Hands, arms and legs on with Microsoft's Natal
PC World | at | by Mike
The man jumping around and wildly waving his arms and kicking his legs on the Microsoft booth at the Tokyo Game Show isn't crazy. He's gaming.
Kudo Tsunoda, creative director for Microsoft's immersive gaming system, Project Natal, brought the latest prototype of the system to Japan and on Friday I had a chance to try it out.
Microsoft is developing Natal to be launched in 2010. A camera tracks gamers and matches their real-life movements to those of an on-screen character. It works in the infrared range so is quite accurate and doesn't require a complicated set-up, special lighting or backdrop. The system also includes a microphone for audio feedback into games, though that wasn't demonstrated in Tokyo.