Thats IGNs first impressions. Basically saying its still in a very beta stage but they seemed impressed all the same. I'm looking forward to watching this one develop as it has the potential to be groundbreaking.
Think "Super Tamagochi"
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Thats IGNs first impressions. Basically saying its still in a very beta stage but they seemed impressed all the same. I'm looking forward to watching this one develop as it has the potential to be groundbreaking.
Think "Super Tamagochi" -
Interesting intreview. It states in there that there is some form of processor in the camera that handles all the processing so in his words
If thats the case I can't see it being cheap!So we have a custom chip that we put in the sensor itself. The chip we designed with Microsoft will be doing the majority of the processing for you, so as a game designer you can think about the sensor as a normal input device - something that's relatively free for you as a game designer.
Designers have 100 per cent of the resources of the console and this device is just another input device they can use.Comment
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Having processors in peripherals isn't that odd... but yeah, you can imagine it's quite a beefy one in this
Bloke here seems to think they may cost £400 (his own estimate). No way I'd pay that much. I can't see them pricing it at that much either.
I wouldn't be surprised if this tech (if its as advanced as they claim) gets licensed out to more serious applications (security for example...), helping to bring the price down.Comment
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If it's £400, I'll honestly be unable to stop laughing.
But it's unlikely, given they're planning to bundle it with all future consoles.Comment
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I bet this will be bundle with some game when its released just like how Wii play was bundled with a remote.Comment
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Yeah plus they have what sounds like a full year minimum to try and drive the cost down. If they are really serious about it I can also see them selling it at a loss initially as well.
Realistically unless they have a completley new way of marketing it, anything more than something like Wii fit is going to be a hard sell.
Its good to know that they are trying to get the device itself to do all the heavy lifting, but I should imagine there is still some complex logic required in the games themselves.Comment
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I see it as being around £80-£100. That assumes the camera are 720p mind. If they're using bog standard VGA, halve that.Comment
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how else would they get it working with a game that wasn't designed with NATAL in mind?Originally posted by Jebus View PostComment
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I think he meant that if it is modified, does that mean Natal won't work with the current release of Burnout Paradise?* Is it as simple as turning Natal on, sticking in the current release of Burnout Paradise you already have and away you go? I would think not.
One of the main selling points seems to be alternative ways to play games (an example mentioned is someone driving the Warthog via Natal, while someone else plays normally with a controller), but if you have to buy a modified version of the same game in order to experience it, things are going to get awkward. It may be possible to add in support via a patch but are any developers going to do that? It may turn out to be viable for a select few future games, so demoing it on Burnout Paradise may be a bit misleading.
*If he wasn't thinking that, I was :PComment
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Given that developers are all for adding more content at the moment to stop us lot from trading in da gamez, adding Natal connectivity might be worthwhile if it is fairly straighforward.
Plus it's in Microsoft's interest that loads of games support it, so they might bung an incentive towards the developer too.Comment
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Well excuuuuuse me for still believing in magic.Originally posted by Ouenben View Post
I hope things like driving games aren't held up because of implementing this kind of control method, I won't be using an invisible steering wheel, so don't make me wait for a game because of it.
I don't think they can get away with charging anything more than the price of a game, because that's the casual fan might pay. If they are bundling it with every new console (after it's released) then they really can't get away with ripping off existing console owners unless they then up the price of the console as well.Last edited by Jebus; 05-06-2009, 18:39.Comment
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I think Natal looks really interesting but max price I would pay is round about £60 bundled with some games. Much more than that and it is doomed!Comment
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Especially as you can pick up a base 360 console now for ?130.Originally posted by bankies View PostComment
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I have no idea how much Natal would cost. If MS see it as the way to sell more 360s to an untapped market, then they will cost it like the 360 rather than other hardware add ons (i.e. at a loss rather than adding a large margin).
I was trying to think how much the tech would cost: two cameras, an infa-red projector and a mic. But I'm unsure that's all of the tech. Because the design is longer than it needs to be:
Why is that extra space needed beyond the infa-red projector (assuming that's it on the left)? What's going on there?Comment
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