even the wii, have shown that alternative controls can be used if implemented properly instead of tossing in support at the last minute or adding 'waggle'.

To be completely honest, what wowed me the most was the Metroid game on the DS. It made sense. In that vein, maybe a touchpad/analog controller with some sort of accelerometer would be something worth investing some research into.

I think that some games like Killzone 2 and Flower, use motion control in a very intuitive manner. Others like The Conduit or Metroid Prime 3 show that a game can be based off of one of these technologies and be just as good as another game without motion controls. Others like Lair just show that this kind of thing still has a long LONG way to go until these technologies overtake a traditional dual-analog or M&K setup.

i agree, and a plus what the point of games if we are moving too much?

Why do people think Natal, and think that games that utilize it will ONLY be controlled by motion sensing ?

You could do any number of combination of control schemes. You could steer with your beloved analog stick, and do any other actions while sitting.

When you think in such a small box, of course Natal seems gimmicky. It's exactly what's wrong with the Wii controls right now. Developers only think for 5 mins about their controls, and then ship it.

I cannot imagine attempting to drive a manual transmission in Natal...

Hey guys come one, there's only one true aplication to Natal in Racing games (or machine simulation games [mechs, flight sims, racing] for that matter.) It's head tracking. So we can look arounf in the cockpit while racing without having to hit the right analog stick.

Sir Christopher L. Winbush,

That would work well for games where your locked into a seat, like a racing or flight sim. But how would you accomplish something like that for a FPS or any open world roaming game where rotation needs to be virtually unlimited while being extremely precise?

We need Boom Blox for Natal!

Hi. Only idiots think Natal is intended to replace anything. It will be mostly used to supplement the existing controller schemes.

Get your heads out of your asses, you pseudo-journalists. Leave the sensationalism and propaganda to the 24-hour 'news' networks.

What's more fun, holding a wii remote pointed as a firearm or pretending to hold a invisible gun? With the popularity of FPSs, Natal won't appear to us cod a moh fans. Or even Gear fans. Wii forever.

The Natal technology is cool and all, but it won't be replacing joysticks and d-pads anytime soon. If anything, it makes me wonder what video games will be like twenty years from now.

Interesting Codemasters isn't really down on the idea. I think I believe it. Have you tried playing 'Need for Speed Carbon' on the Wii. Its not easy and you're holding a controller in your hands. I think the camera based movement is gonna turn on Microsoft. Nintendo has been able to do well with their Nunchuck and Wiimote. I think Sony has very carefully examined what Nintendo has done. Taken a Wiimote apart and looked it over. I don't fully understand everything with the PlayStation Eye, but its true that a controller makes things easier and I think a console can track movement much better with a signal to signal detection. The sensor for the Wii detects accurate motion coming from a different source sending the action. The PlayStation Eye on games I've played, has been pretty tough. I think Sony has a better shot at success with the motion control and I think Microsoft is gonna see the unexpected and similar to Codemasters, I think they'll be turned off by the response from activity and gamers and will resort to what Sony is now doing. Sony's motion control seems to work well. Natal seems like old technology. WiiMotion Plus, I think Sony's controllers will equal it, but I don't know how developers will respond and certainly hope that gaming on the Wii and the crappy games is encouraged will come with PlayStation Motion Controllers. I'll be very dissapointed if this is so.

And once again, some people have overlooked an important factor... Natal does not require the user to go controllerless! While there will probably be a few attempts at prop making for Natal (like the Wii "Wheel") or the "air guitar" approach, Natal could also be used in tandem with traditional controllers and still be able to improve upon the user experience.

For example, when we play games, our bodies give off a wealth of information about us and how immersed into the action we are. This information (such as leaning into turns while playing a driving game, or jerking the controller during a fighting game, etc...) could be used as extra input to make the experience even more immersive by allowing those subconscious actions to actually have meaningful influence over the game play.

If done correctly, Natal will be more about making games more intuitive to the end user rather than being just another Wii-like motion controller.

Ah, Ronin. Eleven years later and those chases still hold up.

this is only the first in a line of developers ready to say the exact same thing for their games. Natal is russian for BUST