I was very impressed by the new video recognition system of XBox:
http://www.geekstir.com/project-natal-milo-xbox-360

This is very cool. I especially love the idea of this fighting game, since I am a Karateka myself. This would be funny training at home.

But most impressive is Project Milo, a virtual child (from Peter Molyneux):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdkw7sQZPT0

This will probably not be a replacement of mouse and keybaord in shooters. But it can create new funny entertainment just like the Wii did.

Brilliant.
Brilliant.
Brilliant.
Brilliant.
Brilliant.

I love this kind of controlling.

if that is true than it is really cool. but, hmm, somehow i think its a fake

I have the same doubts like you. Maybe this project is a little bit of a fake. But this concept will be reality sooner or later. You will talk with the virtual person of your console to start an application. You can control a person in an adventure game just by talking and waving your hands. It will happen in the future.

(Peter Molyneux is a bit known for promising a bit too much beforehand)

I think this video is just pure concept, it works
too quick and exact to be believable.

I suppose this should already work, when people have
specific Markers (like a hat, Marker-balls to attack to your hands)
Its really hard for the computer to track the actual
person and its movement without reference points.

Important is, that this kind of control is quick, and
not too laggy.
Good Idea. But too much concept-fiction. I would like
to see a real application running in a real world.

Of course it's fake to some extent. For example the part where a skateboard appears in the game after being 'scanned' by the device. Obviously it was put in the game/demo and the camera just recognized it.

As for that Molyneux demo, mad impressive if it's not, but most likely a bit fake as well.



Yeah, recognizing a player is one thing, reacting to movement another, but recognizing that a player lifts his right hand and more detailed stuff like that... mmmm, maybe not yet possible. Then again, MS will do whatever it takes to come with something extraordinary a lá the Wii-mote soon.

with all this wii-ing and controlling coming up i will stick to what a pro skateboarder said after they asked him about the new controls:
"if i wanna go skateboard, i simply go skateboard"

all this jiggling is nice but honestly the only real advantage is making you and your friends look retarded while playing multiplayer games. thats where this makes perfect sense and fun.

everything else is case to case dependand for me. controls should support the gameplay and not just be a selling point.

we will se what they will come up next. wii control was a bit dissapointing for me, but hopes are high this will change sooner or later.

cheers

I liked the Wii controls a lot, it really surprised me how much fun it is, but at the same time I wonder how long it will be fun. There are a lot of games in which it just doesn't work too, like for example just about every FPS game on the Wii platform.

It's great for physics based games, but at the same time it's putting a pretty hefty limitation on what type of games will work. I doubt the MS solution will not have this very same issue.

I think mouse and keyboard have already proven to be the best solution anyways, but it's certainly a nice step in the right direction when it comes to immersive gaming I guess.

Yes. I agree. The hardcore gamer will not stand up before the machine and wave his hands to control a game. It will be too dark for the camera in this little dirty room anyway.

I think this kind of entertainment will take place in living rooms, families or party guests will play such games. It is really a similar concept like the Wii. It is just the next evolutionary step.
Boxing with a Wii-mote was fun, but fighting Karate without any attached controller at all will be fantastic.

With this in mind it will produce similar games: sport games, physic based games, fun games, family games. But it can also open some new areas. So you could control an adventure game with speaking and gestures. The hero could answer you with funny comments while watching directly into your face and even commenting some of your actions personally, your stance, your outfit, your face. It will be a much more personal experience than these indirect games.

i dont think natal is ready for this, but it would be awesome if you could talk to NPCs on RPGs instead of picking from predefined lines. You know, you go meet the npc introduce yourself, next time you come npc knows you... you communicate by talking, if you talk nonsense npc does nothing/gets annoyed, if you talk about topic it replies relatively etc.