Ayer por la tarde, concluyeron las presentaciones de los tres grandes fabricantes de consolas. Microsoft inaugurĂł la ronda de conferencias del E3, santuario de videojuegos y anuncios a bombo y platillo y, sin embargo, dio la impresiĂłn de que estaba finalizĂĄndola con la traca final. Todo lo mostrado por la compañĂa americana estaba lo suficientemente calculado como para que Nintendo y Sony comenzasen a sudar la gota gorda. Pero lo que nadie esperaba era el terremoto que iban a causar con su Ășltimo invento. Quedaos con este nombre, Project Natal.
Just after announcing their new workhorse, Metal Gear Rising, the bombshell arrived along with an enigmatic video. It presented an accessory that allowed you to turn yourself into the control unit. It could detect your movements to capture them in a fighting game, drive a car without a steering wheel, scan textures to use them on your console, recognize voice commands⊠the invention covered an immense amount of possibilities, but itâs one thing to watch a sugar-coated trailer and quite another to try it yourself.
However, Microsoft had done its homework and, while others hesitate with images or alpha versions, they surprised us again with a live demonstration that shows that it is more advanced than everyone believed. The samples were various: from a minigame in which you had to stop balls with your body (showing how the device is capable of recognizing the movements of your limbs), to painting on a virtual canvas with your hands and changing the colors with your voice. Later Peter Molineaux, author of Fable, entered the scene to show us his latest work, Milo. From what has been seen, the title works with Project Natal and will show a little virtual boy with whom we can interact within his world, and even influence him by detecting our mood and being able to chat with the virtual character.
Lo que Microsoft ha mostrado es grande, muy grande. Todo lo que abarca Project Natal deja en pañales cualquier anuncio que Nintendo o Sony puedan hacer. Las mĂșltiples funciones del aparato dejan en paños menores al Wiimote, y muchos de los usos que se muestran fueron sueños hĂșmedos de los creadores de PlayStation 3 (recordad que en los rumores de lanzamiento de PS3 se especulaba con que se podrĂan manejar los menĂșs con un Eye Toy al estilo de Minority Report). De momento, se puede catalogar este anuncio como un ÂĄzas, en toda la boca!.
However, I doubt that anyone has believed that it works 100%, and that can take its toll on you. Recognizing the playerâs position in a three-dimensional plane with just one sensor seems impossible to me and I canât imagine how it can capture your movements without having a clean and neutral background that doesnât interfere with the camera. Furthermore, its price is already being rumored and it does not bode well, since 200 euros seems excessive to me for an Eye Toy 2.0. By the way, the device in question has never been seen. Will it be a monster or uncomfortable to ride? I found out about the Wii sensor right when I opened the box. Milo also reflects doubts since having a conversation with a virtual being and not having it as a database of possible answers is practically a chimera.
In short, Microsoft has set the bar very high, even for them. If they comply with everything they have said, there is no doubt that their position in the market will become dominant (if they do not get too involved with the price), but we will have to be cautious to find out where this Project Natal âlimpsâ and if its limitations are not a problem for it to become a success. For now, the wiimando project presented by Sony is more credible, but also less revolutionary.