E3 2009: New "controller" announced
During their E3 2009 keynote speech, Microsoft announced a brand new controller for the XBOX 360 - you!
A camera will be able to scan your body and record your movements on screen. As you move, the action will happen on screen in real-time. A 2 minute trailer was shown, highlighting the potential of the feature and several game demos were also shown on stage that highlight the accuracy of the scanning.
The project, called "Natal", allows you to scan your own objects and integrate them into the game. The trailer showed a teenage boy scan his skateboard and then use it in a skateboarding game.
Steve Speilberg then came on stage to push the important of interactivity and how 60% of households don't have a gaming console. He stated that the one way to get more people into games was to make the technology invisible, and this is why Natal will be so great.
Overall, Natal looks very, very impressive. Here's hoping Microsoft don't go down the Nintendo path and go completely motion-sensoring/body scanning, and desert their hardcore gaming crowd.
