460°

D8: Project Natal demo, with video

RANCHO PALOS VERDE, Calif. -- Microsoft didn't provide any new details of its Xbox Project Natal control system at the D8 conference, beyond showing its latest hardware publicly.

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seattletimes.nwsource.com
N4PS3G5070d ago ShowReplies(8)
Omega45070d ago

Didn't look like there was any lag whatsoever when the boy was play richocet, even when he was doing those fast kicks. Natal really has come a long way since last year.

mrv3215070d ago

Pause at 0:42 and you'll see the bottom of an avatar shoes again.

It does seem less laggy I will admit that.

nveenio5070d ago

Yes, lag seems much less. But, there's still a lot of glitches. THEY'RE SO CLOSE!

SilverSlug5070d ago

was hitting the ball with the head, it was really laggy.

Bigpappy5070d ago

There is a second video below that one. I missed it the firt time also. There is no lag there though. M$ seem to be getting this thing to an impressive state with several months to go.
I suspect they have gone to production already. They need to have millions of these things ready for October or November the latest.

Alcon Caper5070d ago

Quite impressive with the lack of lag.

Imperator5069d ago

Well, they finally seem to have gotten the red ball game right. Now how about they try something new ey?

Good to see the lag isn't as prominent. Hopefully, this lack of lag will extend to other games and not just this one.

Omega65070d ago

LMAO! Man you are dillusional!!!!

wUTTer5070d ago (Edited 5070d ago )

If this skeletal tracking technology is suppose to mimmick a real skeleton, they failed.

If they can keep the avatar from twisting and flailing about, then microsoft may have something to work with.

I'm sorry guys but nothing has changed much since the "BAM!" fiasco.

MNicholas5070d ago (Edited 5070d ago )

But appears much more glitchy.

They must be using a simplified algorithm which trades accuracy for speed.

Probably a good decision.

Where's that demo with the talking boy who plays with the water?

AAACE55070d ago (Edited 5070d ago )

Come on man... You know no one here wants to hear that! They want to hear "It's terribly laggy" or "The games don't look fun" and all that crap!

You've been here on N4G for a while. You know better...lol!

I didn't get to view the vids on this PC because of some flash issues, but I will on the other one. So I can't judge right now!

By the way guys, this isn't the final product! They are just showing how Natal has progressed since it was last shown. It's still several months away from releasing, so anything can happen.

Heisenberg5070d ago

But there was most certainly still noticeable lag...

Patrick5070d ago

It did seem like less lag although the lag is still there and is noticeable. However where I see the problems is the glitches that seem to be happening alot. Sometimes its seems like the avatar is kind of wavy and other times they just spaz out. I still dont see there being any true pin point accuracy. My kids may love it though. If it turns out ok, and thats a big IF, then maybe this will cause me to buy a 360. Disagree all you want, but at least I am being honest.

edgeofblade5069d ago

The funny thing about the lag vs. glitches: We've been complaining about "lag", so they shift toward lowest cost processing of the skeletal tracking... leading to more glitches.

It's a balancing act. Which do you want... accurate skeletal tracking or lower lag? OR, would you prefer to have a setting where you can tune it to your own preferences?

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 5069d ago
lokiroo4205070d ago

Lag looks to be reduced, but at the cost of tracking calculations. The avatar goes crazier than the bam video.

Timesplitter145070d ago (Edited 5070d ago )

Cool ball punching but I hope you actually have interresting games for this, MS

DigitalEnemy5070d ago

Still not sold on Natal, lag is reduced, but like lokiroo420 states above it cutting back on key calculations. E3 will make or brake not only Natal, but even Xbox as a brand. Soo much hype is around this peripheral alone Microsoft cannot afford for a poor showing and got to deliver on their promise in less than 2 weeks time....

I hope Natal does live up to expections, not only for microsofts sake, but for the game industry in general....

Alcon Caper5070d ago

Well, MS definitely won't let their E3 presentation be poor...I'm sure they've been rehearsing for months. If anything, it'll be the criticism from the media that will destroy it(not fanboy opinions). Fortunately, nearly every one of those closed door presentations have been positive with the amount of fun they've been having. Unless the devs fuck this up royally, I can't imagine a considerable difference in their response come E3.

IdleLeeSiuLung5070d ago

I agree with Alcon.

I think the only two things that can destroy natal is media criticism or a high price tag.

The technology from what I have seen on videos is working better than I expect and is far superior to what Nintendo introduced with the Wii in terms of being able to pick up subtle movements.

