Showing posts with label Natal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natal. Show all posts

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Microsoft Reveal MTV Networks Will Provide Coverage Of Their E3 And Project Natal Events

Microsoft have revealed that they have teamed up with MTV Networks to provide coverage of their E3 Media Briefing and their Project Natal media event. it is unclear which countries will receive this broadcast, apart from the USA. Major Nelson has confirmed, via Twitter, that Spike TV will be showing the E3 Press Media Briefing.

Xbox 360 E3 Media Briefing:
Scheduled to air LIVE and commercial-free in high-definition on Monday, June 14, at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT

The World Premiere of ‘Project Natal’ for Xbox 360:
As imagined by Cirque du Soleil airs commercial-free on MTV, Tuesday, June 15 at 3:30 p.m. EDT, and on Nick at Nite, mtvU, MTV Hits and Logo, Tuesday, June 15, at 9 p.m. EDT.

From Major Nelson Blog


Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Microsoft Reveal PrimeSense Is Providing The 3D Sensing Technology Behind Natal


Microsoft have revealed that PrimeSense is providing the 3D Sensing technology in Natal. The Project Natal Sensor in Natal was developed by the Xbox 360 Hardware Engineering Teams and it is based on the PrimeSenosr.

Press Release

REDMOND, Wash. & TEL AVIV, Israel --(Business Wire)-- Mar 31, 2010 Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT”) and PrimeSense™, the leader in 3D sensing and recognition technologies, announced today that PrimeSense will be providing its leading-edge 3D-sensing technology for use in “Project Natal” for Xbox 360.

“We’ve seen tremendous excitement and anticipation for the arrival of ‘Project Natal’ this holiday,” said Ilan Spillinger, vice president of Xbox 360 hardware. “PrimeSense has delivered an important component to the technology, helping us deliver revolutionary controller-free entertainment experiences in the living room.”

“PrimeSense’s technology enables a paradigm shift in the way people interact with consumer electronic devices. The engagement with Xbox 360 establishes PrimeSense’s position as a leading supplier of 3D-sensing technology,” said Inon Beracha, chief executive officer, PrimeSense. “We are especially honored to have a partner like Microsoft who shares our vision for bringing innovative and engaging natural experiences to consumers.”

“Xbox 360 Hardware Engineering teams developed the ‘Project Natal’ sensor based on the PrimeSensor™ reference design to support the special requirements of ‘Project Natal,’” said Aviad Maizels, president and founder, PrimeSense.

Microsoft recently announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that “Project Natal” will be available during holiday 2010.

About Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is a premier video game and entertainment system. It is home to the best and broadest library of games, a streaming library of thousands of movies and TV shows in 1080p HD, and millions of songs connected to the television. The digital center of the living room, Xbox 360 blends unbeatable content with the largest online social network connected to the television in the 23 million members on Xbox LIVE to create a limitless entertainment experience that can be shared at home or across the globe. With the addition of currently code-named “Project Natal” for Xbox 360, Microsoft will forever transform social gaming and entertainment with a whole new way to play — no controller required. More information about “Project Natal” and Xbox 360 can be found online athttp://www.xbox.com/projectnatal and http://www.xbox.com.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

About PrimeSense
PrimeSense is the leader in sensing and recognition technologies enabling consumer devices to “see” environments and allow users to control and interact naturally with those devices in a simple and intuitive way. PrimeSense offers affordable solutions for consumer markets including visual/home computing, interactive entertainment and consumer electronics. PrimeSense products include the PS1080 System on Chip and PrimeSensor reference design, plus cross-platform enabling software to make application development easy and intuitive.

Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with offices in North America, Japan and Taiwan, PrimeSense is a privately held company. For more information, please visit:www.primesense.com.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Jonathan Ross Plays And Mentions Natal's Release Date

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/presenters/jonathan-ross/media/jross448x252.jpg

Jonathan Ross mentions, via his twitter feed, that he has played Natal, pointing out that its Not at his house. Jonathan Ross son recorded him having a go with Natal. Jonathan Ross mentions, via twitter, that Natal is coming in October. the two Twitter posts are below as well as the video of him playing on it.

"OK. Before bed. Natal on X Box impressive. Not quite there yet i think but tye have til october and if they get it right...skys the limit."

"OK this is the clip my son put on YOUTUBE of me trying out Natal. Not very graceful...http://bit.ly/96qdxo"




Thursday, January 7, 2010

Microsoft Announce Natal Is Coming Out Holiday 2010 And Release Video About The Natal Project

At This Years CES Keynote, Microsoft announced that Natal will be coming out Holiday 2010. Microsoft also showed a video about the Natal Project which i have put in this post.

