160°

Rare on Tight Schedule for Project Natal Game Development?

Split-Screen: "At least that's what the profile of Bjørn Toft Madsen, Software Director at Rare/Microsoft Games Studios, says. In working on a joint project between the two companies in the past three months, Madsen's role in the project is stated to be to 'Manage a large team of engineers working on a tight schedule to go from pre-production to finished product in a year'."

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Bumpmapping5728d ago

Poor Rare M$ is dragging them into the ground.

Ron_Burgundy5728d ago

poor Rare indeed, one of my favorite studios ever because of there N64 days, now dragged to the ground because of M$, how the mighty have sadly fallen :(

Bumpmapping5728d ago

Same here man I think it BS how M$ doesn't give them the time they need to develop games.I think they have alot more to prove this gen than what they have been showing us :(

BX815727d ago

That's not MS fault. Rare knows how to do their job if they needed more time all they have to do is open their mouth. You can't honestly think games don't get delayed?

Blacksand15727d ago (Edited 5727d ago )

Microsoft do there people wrong, they talking about going form pre-production to finish production in a year. Here we go again, that's why I don't have a Xbox, they did the same thing in 2005 to the 360 threw it out there for people to buy and didn't test for a the failure rate. They going to bundle it at $400 like a new console like the other article said, are sell it between $150 to $250 they know there people like spin money, if it was me I will be mad.

JokesOnYou5727d ago (Edited 5727d ago )

Yeah and you know what kind of game it is already, it could be a Arcade level title or a basic casual game which doesn't take very long, but since the article says "Manage a large team of engineers" seems that whatever game it is, microsoft has brought in alot of manpower and resources to cut the dev time so the game can get finished sooner rather than later. lol, it seems they cant win with you sony extremists first they say "where's the games?", then they say "why are they rushing to make games?" Whatever you sony extremists are just jealous cause Natal doesn't have the ps logo attatched to it. This isn't Home. Get over it. lol

JOY

lowcarb5727d ago

The reason you never purchased an Xbox is because of your hate for MS being it's MS and a American company nothing more. All of you 1 console owners go ahead and miss out on the best of both worlds this gen. SOny and MS both are out for one thing(money) and that's it. For you to sit there and take it in the rear says a lot about your character. I bet no matter what Sony does wrong your going to give them a free pass and say it's ok mistakes happen.

kalebgray925727d ago

and never come out with anything good....not since golden eye

GameOn5727d ago

I enjoyed Viva Pinata and my mates enjoy Banjo N&B (spose to be very creative) I'm happy with their offerings so far.

HolyOrangeCows5727d ago (Edited 5727d ago )

Banjo Kazooie: N&B ruined the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time. I want ''banjo threeie'' and I want the old titles transferred to the DS (Like Super Mario 64).

And then they made those pointless avatars. Whoopie.

Viva Pinata was okay.

Perfect Dark disappointed.

And since they're working for Microsoft now, they aren't allowed to make good sequels like one for Conker. They're only allowed to make games with stupid MP aspirations like racing.

cheapndirty5727d ago

Yeah they tried to evolve BK and it backfired. Give more of the same and people say 'did'nt evolve'. Move the game forward and you hear 'you did it wrong'. It is still a thinking mans games and is fun for the creative side. BK is very much an underrated game.

bigrudowsky5727d ago

viva pinata is a great game and i thought kameo was pretty damn good for a launch game

Kizwiz65727d ago

-What about Kameo? That was a good underrated game (especially for a launch title) just way too short..But Rare's older games are also short (Goldeneye, Banjo etc.)
-Viva Pinata was different and fun.
-PDZ had nice visuals (it was a launch title) but yeah it sucked.
-BK N&B is a good underrated game with stupid butt-hurt fanboys cant accept change.

But give Rare a chance, all these games have an average score of rougly 8.5 which is good.

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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
5466d ago Replies(12)
lzim5466d 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.

Wikkid6665466d ago

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

darthv725466d 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_out5466d ago (Edited 5466d 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.

wicked5466d 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.

IdleLeeSiuLung5466d ago

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

callahan095466d 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.

CrawFail5466d ago

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

Bigpappy5466d 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.

IdleLeeSiuLung5465d 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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Apolloeye5466d ago

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

Theonik5466d 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.

shoddy5466d 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.

IHateYouFanboys5466d 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 Yerbouti5466d 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.

IHateYouFanboys5466d 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.

IaMs125466d 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 :)

PirosThe4th5466d ago

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

Sheikh Yerbouti5465d 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.

Theonik5465d 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.

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Xwow20085466d 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.

Godmars2905466d ago

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

Sheikh Yerbouti5466d ago (Edited 5466d 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?

Ilikegames765466d ago

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

blackpanther255465d 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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Coded-Dude5474d ago

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

ProA0075474d ago

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

tokoshix5474d 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 P5474d 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.

sonarus5474d 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

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Blaze9295474d ago

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

AridSpider5474d 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

ProA0075474d ago

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

AridSpider5474d ago

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

AridSpider5474d 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.

Cueil5474d ago

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

JasonXE5474d ago

She's kind of hot.

/pedobear

Boring show.

SpaceSquirrel5474d ago

Interesting. They did the same last year as well.

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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."

xHarvey5478d ago (Edited 5478d ago )

Kinectimals. Raising a tiger isn't hardcore? lol

ipwnall5478d 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-Real2065478d ago

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

005478d ago (Edited 5478d ago )

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

ShinMaster5478d ago

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

Moonboots5478d ago

LOL! +bub for funny on that one!

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

BiggCMan5478d ago Show
HolyOrangeCows5478d 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?

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Alcon Caper5478d ago (Edited 5478d 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

>:(

Imperator5478d ago

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

Mr Logic5478d ago

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

Inane_Asylum5478d ago

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

...I believe him...

Moonboots5478d ago (Edited 5478d 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?)

Redempteur5478d ago

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

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

neverming .

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Arnon5478d 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.

Imperator5478d ago (Edited 5478d 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 Juice5478d ago (Edited 5478d 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 Sheep5478d ago (Edited 5478d ago )

Eyetoy Antigrav says hi..

Arnon5478d ago (Edited 5478d 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...

HaVoK3085478d ago

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

pimpmaster5478d ago

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

gynecologistcobra5478d ago

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

pimpmaster5477d ago

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

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