A Direct Kinect
The line to enter The Galen Center
In a recent post I mentioned going to a preview event for Microsoft Xbox 360′s “Project Natal”; although it was just a beta I was very impressed with what I saw and posted video footage I shot of Mr. Sean G testing out Natal doing his best Breakin’ rendition.
A few days later I received an email from Edelmen, Microsoft Xbox’s PR firm inquiring about the video (uh-oh), which they were excited about and wanted to use, but…asked that I edit and “blackout” the device like it was in the witness protection program since it was still in beta (whew). Considering what happened with Gizmodo’s Jason Chen, I immediately complied no questions asked and the subsequent edit with their help ended up receiving over 100K views, which is why I presume a few months later I was asked if I could come out to LA for E3 to attend the launch event for Project Natal featuring a performance by Cirque Du Soliel. You better believe they didn’t have to ask me twice! I was flattered they even considered me and psyched to have the opportunity to witness and experience their huge kickoff event for E3!
On June 13th that opportunity came…
(Pre) Natal
Last week the gif+d invited me to tag along to attend a preview event for Microsoft Xbox 360′s forthcoming “Project Natal“, which is the code name for their “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience”. (Thanks for taking me Sam!) I was super-psyched to have the opportunity to witness it up close since I’ve been hearing and seeing all the hype surrounding it.
For those of you familiar, you already know. For those who don’t, simply put it’s Xbox throwing their hat in the ring against Nintendo’s Wii in an attempt to broaden their audience beyond the hardcore gamer. After seeing it live, it looks like “Project Natal” will easily accomplish that goal and could quite possibly be considered Microsoft’s game changer. This device will not only revolutionize how people interact with video games, but could also be considered a ‘peek’ into the future of how we’ll interact with computers.