XBox 360 Rally

Ok, first the name. Project Natal? That sounds super creepy in a wireless Matrix-y sort of way, doesn’t it? I’m sure the team that came up with the working name were trying to allude to a new birth in gaming, but I just cannot help but think of actual human childbirth. Ew. Or maybe the name is referring to the Brazilian city.

Either way, Microsoft shill Steven Spielberg came out to show off the Project Natal prototype at this year’s E3. Don Mattrick, the SR VP in charge of this kind of thing at Microsoft, introduced Natal (which is only a code name, whew!) as not a motion-control controller but a “breakthrough sensor that tracks 3D movements, and recognizes voices, this is controller-free games and entertainment”. No controller needed at all. Take that, Wii!

The Natal is instead a camera that tracks your movements in 3 dimensions and uses your motions to control the game. The sensor also takes cues from voice commands, both for games and for the Xbox itself. At the press conference, Spielberg and Mattrick claimed that the reason that Natal was needed was to get more people into games, because thumb-based controllers are intimidating to people.

And jumping around a room isn’t intimidating?

As a lazy gamer with a low BMI, I tend to see video games as a way of relaxing on the sofa after playing real golf or hiking. So the Wii has little to no long-term interest for someone like me. But the Natal on the other hand is something that I like, so far. Project Natal’s camera is a peripheral, and therefore not required for many games (I’m sure that there will be plenty of games that will utilize the Natal’s capabilities, but there will still be regular games, too). I like the fact that I am not forced to play with a little wand, when all I want to do is use my thumbs.

By the way, at the E3 press conference, Spielberg described compared the birth of Natal as “a moment as significant as the transformation from the square shaped movie screen to Cinemascope…” Dork.

Microsoft, Project Natal, motion control, controller, gaming console, Xbox 360, Steven Spielberg, Wii, controller-free, peripheral, E3

The only acceptable reason for having a Wii...

There are many reasons that I just don’t care about owning a Nintendo Wii. One of those being that when I am in the mood to play video games, almost invariably I am also in the mood to lie prone on my comfy, comfy couch or in my comfy, comfy rocking chair. So playing a game designed for the Wii doesn’t really fit into that lifestyle choice. A friend tried selling me on the Wii by telling me about the tennis game and golfing. My response was that if I want to play tennis or golf, I will go to a tennis court or a golf course. Maybe it is a generational thing or a girl thing or a real active person versus inactive people that need to have a video game motivate them to exercise, I don’t know. Nor do I really care to delve into this issue for too terribly long.

But reason number two, and a much more compelling reason ultimately, is that I have little inclination to play most of the games designed for the Wii. I hate to say it, but the games all seem like little kid games for the most part. I like games with swear words.

However, two games are being redesigned for the Wii from Xbox360 (PS3/PC) games that may grow into a trend for more adult games coming to the Wii. Will I get a Wii? Not soon, as I am already an addict and I have to cut back on my gaming schedule as it is due to grad school, so getting a new crack machine is not in the cards for me for another year or so. But I wouldn’t mind playing these games when they come out.

Dead Rising for the Wii — Just came out late January 2009

And I thought smashing zombies was fun with thumbsticks…

Dead Space for the Wii…This one is coming out later this year, but I had fun playing it on the Xbox 360 and wouldn’t mind playing a prequel in which my killer slicer-shot would come in handy.

During Electronic Arts’ Q3 2009 earnings call earlier today, boss John Riccitiello mentioned a Wii game we’d previously not heard about. That game was Dead Space Wii.

It’s due out later this year, and is part of a plan from EA to bring a more “core” experiece to the Wii. Riccitiello promises that, despite the technical limitations of the console, everything that made the 360/PS3/PC version so creepy will be there on the Wii. — Kotaku

Wii, Xbox 360, games, adult games, kids games, Nintendo, tennis, golf, Capcom, Dead Rising, Dead Space