The November ‘10 release date lines up with information that’s been making the rounds since the device was first announced, but this is the first time a price has been mentioned.

This information comes from a spy report published by gaming trade mag MCV. The report goes on to say that Microsoft is readying 5 million units to meet the demand when Natal goes on sale November 2010, and that at least 14 game titles are in the works for launch. Publishers committed to Natal-based games include Activision, Bethesda, Capcom, Disney, EA, Ubisoft, and more. And that doesn’t include Microsoft’s own first-party publishers, like Rare, Lionhead, and Epic.

The real news here is that jaw-dropping price tag. When I was at E3 earlier this year, where Natal was first unveiled, the most common speculation was that Natal would be priced at at least $200, if not more. Because Microsoft has made no secret of the fact that it sees Natal as a way of lengthening the life span of the 360, and avoiding a whole new console launch. Now normally I might be inclined to be cynical of MS for trying to “wring more money out of a current-gen console” while its competitors move forward… But in the current economy, a bargain-priced device that transforms your existing console experience into something revolutionary sounds like a pretty darn good idea.

MCV claims that Microsoft wants to make Natal an ultra-affordable “impulse buy” add-on for your 360, and right now, gamers everywhere are on their knees praying that this is true. One of MCV’s sources says the price might even go as low as $50.

Such a move would not be without precedent on Microsoft’s part. Both the first Xbox and the 360 have famously been sold for higher-than-manufacturing-cost prices, out of the gate, because of an intentional strategy from MS to recoup its hardware investment through game sales. And it’s a strategy that’s worked for them.

Whether or not any of this is true remains to be seen, so don’t count it as “fact” yet. In the meantime, Sony’s motion-tracking “want” controller for the PS3 will be launched in Spring 2010 — at least 6 months before Natal. And rumors persist that Nintendo is already at work on a next-gen Wii with heftier processing power.

The console war is far from over.

Image: Microsoft Corporation.

Post from: EveryJoe

Leak details Project Natal launch plans

Everyone’s talking about it.

It was by far the biggest news to come out of the E3 video game expo last week, and it carries implications far beyond the world of gaming. Heck, even Steven Spielberg was on hand to help unveil it.

It’s called “Project Natal,” and it’s the code name for a new device that will one day soon hook into your Xbox 360 — but I’m betting Microsoft will find ways of putting it to use in other ways, too. The technology it uses is just too cutting-edge for it to have only one use. Take a look at the promotional video MS whipped up to introduce E3 journos to the overall concept. It shows off some examples of what this revolutionary device will make possible:

From Microsoft’s Project Natal fact sheet, here’s a list of the tech in question:

• Project Natal sensor. Project Natal is the world’s first system to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multiarray microphone, and custom processor running proprietary software… The Project Natal sensor tracks full-body movement and individual voices, creating controller-free fun and social entertainment available only on Xbox 360.
• RGB camera. Project Natal has a video camera that delivers the three basic color components. As part of the Project Natal sensor, the RGB camera helps enable facial recognition and more.
• Depth sensor. An infrared projector combined with a monochrome CMOS sensor allows Project Natal to see the room in 3-D (as opposed to inferring the room from a 2-D image) under any lighting conditions.
• Multiarray microphone. Project Natal has a microphone that will be able to locate voices by sound and extract ambient noise. The multiarray microphone will enable headset-free Xbox LIVE party chat and more.
• Custom processor (running Microsoft proprietary software layer). A proprietary software layer makes the magic of Project Natal possible. This layer differentiates Project Natal from any other technology on the market through its ability to enable human body recognition and extract other visual noise.

For Xbox 360 players, Project Natal represents controller-free gaming. No longer will you mash buttons or push tiny thumb joysticks. The built-in sensor tracks your body movement, recognizes your face, and understands your voice. The full-body mode of play it offers looks simple yet sophisticated enough to make the Nintendo Wii look stuck in the stone age.

