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How accurate is Project Natal? Very Accurate

VGtribune writes:

"At GDC 2008 Israeli Developmer 3DV Systems demonstrated it's new ZCam camera which acts like a PlayStation Eye Toy that measures 3D space. IGN's Nintendo Editor Matt Casamassina was so impressed with the technology that he said, "It out Wiis, Wii." He then went on to speculate that the next Wii would probably have a similar control scheme or one of the other companies (Microsoft or Sony) might adapt it to their own consoles."

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vgtribune.com
GrandDragon6103d ago

Nothing special people

Move along

6103d ago Replies(4)
Godmars2906103d ago

I get that this is year old footage of the company that MS bought to prevent from being accused of copying Natal-type tech, to keep Sony or Nintendo from using it, but its not Natal.

kaveti66166103d ago

You just answered your own question. This footage is a year old, as you say. The company that made this product was purchased by MS. This product is like Natal. So, to answer your question, "how does this have anything to do with Natal?" (it's "what," not "how," btw) I would say it has a lot to do with Natal. What are the chances that it doesn't have anything to do with it? What are the chances that Microsoft purchased a company that designed motion sensors but wasn't at all interested in using that motion tech in Natal? I would be very surprised if this had nothing to do with Natal.

IdleLeeSiuLung6103d ago (Edited 6103d ago )

The official word is that MS bought this company 3DV systems due to a host of patents held by the company. Probably will prevent other companies from using the same technology. There were an article about this just days ago.

Natal technology apparently is from three different companies, but who cares? Do I care who invented the fuel injected motor? I appreciate whoever did that, but for the most part I only care if somebody recognized it's usefulness and applied it to something that I benefit from.

phosphor1126103d ago

The processor inside Natal. Well and mic.. but that's irrelevant for motion tracking. Z-Cam uses both a RGB and IR cam to detect depth/motion. So in a sense it's exactly the same. The processor makes up for a lack of power inside what it will be connected to. In this case the 360 (because the Z-Cam was connected to a PC.. which has TONS more power).

IdleLeeSiuLung6103d ago

the microprocessor inside the camera isn't there because there is lack of power. It is there to add power i.e. to prevent the motion camera from affecting the performance of current games (intentional or not) and to prevent as much lag as possible. So far the system seems very well thought out top to bottom.

Looking forward to a Natal boxing or fighting game!

BattleAxe6103d ago

I guess we'll find out just how accurate Natal is when its actually released. Right now its just speculation.

phosphor1126103d ago

That's pretty much the exact same thing. The type of PC's Z-Cam was being used on are top quality. Certainly over the strength of the PS3/360, so it would have been their for either console. That processor in there is to make sure the console didn't get bogged down. Trying to run a game like gears + natal - processor inside natal = chug. That is lack of power from the main console. Kind of like Star Fox for SNES. The microchip inside the Star Fox cartridge was powerful enough to render the game in 3D, but the SNES alone can't do it. Lack of power on the consoles part.. thus leading to a periph that can hold up on it's own if needed.

soljah6103d ago

it will be interesting to see how many 360 owners are willing to spend hundreds of dollars for the natal tech added to their xbox.

even Sony needs to find a cheap way to get their new motion tech to current ps3 owners. if not these things just become another add on gimmick peripheral that no one buys

IdleLeeSiuLung6103d ago (Edited 6103d ago )

See why do you keep spinning it as if the 360 has a lack of power. The games out there prove otherwise. Clearly, the extra procesing power in the camera is to avoid taking any resources away from the games. That is a wise decision, not a weakness of the system!!!

Even the almighty PS3 does not have enough processing power not to mention the PC to do everything the developers want. Does that mean it is lacking power? The only one I see lacking power is the Wii since it so far behind the competition.

If you compare that key decision above to the PS3's design:

"Motion control tracking currently has a notable effect on the PS3’s performance, according to Sony, in that the "motion-tracking library has some SPU overhead and has an impact on memory as well, although these will be minimized.""

source: http://www.develop-online.n...

That means, if current games released are patched with motion control it will not perform the same in it's current form without tweaks. On the other hand MS could map motions to button presses and presto you can play all your games with motion control albeit many of them probably wouldn't be too fun.

It's clear that adding a processor to avoid taxing the system is a smart design albeit potentially costly affair.

phosphor1126102d ago

That's what I'm saying. Yes, the consoles are impressive, but they lack the power to continue the type of technical achievements while having motion control. Here is an example:

Killzone 2 with motion control. Adding the motion controls would take some overhead (as you already stated). So in this regards, the PS3 lacks the power to handle both of them simultaneously. I'm not saying they lack power in general, but they don't have enough power to do both.

