How 'bout that Microsoft keynote yesterday? That stuff was old-school console-wars stuff. Like, my stuff is better than your stuff, I'm gonna win the show, etc. I felt a rush of nostalgia at their naked aggression.
Seriously I wrote a thing about Project Natal, Microsoft's freaky motion-sensing peripheral, which I went to Seattle last week to get an early look at. You're reading insta-journalism there -- somehow I'd managed to convince myself that Microsoft's press conference was actually Tuesday, so I had an extra day to get ready. Then I realized the embargo was about to lift, so I batted that piece out in about 60 mins flat.
I'm not really the target audience for Natal, as a member of the hardcore set who actually likes the Xbox controller. But playing Burnout with no controller, just holding up your empty hands like a steering wheel and pushing your foot forward to accelerate, that is an intense experience. And this is just straight Burnout code, in no way optimized or adapted for Natal. When people start dedicating teams to writing for Natal, very interesting things will happen. I don't think it's particularly an exaggeration to say that this is a potentially Wii-killing innovation. That guy Alex Kipman, the Brazilian engineer who walked me through how Natal works, is seriously clever. Microsoft as corporation doesn't get much credit for innovating, but you gotta hand it to the Xbox division: between that and Live, they do bring significant new tech to market.
I also saw a fair amount of Halo: OTSD gameplay while I was there, which I loved. (I know this post is getting Xbox-fanboyish. Whatever.) Getting out of the Spartan armor really gives the game a different feel -- suddenly there's a whole stealth dimension to it. And they've changed up the storytelling style: instead of a massive operatic arc, you're playing through the experiences of several different squad members, reconstructing the events of a single short time period. These are the sorts of risks I think people were sort of expecting Bungie to take in Halo 3. Now they're finally getting around to it, and it makes the game feel really fresh in a way it hasn't for years.
And listen! It's Cap'n Mal!
And the Halo: Reach thing, yeah. Winter contingency has been declared. My cup runneth over. The cup where I keep my Halo.
Natal looks interesting. As my wife said, it has the potential to be a major revolution in the gaming industry provided they do it right. The Wii is great, but it has a lot of shovelware and gets bogged down in those titles. The lines for getting to try out the Wii at E3 2006 were huge. I wonder if Microsoft will have the same issue this year as Nintendo did then. I think my wife and I had to wait something like 45 minutes to an hour and we were near the front of the line. If Natal takes off I think the Wii will be seen more as a stepping stone than a true innovation, which is sad because Nintendo took such a risk.
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I was depressed by the Ubisoft press conference. There was no mention of the game Beyond Good and Evil 2 (which is highly anticipated) and only brief mentions of Assassin's Creed 2 and No More Heroes 2 (more highly anticipated games). Did they really think all those press folks were going to get excited over Petz and Imaginez games? What were they thinking? I'm sure someone somewhere is excited over the new games, but I'm also fairly sure it wasn't anyone in that press conference.
gmiverson
Jun. 2, 2009 11:15:am
at 11:15:am
I hear Nintendo is working on a liquid-based interface.
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BTW, was Nathan in Halo 3 proper?
Church
Jun. 2, 2009 11:35:am
at 11:35:am
Its quite interesting that you didnt mention anything about MGS coming to Xbox360! You werent impressed by that?! Last year they Final Fantasy from Sony and now they took Metal Gear! Now, what does Sony have?? Btw, I own a PS3...
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Natal really looks interesting but I doubt that it will work as planned. I learned from the consoles history that new things dont work as planned from the first try. Its like in new IPs...the first game could be good but the second one is most likely better as they fix all of the flaws of the first one and improve it.
I really dont think this virtual boy game will work as planned. The game will be very limited at best if not flawed. Think about it, you could tell the boy a billion things that are not programmed in the software, what will happen then? most likely he will smile or something and that will definitely take you out of the experience, especially if it happens many times in one session.
But hey, its still a revolution. I really never thought that we would have something like the minority report hand nowadays! Its crazy, think about all the possibilities!
I think im actually more excited about the consequences of this move on Nintendo and Sony than on the games Natal will offer. Think about Wii2 or PS4!!
karim0cairo82
Jun. 2, 2009 11:35:am
at 11:35:am
Church,
"I hear Nintendo is working on a liquid-based interface."