Fable II creator Peter Molyneaux was on hand to hype Project Natal, and he put together this video that shows off the work his studio has been doing of late, experimenting with what Natal has to offer. The result is an interactive AI that proves to be an astounding simulation of real life.

So how else do you think Microsoft could put the Natal technology to use, outside of gaming? The first thing that jumps to my mind is that the much-hyped touch screen interfaces of the future may now be obsolete with a technology that recognizes mid-air gestures instead of requiring actual physical contact.

More information about Project Natal can be found here.

All photos by Robin Parrish.

Post from: EveryJoe

Microsoft’s Project Natal

It’s not every day you get to say you were present for history in the making. But Microsoft made history on January 1st, 2009, and I was there to see it.

Xbox set the bar insanely high with its 2009 E3 Media Briefing. This multi-million dollar affair was a star-studded venture filled with juicy exclusives, jaw-dropping demos, and revolutionary surprises that just might turn the entire gaming industry on its head. Microsoft stunned the audience with surprise appearances by Steven Spielberg, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and others.

But let’s get right to the big: Microsoft is about to change the way you play games forever with a new piece of hardware it’s codenamed “Project Natal.” Natal is Microsoft’s answer to Nintendo’s motion-sensing technology, but it’s much more than that.

Natal is a set-top box, about the size of a thin DVR player. It has a whole host of state-of-the-art technology inside, including a motion-detecting camera, sensors, audio equipment, and more. When put together with your Xbox 360, Natal transforms you into the ultimate game controller. Not only does it sense full body movement, it recognizes your voice, your face, gesture commands, and more.

I got full video of the entire Project Nadal presentation and it explains the technology far better than I ever could. It features the likes of Steven Spielberg, Fable creator Peter Molyneaux, lots of demos and video, and much more. Prepare to be blown away:

But Natal wasn’t the only major news. The Xbox Live Video Store is being rebranded this fall to “Zune Video,” with tons of new features, including: “instant on” movies and TV shows — no more waiting to download, just click and play; full 1080p HD videos; a partnership with SkyTV is bringing live TV shows to Xbox; and “Live Party” allows you to enjoy a movie or game as a shared experience through a virtual living room where your Avatars can watch and interact with each other. In addition, Microsoft has forged a new partnership with Last.fm to bring Music to Xbox Live.

Social Networking fans have reason to rejoice: both Facebook and Twitter are coming to Xbox Live! Here’s a video that shows you some of the features you can expect, all of which will be launching this fall:

Metal Gear Solid is finally coming to Xbox 360! Hideo Kojima was on hand to help announce that the next game in the MGS franchise is titled Metal Gear Solid: Rising, and it stars MGS secondary character Raiden instead of Solid Snake. There’s no release date yet, but Kojima touted it as “a completely new Metal Gear experience.”

Before all of the big announcements, the conference was first kicked off with a world premiere presentation of The Beatles: Rock Band. Check out the entire demo, trailer, and surprise celebrity appearances in this video:

To recap, 45 of the Beatles’ most popular songs will be playable in-game, and the first 10 of them were announced today: “I Saw Her Standing There,” “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “I Feel Fine,” “Day Tripper,” “Taxman,” “I Am the Walrus,” “Back in the U.S.S.R.,” “Octopus’s Garden,” “Here Comes the Sun,” and “Get Back.” The entire Abby Road album will be downloadable shortly after the game’s launch, and “All You Need is Love” is an Xbox Live exclusive track whose proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders.

By the way, I’d love to know how much Microsoft paid Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison to walk out on stage for all of twenty seconds and not say a single word.

Other highlights…

Modern Warfare 2 was demoed for us, showing off an incredible snow mountain level. After ascending precariously amid a blizzard, using ice hooks, the player nearly dies after under-jumping a chasm. The devs then fast-forwarded to a moment later in the level where you’re infiltrating an enemy camp. They engaged in some sneak-and-shoot action using the snow storm as cover. Once a full-out battle broke out, the player tumbled down a hill and was attacked by enemies on snowmobiles. The player took out the driver of one of the vehicles and commandeered it, racing down the mountain, controlling the snowmobile with one hand and shooting enemies with a gun in the other. Two map packs for MW2 are releasing first on Xbox Live after the game’s launch.

