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Kudo brings Natal to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon photo

Apparently, Jimmy Fallon is serious about this whole videogame thing. He is, as far as I know, the first late night host to feature multiple games-industry personalities. On last night’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, he demonstrated his dedication to games by inviting on Microsoft’s Kudo Tsunoda to demonstrate Project Natal. 

Much of what’s demonstrated is what we saw at the press conference, like the “Breakout with your body” demo. Fallon and company even get into the action, hopping right in and knocking balls around with relative ease. Of particularly hilarious note is the dejected pose one of Fallon’s cohorts makes when he misses a ball, the on-screen Avatar easily picking up on the actions.

Tsunoda also busts about a version of Burnout Paradise that Microsoft re-engineered to work with Natal. It appears to work, for sure, but I question as to whether or not controlling a racing game without anything your hand (a wheel for instance) could feel… right. Regardless, the technology is pretty incredible, and appears to work as advertised.

The question is – when will this “new future of videogames” begin? Microsoft isn’t committing to a time frame, and a reliable source told us “this holiday.” Another source told us “holiday 2010.” So I guess what we’re trying to say is: we have no idea. But we kind of want it.


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41 comments | showing # 1 to 41

-PL-'s Avatar
-PL- at 06/11/2009 11:23
I watched it, it was pretty awesome. They put up the first demo that they showed at E3 and I was like "man I wanna see them use this on a REAL game", but then I was kinda eating crow when they pulled out Burnout Paradise with the Natal. It seems to do pretty well at detecting the steering and the one foot forward for gas, etc. I'm getting it on day one.
atastysammich's Avatar
atastysammich at 06/11/2009 11:23
That's fantastic news for gamers who like Jimmy Fallon! Even better is that I'm fairly sure there are none.
RonBurgandy2010's Avatar
RonBurgandy2010 at 06/11/2009 11:25
Just like I thought, a next gen Eye Toy. Still looks pretty fun though.
PappaDukes's Avatar
PappaDukes at 06/11/2009 11:27
I can already see the XBLA community games now... "Pimp Slap, an epic adventure of a pimp, and his quest to keep his tricks in line." Basically, the entire game is you chasing and slappin' your "hos" and collecting money.
Cadtalfryn's Avatar
Cadtalfryn at 06/11/2009 11:27
Looks kinda hard to use.
SDogg554's Avatar
SDogg554 at 06/11/2009 11:29
we need this for forza 3 NOW! maybe a chair would help
Qraze's Avatar
Qraze at 06/11/2009 11:29
what's gonna happen at night when i turn the lights off to fully immerse myself?
Bulkmailer's Avatar
Bulkmailer at 06/11/2009 11:30
My mind is blown by that Burnout stuff.
ParaParaKing's Avatar
ParaParaKing at 06/11/2009 11:36
CASUAL GAMING!

As for the Burnout stuff: Anybody played Mario Kart Wii with the wheel? I'm pretty sure this plays worse than that.
Magnalon's Avatar
Magnalon at 06/11/2009 11:40
benjaxez's Avatar
benjaxez at 06/11/2009 11:41
virtual porn world is going to open up soon!
PappaDukes's Avatar
PappaDukes at 06/11/2009 11:44
@Magnalon - EXACTY! Make it so.
Daxelman's Avatar
Daxelman at 06/11/2009 11:47
How do you boost?


ITS NOT BURNOUT WITHOUT BOOST?

And aggression cars? Fuck that, only Aggression if you're using the 4x4. Or the Van.
Zero Atma's Avatar
Zero Atma at 06/11/2009 11:49
I remember when the Wii came out and many complained that they wouldn't want to wave their whole bodies around. Penny Arcade even did a comic about it. Then we all learned that it's not necessary for the most part and were relieved. So why are people excited about a system that WILL REQUIRE full-body movement?

