Los Angeles, June 02: Microsoft has revealed that is
has been secretly developing technology that lets people play
videogames using natural body movements instead of handheld
controllers.
The US software giant behind Xbox 360 videogame consoles
revealed yesterday a prototype of a project codenamed "Natal,"
a system that combines cameras and voice and face recognition
software to recognise people and their actions.
"The gamer in me went out of my mind when I got to be
interactive with this," famed film director Steven Spielberg
during a Microsoft press conference on the eve of a major E3
videogame industry show in Los Angeles.
"I got a feeling I was in a historic moment. What
Microsoft is doing isn't re-inventing the wheel; this is about
no wheel at all."
Natal lets people play driving games by simply moving
hands as if turning a car steering wheel. In-game characters
in boxing, skateboard, soccer and other sports titles mimic
the body movements of real-world players.
The system scans faces and voices to determine who is
playing, a demonstration showed.
Xbox 360 consoles equipped with Natal will be able to
respond to spoken commands for actions such as playing movies
or connecting online with friends for video chats.
An expected completion date for Natal was not disclosed,
but Microsoft yesterday released a software kit for videogame
makers interested in designing titles to take advantage of
Natal's capabilities.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, June 02, 2009, 13:50