Microsoft: "Natal could replace remote"

[Brotherofwill]

I really can't envision this working as a good remote. Just imagine:

You are tired after work, fall into your chair/ couch and then want to chill with some TV in the background. The worst fucking thing that could be required of you now is to move your arms around to use as a remote. Just think about it. No input device should require physical strain on your body otherwise it will become annoying within minutes. The remote, controller and mouse for PC are so succesful because you can rest your hands on a surface like your lap or your desk while you use them. Imagine moving your hand and arm around everytime you want to scroll your mouse wheel for browser use. It would fucking suck.

Anyway, seeing the Microsoft presentation seemed to have confirmed this for me because the guy that was navigating through his xbox system to look at movies had to wave his arm from side to side just to get to the next item on the dashboard. Why not hold down a little stick to do the same faster and more accurately?

Yathzee said it best: It's gonna get some sales from the gimmick crowd but as soon as something else comes out that is even more 'advanced' it's gonna get dropped.

I might be overreacting but it really sounds rather stupid in my opinion. Well, I stopped watching TV years ago, so I might just be completely wrong here.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Natal: "You can't leave - I locked all the doors of your house"

Haha, nice. Reminds me of an imaginary conversation that I came up with right after Milo and Natal were introduced at the press conference: It's just not going to be of much use to the average Xbox, TV user.

Milo: Hey John, what are you up to?
John: Whoa awesome, the thing can speak and all!
Milo: I tend to have that impression on people, how was your school today?
J; Eh, boring. Wait, why are we talking about school? I just wanna pwn some nubs in Gears.
M: School's important you know. You should study more.
J: Creeping me out there buddy, please let me play some Gea..
M: I'm a cheeky boy meself, can't we just hang out?
J: Eh..cheeky? What are you, british? Fag! H-how do you know my name anyway?
M: I control your Xbox, I know everything you do and play. You shouldn't play Gears, it's above your age range.
J: Omg...you fu*** Ni**88 Je***ckin***, leave my Xbox alone! I hate you!
M: Don't get upset, I'm running a psychology test on your facial expressions. Don't want me to send an email to your mum telling her about the things you say, do you?
J: N-nno plea..see. Fuuuuckkkk, leave me alone!
M: I need scissors! 61!

 

[jpoon]

Just what I want, a camera watching me at all times in my own home. Fuck that shit...

 

[Phyroxis]

Natal could also cure cancer..


'bout as likely.

Perhaps a successor to Natal could kill the remote.. Or perhaps voice commands ala Star Trek, but Natal itself? Naw..

 

[TelHybrid]

Not to sound like a Microsoft fanboy, but well... when they have a gimmick or in general an idea it tends to go well. Think of all your parents/uncles/older friends who had a chance to invest in Microsoft before it got big for operating systems and such, and never took the chance due to scepticism...

Natal could be awesome if implemented properly, just as long as we don't get another Wii.

 

[v3n0mat3]

We'll see if it'll be nearly as accurate as they claim.

 

[ArtVSscience]

No never, Motion controls are gimmicky anyways (IMO).

 

[Woodsey]

Yeah, I hear loads of gamers are up for standing around when they want to relax.

It'll be interesting to see if they pull it off though.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I don't really get why they think a remote is hard to use. Plus, I'd much rather just wiggle a thumb than stick a hand out and make odd gestures in the air to change the channel. This is one of those things where people think that fancier gizmos=better.

(This is sort of a rant, but is related to my last sentence) I got Guitar Hero WT a few months ago with the whole band kit. I open the box and find a wireless guitar controller, which is fine in my opinion, a mic with a USB cable, and a wireless drum set. The drum set is the part that really pissed me off. There is zero need for it to be completely wireless in a home environment. I'd much prefer a wired set (partly to help with the lag, especially from the cymbals) because it doesn't eat batteries. I'm pretty sure my GH drum set gets about 5 hours of play on one battery charge, and then you either have to have extra batteries ready, or you just sit around while the existing ones charge up. Every GH related wireless peripheral annoys me because it always feels like there's just the tiniest bit of lag when compared to a wired controller. (end rant)

 

[Wintermoot]

what is up with all this motion sensor hype? its anoying!

Ain't it? What's wrong with the remote?

or a controler the wii mote isnt that bad but the fact that 99% of the wii games use motion sensors its funny for 15 minutes before random wigeling gets anoiing (TCUK on the wii is pretty good because it doenst use any gimmicks)

 

[DrDeath3191]

Good. The XBox 360 Remote (and I mean the Remote, not the standard controller) is a piece of crap.

Now, to all the Natal haters on this thread: wait for actual software to show up before making your judgements. The only things I've seen for Natal were mere tech-demos, and the tech itself is rather impressive. I'd like to see what developers do with the tech before making a rash judgement (and before you say Molyneux: I love the games he makes, but I'll wait for the actual Natal-compatible games to be shown before making judgement).

And besides that, there's no reason that Natal and the 360 controller can't work together. That was one of the major things said about Natal: they're not eliminating the standard controller in any sense.

 

[Hiram88]

People are really over-hyping the natal. The thing is nothing more than a motion sensing camera! We've had them since the eyetoy! No one is going to use it, the thing is gonna suck, and only first party games will be moderately fun to play.

 

[sln333]

It's not going to replace the controller. Microsoft already said it will be required for some games, but the controller will still be the main way to play.

 

[USSR]

Dear god!

No. Just no!

Now we won't even have to use a remote?!
Americans are already lazy enough >.<

 

[Jaranja]

..do/can any of you people read?

Bull-fucking-shit.

I love controller.

...remote. REMOTE. TELEVISION REMOTE.

My mistake but... What the hell is the point of that? You use a television controller for near 5 seconds, why do you suddenly need to change that?

 

[[Insert Name Here]]

Meh. I'm getting sick of Natal's "revoultionary" technology even before it comes out. And the fact that everyone at Microsoft wants to bear its children.

 

[JediMB]

This stuff, while cool in theory (and on TV), really requires way too much effort to be practical most of the time.

EDIT:
I own a Wii, and I do like the Wiimote, but whether or not I like how it is employed varies wildly between games. A big thing about the Wiimote was that it was supposed to simplify the interface between gamer and game, but a lot of developers have been going in the opposite direction and just made things harder and less accurate.

Look no further than Metroid Prime 3 for an example of how the employed control scheme has simplified interaction with the game world. Motion controls are kept to a minimum, and feel quite intuitive, while the IR tracking is used intelligently and the game's functions are mapped to the controller's buttons in an accessible way.

In well-designed games, the "arm-flailing" stereotype doesn't hold true, and that's really the way I prefer to have it. There's no point in designing a game to require more physical effort if you're still going to get identical in-game results.

 

[beholdmycape]

this would be fucking awesome