Well the leaks were right. At tonight’s E3 kick-off party, Microsoft officially pulled the curtain off Microsoft Kinect, formerly known as Project Natal . Kinect! Like “connect” and “kinetic” and “Kin”. Among the first games to be shown off: Kinect Star Wars.
Microsoft Research Asia director Hsiao-Wuen Hon states the obvious: the company is already researching the “second version down the road”. Natal, like the first Xbox, is a big investment, so it’s unlikely that Microsoft would give up at one generation without giving it at least two, or maybe even three tries. So if the first Natal doesn’t succeed, you’ve got another one to look forward to on the next-gen Xbox. Hell, it probably will just ship with the console by default. [SMH via Geek]
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We’re used to feeling oddly insulted by Sony ads, but for once it’s everyone else who might need a hug. Because in this PlayStation Move ad, the competition gets named, shamed and leaves crying for mummy.
Even though Microsoft won’t be so specific, we’re all pretty sure that Natal is coming at the end of next year. Now even the boss of THQ (a major game publisher) has grown tired of the elephant in the holiday of 2010, going on record that Natal would be released “late next year.” So why won’t Microsoft just come out and say it to the public? My guess is that they don’t want unforeseen delays to alter public perception. [Kotaku]
