A camera, depth sensor, microphone and processor running proprietary software will put an to end the need for any button-mashing controller with Microsoft’s new motion controller, referred to now as “Project Natal.” The new XBOX controller tracks a players’ full body movements, recognizing their faces and voices, scaning images of real world items while responding to both physical and voice commands.

Three prototype programs have been demonstrated: “Milo,” a virtual boy who communicates and interacts with the gamer; Paint Party,” kind of an art program where the player paints using their hands as the brush, and “Ricochet,” sort of a soccer game where one uses their body to bounce balls at targets.

“That blew me away,” said said Forrester analyst Paul Jackson. I don’t think people have seen anything like that outside of artificial intelligence labs in universities. It showed ‘Natal’ wasn’t just about flaying around or responding to commands on a screen.” He went on further, “The first two games Microsoft previewed were very polished, but ‘Milo’ showed where this stuff can go above and beyond in gaming.”


XBOX 360 is now, more than ever, not just fun and games.

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