I think you summed up my thoughts exactly: Natal is awesome, but not for gaming.
As a non-control peripheral? Absolutely. I would LOVE to be able to browse the XMB by moving my hands around, considering how much I use it for things other than gaming. Voice/face rec? So awesome.
But all of the gaming applications have been done with the Eye/Eyetoy (minus the z-axis tracking, of course, but there's only so much space in my living room for that kind of motion) and it didn't feel right.
Sony's Eyemote gives you something tangible while also allowing for 3d motion. That's key to gaming: removing the controller entirely sounds great in theory, but in practice, immersion is cannibalized. For me, that's key, and while I'll be watching both with interest, I don't see Natal becoming anything more than an expensive Eye with some nifty features.
And frankly, if Sony wanted to make those nifty features happen with the Eye, they could. It's software.
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