As you've probably guessed, the dearth of footage of actual Project Natal gameplay can be attributed to Microsoft's ban on filming the screen during demos of the technology. Hence, the gameplay-less video above, captured by Engadget during a Natal preview of Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme.
Watch as Project Natal creative director Kudo Tsunoda shows how one rolls giant sticky balls or pushes back extraterrestrial attackers using only one's limbs. Without seeing the screen, we can't be certain how well he's performing these activities, but we can certainly attest to his remarkable dancing prowess.
Reader Comments (76)
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 2:46PM Nirvash Planeteer Power of Capt said
That guys wierd....
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 2:52PM clogger said
How about instead of all this waving my arms around BS they just make me a controller with a D-pad that works. Or is that too hard for Microsoft?
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 3:35PM (Unverified) said
Maybe you're just too rough with yours. I haven't had a controller that stopped working properly since the N64.
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Posted: Sep 28th 2009 5:57PM CaramelZappa said
At least the street fighter pad has a pretty good d-pad. But then, Microsoft doesn't allow third party controllers to be wireless, which hurts the console as a whole imo.
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Posted: Sep 28th 2009 2:53PM GewurztraminerX said
Wake me up when there's something to see.
And even then, it better be in the afternoon; and there better be cookies.
And even then, it better be in the afternoon; and there better be cookies.
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 2:59PM (Unverified) said
Wow... The games that are coming along with NATAL...terrible... So I want to buy a whole new peripheral for Space Invaders, and Katamari? Cripes. That's not a good way to demo this tech... My interest level has dropped significantly after watchin it.
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 3:04PM Lekko said
So they can't show us the screen and the person at the same time. My guess is that is because of the input lag, and they don't want people to get the wrong idea. Since it is still in development, they are using stand-in hardware to do the processing work while they try to find all the rest of the bugs before spinning the final hardware.
Since Natal has it's own processor and does all the processing in the unit, it will have to run at fairly high frequencies, which is fine for a smaller chip. It will most likely not have any input lag on final hardware, which they should just come out and say so that they can show it off.
This does bring up one major flaw I do see with Natal, the specialized hardware is going to be static. That means if there IS a bug with Natal, you can't just patch it easily with a software update like you normally would if the processing was done on the main system CPU. Firmware updates, yes, but that will only fix minor issues since the processor will not (in all likelihood) be a general purpose unit.
Since Natal has it's own processor and does all the processing in the unit, it will have to run at fairly high frequencies, which is fine for a smaller chip. It will most likely not have any input lag on final hardware, which they should just come out and say so that they can show it off.
This does bring up one major flaw I do see with Natal, the specialized hardware is going to be static. That means if there IS a bug with Natal, you can't just patch it easily with a software update like you normally would if the processing was done on the main system CPU. Firmware updates, yes, but that will only fix minor issues since the processor will not (in all likelihood) be a general purpose unit.
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 3:09PM (Unverified) said
thought he was playing ddr for a second, THAT'D BE SWEET
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 3:53PM Dannybuoy said
Christ on a three wheeled bike. This really looks terrible. Why the buggery fuck would you want to shuffle left and right like an R-tard to control your space ship? Then move your arms up and down like an Ozzie Rules Football Ref? No I don't want to either?
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 4:09PM Tunguska said
I got a good laugh at the .14 mark. Also, I'd love to have that t-shirt.
If I ever got this, one thing I hope it would allow me to do is control the 360 menu all "Minority Report" like.
If I ever got this, one thing I hope it would allow me to do is control the 360 menu all "Minority Report" like.
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 4:44PM Enosoma said
So, the "toolbox" thing applies to 360 gamers now! Wheee!
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 4:54PM (Unverified) said
FAIL!
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 5:38PM holysocks said
Japanese news shows the screen + flailing Kudo. The reporter tries it herself and even does a spin while playing. Looks good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=324ImjaiiM0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=324ImjaiiM0
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 6:13PM FOI said
Well first you buy Natal and then you throw a big party with lots of alcohol. You get everybody to drinking and jumping around and then what happens? People start getting all hot and sticky and then the clothes start peeling off.
Drunken Natal orgies will be all the rage.
*insert unused "facial recognition" joke here*
Drunken Natal orgies will be all the rage.
*insert unused "facial recognition" joke here*
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 6:20PM msucokeboi said
if only we had the tech that CSI Miami uses, then we could zoom in and enhance the footing reflected off of Kudo's huge shades!
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 6:35PM Mr Khan said
As i said earlier, this is a bad, bad, bad idea to ban the release of footage. Infinitely bad. Software is the only thing that will make this worthwhile, and software is what people should be seeing. It shows that they have a severe lack of confidence in their existing software, even if they do actually have confidence, they're indicating sharply to the contrary.
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 7:08PM KinseySS said
Ya I'd have to agree, the only reason why I'm even remotely interested in the PS motion controllers is, firstly I've seen it work for games and secondly there adding support to existing games. Everything I've seen for Natal has been circumstantial and its unfortunate cause I was really looking forward to seeing what it can do and so far I've seen nothing.
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Posted: Sep 28th 2009 7:16PM Sc4rfac3 said
I love how people are judging it and we dont even know when its coming out.
I just gonna wait until its finished and check it out then
I just gonna wait until its finished and check it out then
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 7:30PM QuePasa87 said
Kodu makes me facepalm and roll my eyes, but the girl behind him was hot at least.
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 7:53PM cbarcus said
This appears to be an intentional campaign to excite potential customers with body movement, hoping people will exclaim, "That looks like fun!" So far, the predominant view of this forum (Microsoft's current hardcore gaming segment?) is that this behavior is not enticing, and that this is not the experience they are looking for. I'm curious how this new type of interaction plays out, but I also have not yet seen anything that I'd really like to do.
What I'd like to see are mechanics that demonstrate looking, climbing, running, hiding, throwing, shooting, spell casting, spear chucking, object manipulation, writing, rolling, whipping, stabbing, clubbing, slicing, and anything else we might want to experience in a virtual environment. At the moment it looks like it might be possible to create a more compelling shooting experience with the PSMC based on the precision of the device alone. It remains to be seen how well the player might execute other common actions: strafing, jumping, climbing, fwd/rvs, rolling, taking cover, etc. How has gameplay been improved with the Wii's Motion+? I haven't played with it myself....
What I'd like to see are mechanics that demonstrate looking, climbing, running, hiding, throwing, shooting, spell casting, spear chucking, object manipulation, writing, rolling, whipping, stabbing, clubbing, slicing, and anything else we might want to experience in a virtual environment. At the moment it looks like it might be possible to create a more compelling shooting experience with the PSMC based on the precision of the device alone. It remains to be seen how well the player might execute other common actions: strafing, jumping, climbing, fwd/rvs, rolling, taking cover, etc. How has gameplay been improved with the Wii's Motion+? I haven't played with it myself....
Posted: Sep 28th 2009 10:09PM Fuzunga said
Sorry Nintendo, Natal wins at making you look like an ass while playing video games.
Posted: Sep 30th 2009 12:32PM (Unverified) said
Well, at least now I know that I should be shaving my neck beard
Posted: Sep 29th 2009 8:58AM (Unverified) said
Do you offer cheese sandwiches, Kudo?
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