Halo 3: ODST, the new spinoff of the popular FPS series, is set in the fictional city of New Mbasa, where you play as an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper who’s separated form his team after a crash landing. Something terrible has happened to New Mbasa, and the story unfolds as you discover clues scattered throughout the city, which trigger flashbacks to other ODSTs that you’ll play as well. Halo 3: ODST arrives September 22nd of this year.

But there was another Halo game unveiled as well, and it’s shrouded in mystery. Halo: Reach, a “top secret project” in development at Bungie was shown only in the form of a teaser trailer (with no game footage). It’s unknown what genre of game Reach is, exactly, but Halo fans know that “Reach” is the name of a planet that played a crucial role in humanity’s war against the Covenant. A purchase of Halo ODST includes an invitation to the multiplayer beta of Halo: Reach. The final game is expected sometime in 2010.

Alan Wake was finally shown again after years of radio silence from its developer, Remedy Games. This is one of my most-anticipated titles of the show, and wouldn’t you know it: my video tape ran out very early in the demo and I was so enthralled by what I was watching on the stage and big screen that I didn’t notice my video not recording until it was over! Doggone it! The incredible demo showed the power of light in the game, from a never-before-seen level. The dark creatures that attack Alan are hurt by his flashlight, and he can use flares and generators to activate larger lights. The demo ended with a profoundly cinematic cliffhanger where a trailer Alan was hiding in was pushed over the side of a cliff by an enormous tractor. The whole thing oozed atmosphere and dread, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

Final Fantasy XIII is targeting a Spring 2010 launch. Here’s a video showing off some sweet demo footage:

Gears of War maker Epic Games is working on its first-ever Xbox Live Arcade game, a side-scroller built with Unreal Engine 3 called Shadow Complex. It’ll be out this summer. Here’s a short demo:

Joy Ride is a new social game that uses Avatars in a car-driving experience. Customize your car and then take your Avatar for a spin, a race, an obstacle course, or other destinations. The design is reminiscent of Pixar’s Cars, with lots of red desert rocks and the wide open west. Joy Ride will be free to download and play this winter, but if you want additional cars, upgrades, or race tracks, you’ll have to buy them. Check out the demo:

Tony Hawk put in his annual appearance to talk about Tony Hawk Ride and unveil its unique skateboard-shaped controller:

Splinter Cell Conviction was finally unveiled after years of having fallen off the radar, and it’s clear that it’s undergone a major transformation during that time. It now features a fast-paced narrative with intense, brutal action that’s centered around protagonist Sam Fisher’s vendetta against the people who had his daughter killed. It showed of lots of innovations in gameplay, including a unique in-world projection system for relaying story information, and tons of new moves and abilities for Sam. It’s coming exclusively to Xbox 360 this fall:

Forza Motorsport 3 is sure to please fans of the series and the racing genre in general. Shipping in October, the game features tons of customization options and the ability to record and edit your own video with some wild and crazy results, such as in the demo shown here:

By the way, I counted 5 separate times they referred to Forza 3 as “the definitive racing game of this generation.” Good grief, we get it already.

We were also shown trailers for the next Lips game, Crackdown 2, and Left 4 Dead 2.

The crowd seemed truly stunned by the grand finale with Project Natal. I don’t think anyone was expecting such a revolutionary announcement from Microsoft this year. The Natal hardware is something that could easily have been saved for the next iteration of the Xbox, but Microsoft is releasing it for this generation instead, and if it can deliver on all of the promises made today… the mind reels at the possibilities!

All photos and video by Robin Parrish, except Paul McCartney/Ringo Starr photo by ©2009 Casey Rodgers/AP Images for Xbox. Used by permission.

Post from: EveryJoe

E3 ‘09: Xbox changes gaming forever