A Look At the Xbox 360 Project Natal And Just What It Can Do

Chasing down the heels of the Wii's motion sensing technology, Microsoft are hoping to trump this one better with Xbox 360 Project Natal. Revealed at last year's E3 conference, this optional accessory for the Xbox 360 is alleged to permit completely controller-free interaction with games, sensing movement and interpreting that as controls within the software.

Xbox 360 Project Natal is said to be released around the end of 2010, and Microsoft are hoping that the machine will become a vital part of all Xbox machines. They also say this revolutionary technology will lengthen the lifespan of the 360 considerably, and is, for all intents and purposes, a next-gen accessory.

The accessory contains a depth sensor coupled with an RGB camera, which hands the Xbox 360 Project Natal a 360 degree arc of recognition. The sensing is so cutting edge that even tiny facial nuances can be recognised and displayed on-screen. The depth of recognition can also be lengthened or shortened as the player wishes, with the possibility of registering surrounding objects such as tables or cabinets.

Aswell as movement, the Xbox 360 Project Natal also has the facility to interpret sound. The multi-array microphone included can be used to recognise sound and convert vocal recognition on the television. These elements mix to offer total interactivity between player and game.

As the technology employed to form both Natal and the games it will engage with is quite unique, Microsoft have stated that current Xbox 360 games probably will not support the accessory, and that a fresh range of games are currently in development. Some tech demos demonstrated at E3 saw Space Invaders Extreme and Paint Party, a title in which sacks of paint are manipulated by the player to paint canvasses.

Time will tell as to if theXbox 360 Project Natal will cause the awe Microsoft are looking for. While the technology is clearly cutting edge and due to trump even the Wii's calling card, Microsoft should announce more fascinating titles to capture increased public interest. With the right games coupled with it, theXbox 360 Project Natal might really be the future of videogaming!