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You are kidding right? What does that mean?!!
karim0cairo82
Jun. 2, 2009 11:36:am
at 11:36:am
@karim, yes, agreed, I'm not a huge MGS fan but even I can see that that's super-huge. As is the fact that they're streaming live TV over the 360 in the UK. I wonder how much money was in the truck they backed up to Kojima's house to get MGS. Clearly they have chosen the path of total domination, and if they have to burn half their war chest, they're going to get it.
Lev Grossman
Jun. 2, 2009 11:48:am
at 11:48:am
Indeed. I really believe that Microsoft are doing a great job. They are stealing the thunder from Sony and Nintendo. Speaking of Nintendo, the press conference is after 5 min! Lets watch!
karim0cairo82
Jun. 2, 2009 11:54:am
at 11:54:am
How did I miss this? Nerd fail
Rorschach
Jun. 2, 2009 11:55:am
at 11:55:am
@Rorschach - Epic fail there. Go to Kotaku and watch them Liveblog Nintendo's conference. We'll forgive you then.
gmiverson
Jun. 2, 2009 12:20:pm
at 12:20:pm
Natal sounds like the kind of technology would never be allowed on Galactica.
Kemper
Jun. 2, 2009 12:37:pm
at 12:37:pm
@karim It's a season 3 BSG reference. Think of Palmolive as a computer interface. (And no, it's not real. Some of us are appalled/amused that Lev hasn't seen more than a handful of BSG eps.)
Church
Jun. 2, 2009 12:51:pm
at 12:51:pm
omg that was so boring! I am really excited about that new Metroid game. I always thought that the Metroid games need to be more mature. Something like the Aliens movies. Ofcourse, it appears that the new game wont be an Aliens like game but it definitely looks more mature. Collaborating with Team Ninja on this was a brilliant idea!
Other than that, what the hell was that?! Where is the new mature Zelda on Wii?? Where are the games?! They like announced three 3rd party games on the Wii...thats it?! Thats all??
Oh well, Sony's conference starts in two hours!
karim0cairo82
Jun. 2, 2009 13:18:pm
at 13:18:pm
@karim - Hey the new Mario games (The New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy 2) weren't too shabby. I'm really looking forward to them.
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As for Zelda on Wii, I think someone somewhere mentioned that they're done making Zeldas in the style of Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time. Makes me sad but there you go (I hope I'm wrong about it but if not, oh well). I think it could have gone MUCH worse for Nintendo all things considered.
gmiverson
Jun. 2, 2009 13:53:pm
at 13:53:pm
I'm excited about the new super mario bros. for wii. And that's all from Nintendo. The big question is, will that game be enough to convince me to buy two more wii-mote/ nunchuck combos? Doubtful. The fact is, my wii gets used primarily by my kids playing gamecube games. And then it's mostly Zelda games. I recently had to buy a new copy of windwaker for them.
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Also, this fall Nintendo is re-releasing all three previous metroid games (2 gamecube and 1 wii?) on a single disc with Wii controls. Don't know if that was mentioned.
tyrantking
Jun. 2, 2009 16:07:pm
at 16:07:pm
Sony's press conference just finished and I must say it was very good. There were alot of great games shown. like god of war 3, Assassins creed 2, GT5, etc. Also some great PSP games as well which really makes me consider buying a PSP. MGS: Peace Walker, Grand Turismo PSP, and Assassins Creed PSP look to be some AAA titles.
Oh, and the new controller looks great too. It arguably seems to be more accurate and more intuitive than the Wii's remote. Project Natal and now this...it really goes to show how the playing games medium is evolving rapidly. What will PS4 and Wii2 look like?!
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gmiverson,
Yeah, New Super Mario really look good. I really love this nostalgia feeling that Nintendo is bringing back to Mario. But you know, that game and the new Metroid are just not enough to get me to buy a Wii. I think most hardcore players feel the same. Who knows, maybe after a year or so when Wii price drops...
karim0cairo82
Jun. 2, 2009 16:16:pm
at 16:16:pm
In other semi-xbox news, I think that Lev should do a review of Prototype as soon as it comes out. I can pretty much trust his opinions of games.