The Video explains how your body is able to control the game. the video shows how research by many different people from many different professions came together to create Natal. the Video shows some of the early demo's as well showing what the camera can see. there are clips of the E3 demos being played and how Natal can be naturally played by people. the video teases that people have many ideas on what to do with Natal and that they think it has a bright future.




Natal 101

Xbox 360
“Project Natal” 101
January 2010

“Project Natal,” pronounced “nuh-tall,” is a code name for a revolutionary new way to play, no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. Unlike 2-D cameras and controllers, “Project Natal” tracks your full body movement in 3-D, while responding to commands, directions, even a difference of emotion in your voice.

Coming this holiday 2010, “Project Natal” will turn YOU into the controller for games and entertainment, and it will work with every Xbox 360.*

See below for “Project Natal” 101, a list of terms and concepts to help explain this transformation in home entertainment.

What Is “Project Natal”?

“Project Natal” (pronounced “nuh-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.

How Will “Project Natal” Change the Way I Play?

You are the controller. “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” provides a new way to play where you use all parts of your body — head, hands, feet and torso. When you’re the controller, you don’t just control the superhero, you are the superhero. Full-body tracking allows the “Project Natal” sensor to capture your movement, from head to toe, to give players a full-body gaming experience.

Personalized play. “Project Natal” provides an in-game experience in which the player’s face and voice are recognized. Greet and speak to characters in the game, or simply step into view of the sensor to log into Xbox LIVE and connect with friends. Only “Project Natal” is smart enough to remember voices and faces. Fun has never been so personalized.

Off-the-couch play. “Project Natal” provides gameplay that gets you off the couch, on your feet and in the fun. Each “Project Natal” experience is designed to get players moving, laughing, cheering and playing together. “Project Natal” makes social gaming off-the-couch fun.

Easy-to-play fun. “Project Natal” makes sharing in the fun a snap. Talk or watch a movie in the same living room or on the other side of the world — no headset, no keyboard and no controllers required. It’s just you, your friends, your family and a whole new way to play.

How Does “Project Natal” Work?

“Project Natal” sensor. “Project Natal” combines an RGB camera, depth sensor and multiarray microphone running proprietary software that brings “Project Natal” experiences to every Xbox 360 console. The “Project Natal” sensor tracks full-body movement and individual voices, turning you into the controller for social entertainment available only on Xbox 360.

RGB camera. “Project Natal” has a video camera that delivers the three basic color components. As part of the “Project Natal” sensor, the RGB camera helps enable facial recognition and more.

Depth sensor. An infrared projector combined with a monochrome CMOS sensor allows “Project Natal” to see the room in 3-D (as opposed to inferring the room from a 2-D image) under any lighting conditions.

Multiarray microphone. “Project Natal” has a microphone that will be able to locate voices by sound and extract ambient noise. The multiarray microphone will enable headset-free Xbox LIVE party chat and more.

Microsoft proprietary software layer. A proprietary software layer makes the magic of “Project Natal” possible. This layer differentiates “Project Natal” from any other technology on the market through its ability to enable human body recognition and extract other visual noise.

* Available features will vary in supported games.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Its Rumoured Microsoft Is Either Neutering The Natal Processor Or Removing It Plus Halo Reach Won't Use Natal


On the 4 Guys 1up podcast from 25/12/2009, in a discussion between the host, David Ellis, and guest, John Davison, Microsoft's Natal was brought up. The conversation starts at 1:17:05 into the podcast.
David Ellis spoke about a rumour he had heard regarding Natal and how Microsoft may neuter/remove the processor in Natal to reach a cheap price point.


“Microsoft is paring back natal to reach that price point that has been kinda announced out there. Trying to launch it sub 100, sub 70, sub 60 trying to hit 49.99 with it, and as part of that they are having to pair it down”

And that the Xbox 360 Main Processor will have to be used instead. however, he pointed out that this move is not welcomed by some of the Natal developers as it will impact the games they are working on.

"my understanding, this is rumour cause its not 100% sourced, but my understanding is the processor is either being neutered or completely taken out of it and those CPU cycles are going to have to come out of the processor of the 360 now.
Some of the people that were saying similar things to it were saying that it made them less interested in making things for natal as that would mean sacrificing CPU cycles from the the main processor in the system."

David Ellis goes even further to suggest that the games we'll see come out for Natal won't be the big budget Xbox 360 games like Halo or Burnout or even small titles like Katamari. it'll be the smaller games like the Breakout thing they showed.

“they showed some kinda shareware kinda throwaway games. Like the break out thing,. I think that's were they are going, that's the direction. Its not the burnout title, is not a new Halo, its not even Katamari”

When John Davidson asked about Halo Reach Using Natal, David Ellis says its not.

“Reach is supposed to use it?”
“no its not”
“no?”
“Reach is not using it”

There is no official word from Microsoft and this is just rumour at this point.