Like running Crysis on medium vs high. Someone can only run Crysis at 30 fps, but when they put it on high, it drops to 10. Their PC isn't powerful enough to handle the additional resource usage. I'm not saying it ISN'T powerful, just not powerful enough for that extra umph.

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Queers of War6103d ago

I still wanna see what the bottom of an avatar's shoe looks like...

The_Beast6103d ago

he has to remind them that its not a wii game :/

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500°

Kinect Technical Specifications & Xbox 360 Requirements Revealed

The most notable reveal would perhaps by the requirements of the Xbox 360 console itself. While Microsoft has insisted since the original unveiling of Kinect at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2009, then known as Project NATAL, that the device would be compatible with all Xbox 360 consoles, the revelation of a dedicated port included on the newly redesigned Xbox 360 model has sparked rumours of incompatibility, which were quickly debunked.

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electronictheatre.co.uk
5808d ago Replies(12)
lzim5808d ago

odd, i was led to believe it lacked an internal processor and so also needed a core to itself, if not 1-2 processing threads.

Wikkid6665808d ago

The article says nothing about whether the processor is internal or it uses the 360s.

darthv725807d ago

Also, the notion of a dedicated port really lends nothing to the idea of older units being incompatible. I believe the kinect port is a custom usb port (think the original xbox controller ports) but one that will feed power and data.

Older models will require a splitter that will run off a single usb port (prob the back one) that will work for the data but not the power. That is why they keep saying it will have an external power for those systems.

As for the processor, combo of both makes sense. Using 360 cpu/gpu power to help calculate the finished product on screen along with the cpu in the kinect.

Remember people...this is not a cheap usb web cam (like the original live vision).

Inside_out5808d ago (Edited 5808d ago )

They say they are using 10-15% of one 360 P4 cores. I know that the Kinect we see today is a watered down version of the patented tech they bought and own. Maybe one day the " real " tech will be cost effective. It still is very impressive tech even without a super computer running it.

wicked5808d ago

No, the previous artical said they removed a processor, but I would guess that it had more than 1 to start with. So it will have some form of processor still within it. Arm9 or Cortex M3, all dirt cheap now but powerful.

IdleLeeSiuLung5808d ago

Does it matter? They showed Forza Kinect that looked amazing working with Kinect real time!

callahan095808d ago

Are you just talking about how the graphics are able to look amazing while working with Kinect? If that's what you're talking about, ok. The game itself, though, well... I think I'll stick with the real Forza, with an Xbox 360 control pad. The limited-control Kinect Forza they showed doesn't look like it's worth any attention, in my opinion. Why would anyone want to control a car like that, with hands held out and holding onto nothing, with no control over acceleration or braking? Just seems totally pointless to me.

CrawFail5808d ago

lol real time? I don't quite think it was real time.

Bigpappy5808d ago

You guy know that the motion tech is from prime sense right? Please go to their web site primesense.com,and have a look at what they say the tech can do. It can read fingers well enough to type with each finger and can be used while sitting. No one ever said it has to scan the entire body to work. What we have seen from kinect so far is not all it is capable of.

Reading these specs and trying to compare them to PSeye is pointless, because they are different types of cameras and provide completely differnt types of info to the consoles (Kinect is a 3D camera and provides 3D images. PSeye is a 2D camera and provides 2D images). Per Primsense, the camera is capable of providing video at 60fps, but the 3D is 30fps. The specs for 2 players active is for full body scans. There are no specs given for people sitting and just using their hands.

This tech is obviously a work in progress and has yet to be fleshed out. I suggest all you N4G Kinect experts, research before you post you doom and gloom so you atleast have solid facts for you skepticism. You can also relax and see what M$ does with the tech insteat of pretending to know more that the people developing the tech.

IdleLeeSiuLung5807d ago

The game was available for people to try on the show floor at E3 so yes it was real time. Wetter you like it for Forza or not wasn't my point.

That is up to the developer to figure out.

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Apolloeye5808d ago

So pretty much the same spec as the PS Eye, although I thought the eye went up to 120 Hertz...

Theonik5808d ago

The eye goes to 60Hz i think. Regardless the eye should be capable to do any Kinect shown so far with less lag. (they revolve on a 2D axis and only use the depth tracking to separate players.) I am really disappointed by the tech and how it is utilised thus far.

shoddy5808d ago

More or less powerful we need to see the product.
So far it seem the pseye can do anything kinect can do.
2d 3d I not yet see the advantage.

IHateYouFanboys5808d ago

no, the PSEye cannot do 3D tracking. Kinect can.

the PSEye does 2D motion recognition, Kinect does 3D motion tracking. they are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT things.

