Tag Archives: Xbox 360
Project Natal on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Microsoft’s Project Natal is SO COOL. I cannot wait to get this thing. For the time being, though, the best we can all experience is watching others play with it as we sit back, jaw-dropped in envy. Watch Jimmy Fallon and his three guests play two demos on Natal, the Richocet game and Burnout Paradise. Microsoft’s Kudo Tsunoda was there to give instruction. [According to Engadget, the red jumpsuits were worn just for fun.]
E3 2009 Round-up: Microsoft Takes the Prize
The Big Three–Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo–showed off their present and future technologies in the video game and entertainment businesses at this year’s bigger and badder Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, California.
In my opinion, Microsoft stole the show with a brilliant keynote presentation that showed off a great line-up of games including tons of first-party (Halo 3: ODST, Halo Reach) and third party (Splinter Cell Conviction, Alan Wake) sure-fire hits. The special presentation by Harmonix with The Beatles: Rock Band definitely has people excited about the next game in the Rock Band series. Xbox’s exclusive song, “All You Need is Love” will surely get people to buy the game for the Xbox over the other consoles. Xbox 360-exclusive games worth mentioning include Forza Motorsport 3, Crackdown 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Shadow Complex. The Xbox 360 plans on stealing Sony’s thunder with legendary PlayStation-exclusives games such as Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid: Rising coming to the Xbox 360 this fall. Tony Hawk: Ride and Modern Warfare 2 also made exciting appearances.
As great as the Xbox 360 game line-up looks, it was the unveiling of Project Natal that made everyone’s jaws drop with amazement. Natal is Microsoft’s way of making YOU the controller. No Wii-motes, nunchucks, or wands. Natal is a device, similar-looking to the Wii Sensor bar. It sits below or above your TV set. It contains a camera, IR sensors, and a built-in microphone. With facial and voice recognition, the technology built into it is extremely advanced. Simply put, Natal can pick up and output your every movement from your head to your feet. It has full-body motion control. Here’s an example of Natal in natural action. You walk in front of your TV, your Xbox 360 recognizes who you are, automattically signs you into your Xbox Live account, and bring you to the New Xbox Experience home screen. You can use hand gestures to play a game, watch a movie, and so on. You decide to play a racing game with some of your family members. Your hands control the steering wheel, your feet the pedals. Take a quick pit stop, and your dad can jump in the action and replace your tired wheels by unscrewing and placing in new tires. Then it is back to the races. Natal opens up a whole new world of interactive gaming. It truly has me excited about the future of video games, especially the Xbox 360. There is no price point and release date for the code-named Project Natal. However, it has been said that it will definitely not be out this year (possibily in 2010), and the price will be under the cost of the console itself (under $250).
Check after the break for videos of Natal in action, as well as quick overviews from the Sony and Nintendo (not nearly as impressive) keynotes.
Continue reading E3 2009 Round-up: Microsoft Takes the Prize
Zune HD unveiled and hands-on
Microsoft’s Zune HD has finally been officially unveiled this week. Packed with a beautiful OLED touchscreen, a smooth accelerometer, and shiny new UI, this new version of the Zune looks like it may creep closer in design, feel, and sales to its highly successful competition, the iPod. No other information, such as price, has been disclosed. Check out Engadget’s hands-on pictures and Gizmodo’s video hands-on. For the first time, Microsoft has me excited about its Zune hardware. With rumors of possible Xbox 360 integration, the Zune HD may just make its big break in the MP3-player market when it launches this fall.