Microsoft will be putting the spotlight on its Project Natal camera during E3 at the world premiere on June 13, and while we'll no doubt see numerous first and third party titles to demonstrate the motion device's unique gaming capabilities, Project Natal could be much more important to Microsoft as the company looks to grab a larger piece of the overall entertainment pie.
Speaking to FastCompany, Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten talked about Natal in terms much broader than video games. "...Natal isn't just about gaming -- it's about all living-room experiences. Imagine a sporting event -- Natal could know which team you're for because it sees your jersey, or knows you thought a bad call was made when you yell 'boo.' It learns about you and gets smarter to create a more tailored entertainment experience," he said.
Naughty co-founder Jason Rubin agrees. “I think Natal and things like Natal are going to revolutionize more than gaming. Putting Natal in the Xbox gives it the opportunity to become a lot more than just a gaming machine. The things you can do outside of gaming justifies buying Natal. If Microsoft plays its cards right it can sell far more Xbox's to people who don't buy games,” he said recently.
Last year, Whitten also said that Project Natal could potentially replace the TV remote. With comments like this, and services like an Xbox TV channel being rumored, it's pretty clear that Microsoft's aspirations go way beyond dominating video games.
1 Comments
May 3, 2010
I'm all for Natal being innovative and revolutionary but I'm getting more than a bit tired of all this hype. I want to see some of these experiences in practice instead of just constantly hearing about them. I don't want to "imagine" this or that scenario. I want to "see" this or that scenario take place. SHOW ME THE MONEY......er, I mean show me the experiences.