Sheikh Yerbouti5808d ago

Going from alkaline to lithium was a significant step for batteries, but at the end of the day it is just a battery. PSEye and Kinect are kind of the same way. At the end of the day it is a game camera - with camera games.

IHateYouFanboys5808d ago

@Sheikh Yerbouti: your example is not really on the same scale of difference as PSEye/Kinect.

a better example using batteries would be the jump from standard batteries to rechargable batteries. theyre both doing the same thing - being batteries - but one of them does things that the other one cannot possibly do, which is be recharged and used again. it does everything the standard battery does, and more.

Kinect does everything the PSEye does (2D motion recognition), and more (3D motion tracking). no amount of software updates can change the hardware in the PSEye, and the hardware is not capable of 3D motion tracking as it lacks infra-red.

IaMs125807d ago

Yes i see your point but how you guys feel about the PS3 can be said the same way.

The PS3 may produce better graphics and be more powerful then the Xbox360, but by the end of they day its still only a console. Also inferior to PC :)

PirosThe4th5807d ago

... PSeye can do 3d as you say... even eyetoy... they used shadows and other stuff to recognize it.
Move is also 3d...

Sheikh Yerbouti5807d ago

Lithium batteries are rechargeable batteries.

Kinect isn't a true 3D camera - it can't render a picture of your butt if you are always facing front. It makes an approximate 3D model using visual cues. The PSEye can do the same, although it will be cruder.

Plus, just because the technology is different, doesn't necessarily mean gameplay will be.

@lams12
Yes, you're right. Similarly Kinect will have some good games, different from PSEye, only if Microsoft makes them. But they haven't made games too different from the PSEye.

Theonik5807d ago

Which is what i meant from the start. None of the games they have shown so far could not have been on the PS Eye.

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Xwow20085808d ago

"Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players"
I think now its official that just 2 ppl can play at the same time.

Godmars2905808d ago

Love that you're quoting something and you're getting disagrees.

Sheikh Yerbouti5808d ago (Edited 5808d ago )

Only room for two anyway when you think about it...
but it can keep track of six people during a game in regards to facial recognition. I think that's impressive.

I would love to have Kinect built into my laptop, so only I can get in even without a password. Why is Microsoft wasting this on the XBox again?

Ilikegames765807d ago

still couldn't play it sitting down. Honestly, some guys are so easily impressed by copy cat technology.

blackpanther255807d ago

i was at the engadget show and kudo showed its 3d tracking and when two people where on screen......one person would be red while the other would be green.......but as soon as a third person steped into the camera view two people automatically turned gray and it couldnt read their movements well.

what i took away from that event is that the kinect is pretty kool but for right now it can only work with two people(they could still be working on it)

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150°

Kinect Re-Appears on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon & Miranda Cosgrove

Xbox Evolved:

"Microsoft is holding no breaks in making sure the general public knows all about Kinect. What cooler spot to also show it than with Jimmy Fallon? "

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xboxevolved.e-mpire.com
Coded-Dude5815d ago

although i usually watch fallon. i'll have to catch an internet clip of it later.

ProA0075815d ago

it's nothing you have to see. trust me. zzzzzzz

tokoshix5815d ago

I'm sure it's just the usual marketing stuff, so nothing really interesting. Pretty much learned everything about the device at E3.

Tony P5815d ago

The more I see this targeted at non-gamers, the sadder I get.

I want a Kinect game I can be *proud* to own as a gamer. One day.

sonarus5815d ago

I saw it full of lag. The girls was standing there and her character just started twitching out of control.

Plus you can clearly see the game is full of Lag. Regardless though i don't care...its a piece of tech directed to casual gamers so kudos to MS for this. Unfortunately i don't fall into the casual crowd so this does not interest me one bit.

What does interest me though is a cheaper 360 slim with a hard drive and wifi capablities for 50 or maybe 100 bucks cheaper

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5815d ago
Blaze9295815d ago

was pretty funny. same demos they showed at E3 though. Nothing new. But they sure are marketing it quick.

AridSpider5815d ago

Yeah they did the same thing the day after they announced Natal last year with Good Morning America and Fallon back when it was called Natal. No doubt this thing will sell I suspect. Will it succeed technically though is the question

ProA0075815d ago

well they did say they are launching this like the launch of a new xbox.

AridSpider5815d ago

Well they price has not been 'confirmed' yet by anyone....

AridSpider5815d ago

wow first that girl's co-worker hosts the Kinect event and now she's her playing it. I see the audience Microsoft is definitely going after with Bieber, Cosgrove and McCurdy - teenage pop audiences.

