Is that who that is? It kinda looks like Steve Jobs.

Here is Felicia Day checking out Natal.

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Who is she? She's cute.

Pretty cool technology but if the Wii's motion controls tend to get on my nerves, I doubt this is going to be peripheral I am going to dash out to buy.

Check out The Guild offered free through the Video Market place. Also Dr. Horrible free through Hulu.

She's an actress that likes games and nerdy stuff, so geeks love her. She's had bit roles on some TV shows, and also has a web show called The Guild that's about World of Warcraft.

The Guild. I knew I recognized her from somewhere. I watched the first season of that but never got around to the second one. Good reminder.

She was also in an episode or two of Buffy.

Paul Thurrott call's Natal Vaporware

"Project Natal makes for good demo. But seriously, folks. This is vaporware at its finest. We can discuss this device when it's closer to reality. For now, I remain completely unconvinced. And if you really believe we're going to see any of the baloney shown in this video anytime soon, well. I feel bad for you."

http://www.winsupersite.com/xbox/e3_2009.asp

Who is Paul Thurott and why do I care?

I don't mind awards , I definitely think the 'bonus unlockables' are underutilized, but I just don't care enough about pimping my avatar to want to spend actual money on it. Still as long as it's optional It won't necessarily affect me.
I'm more worried about games on demand. Doesn't seem like there's a price benefit for it, and the drm Already on the xbox is much more restrictive than something like steam. I like DD in small doses but I will resist a dull transition to digital downlids as much as I can.

He's some Microsoft Guru, he has a weekly podcast with Leo Laporte where they discusses Microsoft. I think he came off as a real ass on this week show. He said no one will buy Beatles RB because the 360's demo is 18 yr old kids. Then he claims to own a 360 and has fun playing COD4. What a jerk.

This invalidates everything else he says with regards to the 360, it's demographic, Rock Band, Rock Band's demographic, The Beatles, and The Beatles' demographic.

I agree on this and the tech Sony showed. I think we are looking at something that is quite a way off from being practical and affordable for release. The fakery already exposed about Milo just reinforces my doubts. I believe Microsoft is very serious about this, but do 360 gamers even want this? Holding up my hands instead of holding a controller isn't going to make playing Burnout or Halo anymore enjoyable.

But wait, that's what sold a gazillion Wii's. Microsoft plans to do it, even better than Nintendo, and it's rubbish????? People made it impossible to find a Wii for over a year because they wanted to shake their wiggle-stick, but Microsoft plan on doing away with controllers altogether, adding voice recognition, custom game scans and more and it's a bad idea??? I'm sorry, but I'm confused. I'd rather play Burnout controller-free than Kart with the wiggle-stick enabled steering wheel.

My 2 cents.

I don't think it's a "bad" idea, I just think hopping on the waggle train isn't the direction MS should be going.
I have a 360 and a Wii, and I play the 360 much more often. Too many games seem to rely on the wagging as a gimmick or crutch, and even those that don't, I don't really enjoy that as a style of gameplay. (I even think this of the iphone, I haven't really found an accelerometer-enabled game that is really fun for me.)
I think it could be awesome on the right game--imagine a good Superman tie-in game, or a fighting game, where the motion capture is done well. Flying through your living room would be excellent. Even an arcade flight game. But yeah, racing a car by moving my body doesn't really appeal to me. Ironically, I do think the Mario Kart wheel works, but that's not depending on the wiimote, we have had plenty of console steering wheels.

I am interested in having that functionality combined with the hi-def graphics the 360 can do. You're In the Movies was actually a decently fun family game. Something like Natal that would basically be an upgraded version would be awesome.

I am however pretty cynical it will actually work out that well.

I think waggle was an ok idea on the casual games it works well on, but even it has proven to be inferior to a controller on many types of games. The Wii remote at least has tacticle feedback for the most part. You are at least holding something physical in your hands and moving it around. This camera idea is terrible for games like Burnout. How are you supposed to feel in control of a car in burnout with no tactile feedback at all? I can see this being used like Eye Toy on Playstation for a lot of fun games, but replacing the controller for standard games sounds insane to me. There is no way I could play games with my hands holding air for a steering wheel or doing hand motions to play a platformer or shooter. Microsoft has a long way to go to prove to me this will work for more than gimmick games. Even Nintendo with all their gazillion sold hasn't proven that.

I agree that this shouldn't be something to replace all traditional controls. Instead it could bring a whole new genre of titles to the 360. I particularly think how interesting it would be with a point and click adventure. Or something like those hidden object games.

I'm skeptical as hell about Natal, but between your post and the one above he comes across as a real douchebag.

How the hell does Dan Amrich play games with that fucked up lazy eye of his?!

First off, it's not bundled into the core system, and looks to be a pretty expensive peripheral, though an official pricepoint hasn't come out yet. This is unlike the Wii, which is pretty much built around the concept.

Second, I think the complaints are mostly about the tech demos and how accurate they are. The video is obviously just concepts, not the actual device (anyone have a link to the Milo controversy?). The live demos were pretty cool, but limited.

So the question is, how close can they get to the promo video, and how low can they bring the price? I can see this working bundled in at launch with their next platform... otherwise, how many developers will really put a ton of effort coming out with games specifically for this peripheral? And let's be honest, the main draw will have to be games built for it, stuff like pushing a fake petal in Burnout or taking your hands off the controller to lob grenades in Halo may seem cool, but the guy with the regular controls will have the advantage.

Whatever, I'm one step closer to having Nick Arcade in my living room.

http://majornelson.com/archive/2009/...e-16-2009.aspx

So in reality we can look forward to being back on Live around Thursday or Friday.

Wow that sucks, what about RB DLC for next week.