E3 will be the reveal! Anxiously awaiting for so many reasons including both MS and Sony's show!

err... Nintendo not so much personally.

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500°

Kinect Technical Specifications & Xbox 360 Requirements Revealed

The most notable reveal would perhaps by the requirements of the Xbox 360 console itself. While Microsoft has insisted since the original unveiling of Kinect at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2009, then known as Project NATAL, that the device would be compatible with all Xbox 360 consoles, the revelation of a dedicated port included on the newly redesigned Xbox 360 model has sparked rumours of incompatibility, which were quickly debunked.

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electronictheatre.co.uk
5043d ago Replies(12)
lzim5043d ago

odd, i was led to believe it lacked an internal processor and so also needed a core to itself, if not 1-2 processing threads.

Wikkid6665043d ago

The article says nothing about whether the processor is internal or it uses the 360s.

darthv725043d ago

Also, the notion of a dedicated port really lends nothing to the idea of older units being incompatible. I believe the kinect port is a custom usb port (think the original xbox controller ports) but one that will feed power and data.

Older models will require a splitter that will run off a single usb port (prob the back one) that will work for the data but not the power. That is why they keep saying it will have an external power for those systems.

As for the processor, combo of both makes sense. Using 360 cpu/gpu power to help calculate the finished product on screen along with the cpu in the kinect.

Remember people...this is not a cheap usb web cam (like the original live vision).

Inside_out5043d ago (Edited 5043d ago )

They say they are using 10-15% of one 360 P4 cores. I know that the Kinect we see today is a watered down version of the patented tech they bought and own. Maybe one day the " real " tech will be cost effective. It still is very impressive tech even without a super computer running it.

wicked5043d ago

No, the previous artical said they removed a processor, but I would guess that it had more than 1 to start with. So it will have some form of processor still within it. Arm9 or Cortex M3, all dirt cheap now but powerful.

IdleLeeSiuLung5043d ago

Does it matter? They showed Forza Kinect that looked amazing working with Kinect real time!

callahan095043d ago

Are you just talking about how the graphics are able to look amazing while working with Kinect? If that's what you're talking about, ok. The game itself, though, well... I think I'll stick with the real Forza, with an Xbox 360 control pad. The limited-control Kinect Forza they showed doesn't look like it's worth any attention, in my opinion. Why would anyone want to control a car like that, with hands held out and holding onto nothing, with no control over acceleration or braking? Just seems totally pointless to me.

CrawFail5043d ago

lol real time? I don't quite think it was real time.

Bigpappy5043d ago

You guy know that the motion tech is from prime sense right? Please go to their web site primesense.com,and have a look at what they say the tech can do. It can read fingers well enough to type with each finger and can be used while sitting. No one ever said it has to scan the entire body to work. What we have seen from kinect so far is not all it is capable of.

Reading these specs and trying to compare them to PSeye is pointless, because they are different types of cameras and provide completely differnt types of info to the consoles (Kinect is a 3D camera and provides 3D images. PSeye is a 2D camera and provides 2D images). Per Primsense, the camera is capable of providing video at 60fps, but the 3D is 30fps. The specs for 2 players active is for full body scans. There are no specs given for people sitting and just using their hands.

This tech is obviously a work in progress and has yet to be fleshed out. I suggest all you N4G Kinect experts, research before you post you doom and gloom so you atleast have solid facts for you skepticism. You can also relax and see what M$ does with the tech insteat of pretending to know more that the people developing the tech.

IdleLeeSiuLung5042d ago

The game was available for people to try on the show floor at E3 so yes it was real time. Wetter you like it for Forza or not wasn't my point.

That is up to the developer to figure out.

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Apolloeye5043d ago

So pretty much the same spec as the PS Eye, although I thought the eye went up to 120 Hertz...

Theonik5043d ago

The eye goes to 60Hz i think. Regardless the eye should be capable to do any Kinect shown so far with less lag. (they revolve on a 2D axis and only use the depth tracking to separate players.) I am really disappointed by the tech and how it is utilised thus far.

shoddy5043d ago

More or less powerful we need to see the product.
So far it seem the pseye can do anything kinect can do.
2d 3d I not yet see the advantage.

IHateYouFanboys5043d ago

no, the PSEye cannot do 3D tracking. Kinect can.

the PSEye does 2D motion recognition, Kinect does 3D motion tracking. they are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT things.

Sheikh Yerbouti5043d ago

Going from alkaline to lithium was a significant step for batteries, but at the end of the day it is just a battery. PSEye and Kinect are kind of the same way. At the end of the day it is a game camera - with camera games.

