When the rumors started hitting about a new Microsoft motion controller, most thought it was going to be a ripoff of the Nintendo Wii. However, Microsoft seems to be going in another direction, choosing instead to create a far fancier version of the PlayStation Eye. With full-body recognition and voice input support, Project Natal promises a whole new way to experience video games. To quote the hype, “you are the controller.”
Allow me to be the first to say that I am not nearly as optimistic as others seem to be. In fact, I fully expect Project Natal to fail in the most spectacular way possible. There are several reasons I am keeping my guard up, namely the efforts that have come before and the name behind the show-stopper for this latest attempt at motion controls.
It's like you're really boxing! Oh wait, no it's not.
First, let’s look at the Wii. When it came out, the possibilities were endless. Being able to interact with a game world in ways previously thought impossible, from realistic sword fighting to bowling to baseball, there seemed to be no end to the Wii’s potential. Then it came out, and everyone learned the system’s limits. Canned motions, suitable only for simplistic games, became the norm. Games which tried to move beyond the mini-game level were actually hampered by the controls, to the point where the highest compliment one could pay to the Wii is that the controls didn’t get in the way. And in games like Metroid Prime 3, the controls definitely got in the way. While non-gamers were drawn in by yet another piece of plastic and the promise of losing weight, gamers were left wondering just why the hell they’d bought the system, and many a Wii has since collected a nice sheet of dust. While the Wii Motion Plus might bring us closer to 1-to-1 motion control, only the most blindly optimistic people can possibly look at Motion Plus without any skepticism.
Who thought THIS was a good idea?
Next, we have the PlayStation Eye. The promise was simple: games interacting with what the camera to bring on a whole new level of immersion. The showcase game for the eye was Eye of Judgment, a card game based entirely around the PlayStation Eye, in which cards laid on the board created monsters that could fight one another. However, the truth soon came out: The Eye couldn’t tell the difference between store-bought and photocopied cards in Eye of Judgment, and couldn’t even tell if a card had been switched, so one could easily just leave a card on the board after the monster had died and have another one of said monster. Not only that, but the Eye required an ideal lighting condition for proper use. After a few downloadable games, the Eye quickly faded into obscurity, not to be heard from again save as a web-cam.
"How can I sucker people this time?"
Lastly, let’s take a look at the E3 presentation itself. It was all incredibly well rehearsed, as E3 press events are. However, the highlight of the show, Milo, should have been treated with outright cynicism for one simple reason: It is the brainchild of Peter Molyneux, a man who’s entire career has revolved around making outlandish claims and then failing to deliver almost all the time. If there were ever a man who’s picture deserved to be next to the definition of charlatan, it would be him. Thus, while the gaming media at large gasped in wonder at Milo talking to someone in a carefully rehearsed conversation, those who understand the nature of deceit simply laughed and shook their heads, knowing that the final product, if there ever was one, would be far less than advertised.
With the sheer out-of-this-world claims being made about Project Natal, it boggles the mind that anyone could possibly buy into this nonsense. However, the gaming media continues to lap it up without question, not once thinking about how wholly unrealistic the whole thing seems. Not that I am willing to dismiss it out of hand, but at the same time, some skepticism is needed. Even in this era of high technology, it’s a bit of a leap to think that this is going to go off without a hitch. After all, if Microsoft has truly developed such unbelievable camera tech, why the hell are they wasting it on video games?