Cueil5815d ago

it's that female crowd that they would love to hook into...

JasonXE5815d ago

She's kind of hot.

/pedobear

Boring show.

SpaceSquirrel5815d ago

Interesting. They did the same last year as well.

Show all comments (31)
200°

Hey Microsoft, Where Are The Core Games For Kinect?

Meodia writes, "So about a year ago when Project Natal was first starting off, many Xbox 360 and even other gamers were worried about the future of their console. A local shovelware dumping ground didn't sound quite appealing and Natal looked like it would serve extra servings of it. But Microsoft reassured us, holding our hands and telling us that everything would be alright. Since then, nothing has changed. After that "conference" at E3, we were shown nothing but how to please little girls."

xHarvey5820d ago (Edited 5820d ago )

Kinectimals. Raising a tiger isn't hardcore? lol

ipwnall5820d ago

Bubbles to you sir.

I'm extremely aggravated about this Kinect business. I mean, look at the image in the article. Those are the games for Kinect's future. Do we want to be playing those?

B-Real2065820d ago

They told you to wait till gamescom and now you will wait.

005820d ago (Edited 5820d ago )

But you won't be when that tiger mauls you.

ShinMaster5820d ago

"Wait till E3" they said.
Well E3 has come and this is the result.

Moonboots5820d ago

LOL! +bub for funny on that one!

PS: I love you Skittles! Don't eat me!!!!

BiggCMan5820d ago Show
HolyOrangeCows5819d ago

"Wait until E3"
"Wait until Gamescon"
"Wait until release"
"Wait until next E3"
"Wait until...."

So if we want core games, the best option is the waiting game?

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 5819d ago
Alcon Caper5820d ago (Edited 5820d ago )

hey ms remember this list from tgs 09?

Activision Blizzard, Bethesda Softworks, Capcom Co. Ltd, Disney Interactive, Electronic Arts, Konami, MTV Games, Namco Bandai, Sega, Square Enix, THQ Inc. and Ubisoft

>:(

Imperator5820d ago

Behind closed doors being shown to paid celebrities who could care less about gaming.... if there's even any at all.

Mr Logic5820d ago

It needs buttons. There is only a limited a limited amount of things you can accomplish through gesture recognition.

Inane_Asylum5820d ago

I heard Kevin Butler say buttons existed in the future...

...I believe him...

Moonboots5820d ago (Edited 5820d ago )

Obviously Kinect is a casual device designed for those gamers first and foremost and that is the message MS wanted to send at E3 much to the angst of the core. And they have been saying all year that is what to expect.

I am going to give it some time because I don't think MS are going to ignore their core for long. And in the mean time enjoy my controller on games like Gears 3, Reach, Fable 3, Kingdoms, Black Ops, etc etc on the 360.. Not even going to mention my plate for the other systems I own.. There is just no time to play it all. (heaven?)

Redempteur5819d ago

Don't you see ? hardcore games are coming ..just now they annonced .. BURGER KING !!

............

neverming .

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Arnon5820d ago

It's funny because after the Microsoft conference, we actually saw some. In fact, I'm surprised that they showed off the shovelware they did, and then an hour later Sonic Freedom Riders and Child of Eden were shown off and completely destroyed what Microsoft displayed.

Imperator5820d ago (Edited 5820d ago )

Child of Eden is a multiplat, and do you have any gameplay vids of Sonic (I honestly want to see how it works).

@Orange Juice, Ah, I see. Looks kinda simple though. wouldn't really call it a core game.

@Arnon, if that's the case then Kinect really does have the edge in that game... but that's just one game. MS needs to show a LOT more.

Orange Juice5820d ago (Edited 5820d ago )

http://n4g.com/news/546595/...

There you go

EDIT Now that I watch the gameplay closely its most likely a game for kids. I couldnt see an adult "hardcore" gamer playing this game for an extended period of time.

Erotic Sheep5820d ago (Edited 5820d ago )

Eyetoy Antigrav says hi..

Arnon5820d ago (Edited 5820d ago )

Child of Eden is multiplat, but it's exclusive to Kinect in regards to motion controls. The developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi does not have a dev kit for Move.

http://www.computerandvideo...

HaVoK3085820d ago

If core gamers are anything like me they could careless about them.

pimpmaster5820d ago

gotta agree, MS is exactly like nintendo 2 years ago. hey, what ever happened to that dumb ass vitality sensor.

gynecologistcobra5820d ago

Like Nintendo two years ago? As in, raking up a fuck ton of cash?

pimpmaster5819d ago

as in having nothing to offer for the hardcore audience. and only for casuals

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