IHateYouFanboys5043d ago

@Sheikh Yerbouti: your example is not really on the same scale of difference as PSEye/Kinect.

a better example using batteries would be the jump from standard batteries to rechargable batteries. theyre both doing the same thing - being batteries - but one of them does things that the other one cannot possibly do, which is be recharged and used again. it does everything the standard battery does, and more.

Kinect does everything the PSEye does (2D motion recognition), and more (3D motion tracking). no amount of software updates can change the hardware in the PSEye, and the hardware is not capable of 3D motion tracking as it lacks infra-red.

IaMs125043d ago

Yes i see your point but how you guys feel about the PS3 can be said the same way.

The PS3 may produce better graphics and be more powerful then the Xbox360, but by the end of they day its still only a console. Also inferior to PC :)

PirosThe4th5042d ago

... PSeye can do 3d as you say... even eyetoy... they used shadows and other stuff to recognize it.
Move is also 3d...

Sheikh Yerbouti5042d ago

Lithium batteries are rechargeable batteries.

Kinect isn't a true 3D camera - it can't render a picture of your butt if you are always facing front. It makes an approximate 3D model using visual cues. The PSEye can do the same, although it will be cruder.

Plus, just because the technology is different, doesn't necessarily mean gameplay will be.

@lams12
Yes, you're right. Similarly Kinect will have some good games, different from PSEye, only if Microsoft makes them. But they haven't made games too different from the PSEye.

Theonik5042d ago

Which is what i meant from the start. None of the games they have shown so far could not have been on the PS Eye.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 5042d ago
Xwow20085043d ago

"Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players"
I think now its official that just 2 ppl can play at the same time.

Godmars2905043d ago

Love that you're quoting something and you're getting disagrees.

Sheikh Yerbouti5043d ago (Edited 5043d ago )

Only room for two anyway when you think about it...
but it can keep track of six people during a game in regards to facial recognition. I think that's impressive.

I would love to have Kinect built into my laptop, so only I can get in even without a password. Why is Microsoft wasting this on the XBox again?

Ilikegames765043d ago

still couldn't play it sitting down. Honestly, some guys are so easily impressed by copy cat technology.

blackpanther255042d ago

i was at the engadget show and kudo showed its 3d tracking and when two people where on screen......one person would be red while the other would be green.......but as soon as a third person steped into the camera view two people automatically turned gray and it couldnt read their movements well.

what i took away from that event is that the kinect is pretty kool but for right now it can only work with two people(they could still be working on it)

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150°

Kinect Re-Appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon & Miranda Cosgrove

Xbox Evolved:

"Microsoft is holding no breaks in making sure the general public knows all about Kinect. What cooler spot to also show it than with Jimmy Fallon? "

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xboxevolved.e-mpire.com
Coded-Dude5051d ago

although i usually watch fallon. i'll have to catch an internet clip of it later.

ProA0075051d ago

it's nothing you have to see. trust me. zzzzzzz

tokoshix5051d ago

I'm sure it's just the usual marketing stuff, so nothing really interesting. Pretty much learned everything about the device at E3.

Tony P5051d ago

The more I see this targeted at non-gamers, the sadder I get.

I want a Kinect game I can be *proud* to own as a gamer. One day.

sonarus5051d ago

I saw it full of lag. The girls was standing there and her character just started twitching out of control.

Plus you can clearly see the game is full of Lag. Regardless though i don't care...its a piece of tech directed to casual gamers so kudos to MS for this. Unfortunately i don't fall into the casual crowd so this does not interest me one bit.

What does interest me though is a cheaper 360 slim with a hard drive and wifi capablities for 50 or maybe 100 bucks cheaper

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5051d ago
Blaze9295051d ago

was pretty funny. same demos they showed at E3 though. Nothing new. But they sure are marketing it quick.

AridSpider5051d ago

Yeah they did the same thing the day after they announced Natal last year with Good Morning America and Fallon back when it was called Natal. No doubt this thing will sell I suspect. Will it succeed technically though is the question

ProA0075051d ago

well they did say they are launching this like the launch of a new xbox.

AridSpider5051d ago

Well they price has not been 'confirmed' yet by anyone....

AridSpider5051d ago

wow first that girl's co-worker hosts the Kinect event and now she's her playing it. I see the audience Microsoft is definitely going after with Bieber, Cosgrove and McCurdy - teenage pop audiences.

Cueil5050d ago

it's that female crowd that they would love to hook into...

JasonXE5051d ago

She's kind of hot.

