Microsoft Xbox 360 Sneak Peek: Project Natal

Okay, so I receive email invitations or demo opportunities every now and again that leave me giddy the rest of the day...and this was one of those opportunities. I met c2cDad, Li'l Boo and a couple of friends to catch an advanced look at Microsoft Xbox 360's "Project Natal" earlier this week. WOW. Playing video games without controllers - where WE are the controller...no cords, no wires, just free to move and hit and kick what we want - the game mirrors our moves. Again, without a controller. WOW.

I looooooove summer, but the holiday season cannot get here soon enough so we can have the chance to purchase it and begin playing with it at home. It was just as fun to watch others play - almost as fun as playing yourself. We took turns playing with "Project Natal" (official name TBA), and learned among other things that the sensor we were seeing was a prototype, and still being refined, so we couldn't record it in our photos and video (which explains why the pan rises up as it moves to/from the TV in the videos below).

My family had a blast trying it out, and for those of you not too excited about it yet, let me tell you that having played, it was responsive and registered our motions accurately - even the quick unpredictable movements of the littlest ones in our group. The sensor recognizes 11 points on your body, can accomodate for depth (how close or far you are from the sensor/TV), and will be able to recognize voice commands like to say "play" and have the game begin. I can easily see it being used for activities beyond gaming. It's a whole body workout that the family can enjoy - yes, as you can see here in the videos showing Li'l Boo and his friend enjoying themselves (seriously, check out how happy they are to be playing!):

Project Natal Sneak Peek from c2cmom on Vimeo.

It's interesting that as I was chatting with More than Mommy, we realized that the concept and novelty of "Project Natal" was nearly lost on the youngest ones, and perhaps will be lost on a whole generation of kids under about 10 years old. For them, most items in their lives work wirelessly already - phones, TV remotes, toys, etc. so that they're just not used to having to unplug or plug in cords and cables or physically walk over to devices to control them. I think us adults and the 10 year old with us were significantly more amazed and excited about the "Project Natal" technology than the four and five year olds who took it in stride and immediately began playing with it. Little do they know that a whole new frontier of gaming and entertainment is right around the corner.

Project Natal Sneak Peek 2 from c2cmom on Vimeo.

Full Disclosure: XBox 360 provided me with a Mino HD FlipCam to capture us playing with "Project Natal."

UPDATE: "Project Natal" is now Kinect.