I agree that it looks technically interesting, but from a gameplay perspective it put you right back into the place people didn't want to go with the Wii
Nick Chester's Avatar
Nick Chester at 06/11/2009 11:58
@Zero:

Outside of being impressed by the tech, the opportunities for use beyond simple "wave your hands around OMG!" games is interesting. I happen to enjoy holding a controller in my hand, pressing the buttons; I'm not afraid by four face buttons, two sticks, and four "triggers." So imagine marrying that with more subtle motion controls? An obvious example might be with a squad, and directing them with one hand ("Go this way" + pointing, etc.). Or a game which (theoretically) could detect subtle emotions in your voice or face, and the game's NPC would react accordingly.

I still am not interested in ditching a controller in favor of complete motion controlled action (call me "old school"), but there could be some really interesting applications for Natal. They all don't have to be these over-exaggerated mini-games like we're seeing here; it's just easiest to show off the capabilities this way.
Eficent's Avatar
Eficent at 06/11/2009 12:08
I couldn't agree with you more Zero Atma. I don't understand the mindset that since Microsoft has this technology we will all of a sudden see hardcore games. At the press conference I heard the guy talk about the controller being a barrier for people. Which only leads me to the conclusion that this isn't for us who like controllers.

Of course 3rd parties are excited about this. Just look at what 3rd parties pump out on the Wii and up the resolution to 720p. I'll eat my words if this isn't the case. I just see the world of gaming being pulled away from us and I don't like the outlook.
ChrisK's Avatar
ChrisK at 06/11/2009 12:18
Jimmy Fallon said on the show last night that the release was "still a year away".
Static Jak's Avatar
Static Jak at 06/11/2009 12:23
And I can't help but feel like it won't live up to every promise when they have someone like Peter Molyneux hyping it up. Of all the people in the gaming industry, he's the last you'd want to believe.
He's done it to every game since Black and White.

And lets face it, when this thing comes out a flood of casual Wii style games will be right behind it to make some quick money. We've seen and still do see this with the Wii. Same thing will happen with the PS3s motion sensor.
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 06/11/2009 12:25
Interesting that they had to put on orange jumpsuits. Just in case?
chilidog's Avatar
chilidog at 06/11/2009 12:25
"Cadtalfryn at 06/11/2009 11:27 - Looks kinda hard to use."

I guess, if you are a quadriplegic.
CrudeDarkness's Avatar
CrudeDarkness at 06/11/2009 12:26
I like how Kudo always starts his presentations doing the robot.
Danmartigan's Avatar
Danmartigan at 06/11/2009 12:29
The thing that makes it cool, is how you don't need to buy more plastic crap if you want your friends to play. Makes me wonder, if developers jump on this thing, we might see some really nice 1:1 melee combat stuff with swords, lightsabers, boxing, etc. You know, sort of what we initially expected from the Wii.
DinnertimeNinja's Avatar
DinnertimeNinja at 06/11/2009 12:49
What's with the jumpsuits exactly?

I can't imagine they would all wear the same outfit if there wasn't some reason. Maybe it's easier to calibrate with brighter colored clothes?

Makes me wonder how sensitive to lighting conditions this will be. That was always a problem with the EyeToy/PSEye.
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 06/11/2009 12:50
So now you have to wear a red suit if your background is dark? Awesome. Also, people aren't going to put white squares on their carpet to know where the camera stops seeing you.

