E3 2009: Natal could work with old games

360 News | Also, Rare 'intimately involved' with Natal.

Xbox Live big cheese John Schappert has suggested that it is very possible for developers to make existing games compatible with the console's new motion-sensing camera, codenamed Project Natal.

"We haven't talked too much about that. Can that be done? Certainly it can be done," said Schappert in an interview with Eurogamer.

We're not really surprised, seeing as the original Burnout was used to demonstrate Natal over E3.

"What we did with [Burnout] is that was an early example that the team used to prove out their technology - the software layer and the magic that makes Natal special and unique to Xbox and to Microsoft, and so they wanted a finished game they could work on, so they actually created a pretty amazing little piece of hardware that kind of went from Natal and mimicked an Xbox controller, and so that's what they've got working right there."

Speaking of Natal, it seems like British developer Rare is already working on several Natal projects, according to Microsoft's Shane Kim.

"Rare is intimately involved with Project Natal in a number of different dimensions. They're doing an awful lot of work, even outside the traditional game space, I would say," said Kim, speaking to Kotaku. "Unfortunately I can't go into a lot of detail about that. Rare is alive and well and really having a broader impact on the entire Xbox world than just doing the games they traditionally have in the past."

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16 Comments

phoenix_whittaker

2 years ago

I saw footage of Burnout on the Natal in action and it simply was that you'd turn your hands over an imaginary wheel to steer and move your foot forward or back to accelerate/brake/reverse.
The only thing is it was apparently very difficult to control and people crahsed lots which will be Natal's hardest thing to fix, the sensitive control levels you can get with a regular controller.

rankodour

2 years ago

Natal would be great for a game like Punch Out. Pity that's a Nintendo IP.

x7h3CUREx

2 years ago

i don't think natal will be successful among hardcore gamers.
i find it hard to see how you'll be able to make fine adjustments that you can with a controller.
good luck to them if they can pull it off but i highly doubt it.
and the appeal of playing a car racing game with my arms held out in front of me is zero. i think i'd be over that in about 5 minutes.

Sin Ogaris

2 years ago

For racing games you need some sort of feeback on what you're doing, controllers have it, actual racing wheels are even more useful, as you have some thing to accurately gauge your actions, in air miming doesn't really cut it, not for simulations.

Nic_231

2 years ago

I thought Molyneux said it wouldn't be possible to get 'intimately involved' with Natal, or was that just Milo

BloodApathy

2 years ago

The other type of game that i cant see working with Natal is anything that requires button combinations. I mean, street fighter would obviously be pointless, and i dare say i would not like to try and play cod4 using it

But im very keen to see what they can do with it.

Definitely some room for new games, this would be an awesome feature for navigating say, a computer system in a game, you could set it up like the computers in minority report using your hands to navigate different files, and videos.

But i wouldn't be packing away your xbox controller any time soon

Jellyfish

2 years ago

BloodApathy wrote

But im very keen to see what they can do with it.

Both those games would totally work with the system though. For Street Fighter face 90º to the camera and act out your moves and away you go.

Call of Duty, plastic gun controller with an "analogue nub" and a trigger. Controls work similar to how Metroid Prime 3 did it. For grenades or opening doors you just do the action, the camera can read your stance and you can even lean around cover. It'll slow the pace of the game down slightly but that's how real war works so it is adding to the realism.

krono6

2 years ago

nikack wrote

BloodApathy wrote

But im very keen to see what they can do with it.

Call of Duty, plastic gun controller with an "analogue nub" and a trigger. Controls work similar to how Metroid Prime 3 did it. For grenades or opening doors you just do the action, the camera can read your stance and you can even lean around cover. It'll slow the pace of the game down slightly but that's how real war works so it is adding to the realism.

PLASTIC gun controller? Uh oh..
Brb, I need to check on my nephew..

BloodApathy

2 years ago

nikack wrote

BloodApathy wrote

But im very keen to see what they can do with it.

Edit: yes im aware how negative i sound

I see where you are going with that. But, the point of project natal was to break away from the controller. As for street fighter, have you played it much? How on earth would they make a motion combo for the ultra combo's using natal? They would have to be something equally difficult to the button sequence on the controller, and i can see that getting pretty messy.

I think for the car games and maybe platformers, i can definitely see it working. Even for individual elements within a game that would still use a tradition controller definitely room for use. But the comment you make about it "slowing the pace of a game down" Well, they you have the issue of people using controller vs people using natal. It NEEDS to be even, otherwise, why would you play an online game using natal, if people using controllers are going to kick your arse. These are issues that MS will have to think long and hard about before they choose to integrate natal with games, otherwise they will only hurt their sales.

Nic_231

2 years ago

BloodApathy wrote

I mean, street fighter would obviously be pointless

Can you imagine versus battles

? Sounds like a good way to lose an eye!

Vervain

2 years ago

On rails shooters is where it would be at with Project Natal.

Have your hand up as though you were holding a gun and then squeeze your finger like you're pulling a trigger to shoot. Stand up to come away from cover or crouch to go behind cpver and of course pretend you're throwing something to use a grenade.

Or maybe even a new Viva Pinata seeing as Rare are working with it. The game works really well on the DS's touchscreen so it should work fairly well with Natal.

Cerebral

2 years ago

nikack wrote

Both those games would totally work with the system though. For Street Fighter face 90º to the camera and act out your moves and away you go.

Multiplayer could get messy.

Natal could have some interesting uses, but I wouldn't like to see it replace the controller anytime soon. Sometimes, I simply enjoy sitting down on a couch and playing a game.

barrett

2 years ago

Don't think we will see this till Xmas 2011 and MS will have to sell at a casual gamer friendly price to gain a large market share quickly...something they struggle with bigtime.

Anything over $120 and i think they will struggle.

Sony's motion controller looks like it is in a more advanced stage of development and may beat MS to retail.

Lord Haart

2 years ago

TBH, if they didn't release a single Natal game, instead just using it to control the 360 dashboard, I would still buy 2.

Ever since Minority Report, I've felt an inexplicable urge to be able to control computers with a wave of a hand.

x7h3CUREx

2 years ago

i don't think it would work for any shooter. how could you aim?

Lord Haart

2 years ago

^That's the very best part about natal. Make a gun shape with your fingers, and aim it.

Too easy.

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