/pedobear

Boring show.

SpaceSquirrel5051d ago

Interesting. They did the same last year as well.

Show all comments (31)
200°

Hey Microsoft, Where Are The Core Games For Kinect?

Meodia writes, "So about a year ago when Project Natal was first starting off, many Xbox 360 and even other gamers were worried about the future of their console. A local shovelware dumping ground didn't sound quite appealing and Natal looked like it would serve extra servings of it. But Microsoft reassured us, holding our hands and telling us that everything would be alright. Since then, nothing has changed. After that "conference" at E3, we were shown nothing but how to please little girls."

xHarvey5055d ago (Edited 5055d ago )

Kinectimals. Raising a tiger isn't hardcore? lol

ipwnall5055d ago

Bubbles to you sir.

I'm extremely aggravated about this Kinect business. I mean, look at the image in the article. Those are the games for Kinect's future. Do we want to be playing those?

B-Real2065055d ago

They told you to wait till gamescom and now you will wait.

005055d ago (Edited 5055d ago )

But you won't be when that tiger mauls you.

ShinMaster5055d ago

"Wait till E3" they said.
Well E3 has come and this is the result.

Moonboots5055d ago

LOL! +bub for funny on that one!

PS: I love you Skittles! Don't eat me!!!!

BiggCMan5055d ago Show
HolyOrangeCows5055d ago

"Wait until E3"
"Wait until Gamescon"
"Wait until release"
"Wait until next E3"
"Wait until...."

So if we want core games, the best option is the waiting game?

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 5055d ago
Alcon Caper5055d ago (Edited 5055d ago )

hey ms remember this list from tgs 09?

Activision Blizzard, Bethesda Softworks, Capcom Co. Ltd, Disney Interactive, Electronic Arts, Konami, MTV Games, Namco Bandai, Sega, Square Enix, THQ Inc. and Ubisoft

>:(

Imperator5055d ago

Behind closed doors being shown to paid celebrities who could care less about gaming.... if there's even any at all.

Mr Logic5055d ago

It needs buttons. There is only a limited a limited amount of things you can accomplish through gesture recognition.

Inane_Asylum5055d ago

I heard Kevin Butler say buttons existed in the future...

...I believe him...

Moonboots5055d ago (Edited 5055d ago )

Obviously Kinect is a casual device designed for those gamers first and foremost and that is the message MS wanted to send at E3 much to the angst of the core. And they have been saying all year that is what to expect.

I am going to give it some time because I don't think MS are going to ignore their core for long. And in the mean time enjoy my controller on games like Gears 3, Reach, Fable 3, Kingdoms, Black Ops, etc etc on the 360.. Not even going to mention my plate for the other systems I own.. There is just no time to play it all. (heaven?)

Redempteur5055d ago

Don't you see ? hardcore games are coming ..just now they annonced .. BURGER KING !!

............

neverming .

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5055d ago
Arnon5055d ago

It's funny because after the Microsoft conference, we actually saw some. In fact, I'm surprised that they showed off the shovelware they did, and then an hour later Sonic Freedom Riders and Child of Eden were shown off and completely destroyed what Microsoft displayed.

Imperator5055d ago (Edited 5055d ago )

Child of Eden is a multiplat, and do you have any gameplay vids of Sonic (I honestly want to see how it works).

@Orange Juice, Ah, I see. Looks kinda simple though. wouldn't really call it a core game.

@Arnon, if that's the case then Kinect really does have the edge in that game... but that's just one game. MS needs to show a LOT more.

Orange Juice5055d ago (Edited 5055d ago )

http://n4g.com/news/546595/...

There you go

EDIT Now that I watch the gameplay closely its most likely a game for kids. I couldnt see an adult "hardcore" gamer playing this game for an extended period of time.

Erotic Sheep5055d ago (Edited 5055d ago )

Eyetoy Antigrav says hi..

Arnon5055d ago (Edited 5055d ago )

Child of Eden is multiplat, but it's exclusive to Kinect in regards to motion controls. The developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi does not have a dev kit for Move.

http://www.computerandvideo...

HaVoK3085055d ago

If core gamers are anything like me they could careless about them.

pimpmaster5055d ago

gotta agree, MS is exactly like nintendo 2 years ago. hey, what ever happened to that dumb ass vitality sensor.

gynecologistcobra5055d ago

Like Nintendo two years ago? As in, raking up a fuck ton of cash?

pimpmaster5054d ago

as in having nothing to offer for the hardcore audience. and only for casuals

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