What is Project Natal?
Is it a fancy motion controller? Is it an easy way to talk to your TV? Is it a new way to use the 360 or Live? No, to Microsoft, it’s much more. It’s the goal. Talking to Marc Whitten, Microsoft’s Xbox Live General Manager, he’s happy to show you last.fm, Sky, Facebook or Twitter, the latest services to be announced for Xbox Live. But these are just updates, part of Live’s slow evolution to…something bigger. And you can see that in Whitten’s body language when he hears “Natal.” He goes from somewhat stiff and professionally cordial to shifting restlessly in his seat with sparkling eyes, like a kid who just wants to get back to his favourite toy. As it happens, Natal is precisely what Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Live team is and has been working toward since at least the development of NXE (though surely earlier, especially from a pure hardware perspective). And according to Whitten, it’s the last step of Live. You can have an amazing Live experience without Natal and you can have an amazing N
Project Natal (pronounced na-tall) is the code name for the new controller-free gaming and entertainment experience from Xbox 360. The name Project Natal has several sources. Microsoft Corp. traditionally uses cities as code names. As a result, Alex Kipman, who incubated the project and is from Brazil, chose Natal, a city along the northeastern coast of Brazil, as a tribute to his country. In addition, he knew that Natal also means to be born in Latin. Given the new audiences Project Natal will bring to Xbox 360, this felt right. Announcement Trailer How Will Project Natal Change the Way I Play? Controller-free gaming and entertainment. Project Natal provides a whole new way to play no controller required. It uses a sensor to track your body movement and recognize your face, even listen to your voice. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips, or speak, you and your friends will be able to jump instantly into any Project Natal experience. Full-body play. Project Natal provide
