Project Natal

Nothing is set in stone yet about the project natal release date. Microsoft are yet to reveal 2 things and that is the cost of natal and the release date. Rumor has it that the release date for project natal is late 2010. Did Someone say Christmas present

Projectnatalgamer will be keeping an eye on the time of release and cost of project natal. See here or check out the Unofficial Project natal forum for the latest Information on Project Natal.

Since 3DV Systems’ ZCam was demonstrated publicly, people associated the technology with “Minority Report,” the science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg in which Precrime officer John Anderton (Tom Cruise) used a computer by waving his hands in the air. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that for the public announcement of Project Natal, the controller-free gaming and entertainment experience created by Microsoft for the Xbox platform, the company decided to invite the director of “Minority Report.”

In an interview with the BBC, Spielberg confirmed he’s working on video games for this controller-free Xbox technology.

What makes the natal project so damned awesome is that it allows you do more than just play games. You can move through menus by Moving your hands back and forth. The camera is so advanced it has awesome things like facial recognition and voice recognition. While your xbox is powered up and going, you can stand in front of natal and it will sign you in to your avatar.

Possibilities here are endless. Everything from Minority Report style menu to Dance Dance Revolution games that will need to you dance properly instead of using any buttons and instruments to videoconferencing with your friends and co-workers in your living room, this is the future everyone has been waiting for. And it makes the wii seem already out of date. There’s no way wii can currently compete with the Natal project.

What makes this so amazing is that it isn’t what they presented today, which acted like glorified live demos. No, what’s wicked is to think about what new natal developers will be able to do with the development kits that are being sent out all over the world as we speak. This is a whole new way of controlling everything in your living room. this is not just restricted to the xbox360, it will work for DVD movies, music and I can bet will be integrated into tv. This is an exacting time!

An explanation from Microsoft:

Compatible with any Xbox 360 system, the “Project Natal” sensor is the world’s first to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device. Unlike 2-D cameras and controllers, “Project Natal” tracks your full body movement in 3-D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in your voice.

In addition, unlike other devices, the “Project Natal” sensor is not light-dependent. It can recognize you just by looking at your face, and it doesn’t just react to key words but understands what you’re saying. Call a play in a football game, and players will actually respond.