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By the way, http://tinyurl.com/prototypegameplay. A montage of Prototype Gameplay. Looks sick. In the good and bad sense.
walkinghbomb
Jun. 2, 2009 16:29:pm
at 16:29:pm
@Church- While subtle can be satisfying, aren't we trying to bludgeon poor Lev? If karim hadn't asked, I don't think that Lev would have had any clue that you were making a BSG reference (other than the obvious one that it was coming from you). I say that we use all of the subtlety of Saul Tigh on occupied New Caprica- Lev, you've radicalized the BSG nerds!
anon76
Jun. 2, 2009 16:44:pm
at 16:44:pm
@anon76 I like the idea that Lev wouldn't even be able to parse my comments, yet by this point would know full well why. Either approach is valid, however.
Church
Jun. 2, 2009 18:36:pm
at 18:36:pm
There was some awesome stuff at the Microsoft booth. But I have to say that microsoft has proven itself the devil. Hideo coming to 360 to release a metal gear. Its like they went and said "How much would it take to bring you over to the states?" And wrote Hideo a check. I mean I love alot of the developers games that come out in 360 only, so I am not so hung up on PS3 v. 360 but that was low. If all the best games are on all systems or both 360 and PS3 then why have a 360 at all since the PS3 does and is proven to have the better hardware? Developers shy away from Sony due to the price of the platform, some of the programing required etc... The PS3 is a little ahead of its time.
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Really I am excited for ODST, and Halo Reach, and I wanted more on Mass Effect 2 and Assassins Creed 2 But we really know what its all about.
Star Wars Old Republic MMO BABY.
I am not big into MMOs or PC gaming but I think Ive crossed over.
lostepic
Jun. 3, 2009 05:30:am
at 05:30:am
They mentioned Zelda at the Nintendo stage? If they did I missed it.
@Church nice sutble refernce on the liquid interface.
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Look. I like the 360. But the only reason Microsoft is about to dominate in developers is that it seems they are buy them out. They owe their success to others, ie Natel, Bungie etc... Microsoft doesnt have to make them 360 exclusive but just multiplatform and dominate on the cheaper console. I really hate it.
Its an unfair war.
360 has more variety of better core games and PS3 has the better hardware. Sony always has. PS2 was still forking over better games graphicly than the xbox and many 360 games.
lostepic
Jun. 3, 2009 05:41:am
at 05:41:am
Well, there it is, real-world experience of Natal working seamlessly with Burnout. Love it. The thing sounds awesome and I hope it releases before Christmas at =< $100. Well done, Lev, you have lifted the 360 up to its rightful throne.
Now, about the name... Natal. Ummm... the birth? I know some cultures (like the Portugese/Brazilians) use "Natal" to refer to Christmas. Other cultures, yaknow, like ours, use natal for all things pregnancy-related. What's the word on this? Code name for a Christmas project? Neat symbolic name for the birth of no-controller motion-sensing gaming? Was it developed by the same Israeli NATAL center for trauma rehabilitation (I hope not)?
There's just got to be a Cincinnati tie-in here. I hope Rafael Nata--errr Nadal is tapped as a pitch man.
deucemojo
Jun. 3, 2009 10:08:am
at 10:08:am
The PS3 may have better hardware, but I'm pretty sure the PS2 had the weakest hardware last generation. Gamecube and XBox games were visibly superior technically.
The Natal presentation practically screams "Wii Motion Plus ripoff". Neither Microsoft nor Sony can come up with original ideas. They can only copy Nintendo's own.
As far as this whole show goes, I've never felt so happy to be a Wii owner. It makes me feel guilty for having skipped last generation, but now I'll never turn back on gaming ever again. Nintendo never ceases to surprise me and fulfill my love for gaming.
It all comes down to Super Mario Galaxy 2. It was the best gaming trailer I've seen this year, and easily the best since Twilight Princess! This promises to be a more challenging, but still epic platforming experience. The orchestrated remix was compelling.
eduardojencarelli
Jun. 4, 2009 01:02:am
at 01:02:am
Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Zelda is what makes me want a Wii. I just cant do it. Not enough time in my day or week or month to have all three consoles vying for my attention.
lostepic
Jun. 4, 2009 05:19:am
at 05:19:am
Natal... ie. 'nuff said.
Church
Jun. 6, 2009 21:36:pm
at 21:36:pm