This device depends on the user to make sure the lighting conditions are just right, and that is not something that can be overcome when using the camera as an input peripheral.
manasteel88's Avatar
manasteel88 at 06/11/2009 12:53
After seeing that Nick Chester posted his musing on Natal in this post...it dawned on me. Rock Band with the in game avatars (or Microsoft's) replicating your movements. If you wanted to dance around and play some rock band the characters would do it.
Soulwax's Avatar
Soulwax at 06/11/2009 13:12
So when do we get the inevitable Guantanamo Bay torture game?
zer0faults's Avatar
zer0faults at 06/11/2009 13:21
Raise your hand if you want a game where you can fake holding a m16, run around your living room shooting, and use real hand signals to direct your normally brain dead AI pals. It could detect weapon swaps by your reaching behind your back ... it really will all be in the implementation. This paired with a remote like gun could give great possibilities.
roboticheartache's Avatar
roboticheartache at 06/11/2009 13:33
I'll only play the natal shooters if the voice recognition can be mapped so that PEW PEW PEW sets my guns'ablazin.
Micorku's Avatar
Micorku at 06/11/2009 13:41
@manasteel88: That may be the best Natal idea I've seen yet. My friend frequently does crazy moves that put the computer to shame. And it would be more fun to watch than the 10 pre-loaded moves they have in the actual game.

Also, I must be the only TrueBlood fan, because I thought it was funny seeing Bill the vampire play.
PrinnyMedic's Avatar
PrinnyMedic at 06/11/2009 13:54
this thing isn't very accurate moving fast fucks it up

no deal
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 06/11/2009 14:10
@manasteel88

Genius!!!
Autumn's Avatar
Autumn at 06/11/2009 14:24
To all you whiners that say this will suck: Use your imagination!

How about Modern Warfare 3 where you control the movement with a thumb stick, but aiming is done using a gun peripheral like a light gun game. The camera is attached to your actual head position, so players can poke their heads around walls to scout the enemy position and fire off a burst from their machine gun, before popping back in to reload. Headshots depend entirely on your skill at aiming the gun and you can use hand signals to communicate silently in multiplayer.
The immersion of that game would be fucking amazing, not to mention how cool it would be to actually throw grenades!

I don't know about playing Breakout by jumping up and down like an idiot - I think that would kill most gamers in about 4 minutes flat - but if it's used subtly to enhance the games we already play it could offer totally new gameplay experiences. Don't knock it til you've tried it, guys!
CocoJambo's Avatar
CocoJambo at 06/11/2009 14:40
Future of gaming, people.


I love when it gets all fucked up and the legs go for his face.
brainderailment's Avatar
brainderailment at 06/11/2009 14:43
@Autumn, so what you are proposing is that Microsoft go back on all that no controller stuff? I agree that the possibilities are amazing if you can use a controller with this device, but that doesn't seem to be the focus of the device.
Torzelan's Avatar
Torzelan at 06/11/2009 14:45
Did not in any way look like what I consider "responsive". Closer to Wii than the PS3 ballwand (which loo- er, seems like the best thing ever). :(

Hope for the best though, can't judge before trying and guess it's not all done yet either.
KyleGamgee's Avatar
KyleGamgee at 06/11/2009 14:56
Looks okay. I have no problem with Microsoft trying to include something so accessible.

As far as motion controls go, it's a controller, we've always had to adapt to them. I didn't like analog triggers for a long time because you only "pushed the button" at the end. I tear people up at Wii Sports Boxing and guess what: it doesn't look like I'm boxing.
roboticheartache's Avatar
roboticheartache at 06/11/2009 15:23
After re watching all the E3 footage, I've decided that this will be a first day purchase for me. i don't give a shit about the games. they're probably all going to be pretty gimmicky, "accessible to non gamers!" kind fair and for what thats all worth, that's not for me. What I AM extremely interested in is the cool minority report media selecting and the possibility of voice command on my dashboard.

that, and eventually standing on a chair and attempting to get achievements in slam ball using only my wang.
bleep's Avatar
bleep at 06/11/2009 16:06
ballz
RawwrBag's Avatar
RawwrBag at 06/11/2009 16:16
Check out around 1:45, where he misses the swing. The onscreen avatar completely wigs out.
andycadaver's Avatar
andycadaver at 06/12/2009 01:01
I assume it's just Kudo's thing to always wear face-eating sunglasses.
lyfeforce's Avatar
lyfeforce at 06/12/2009 08:14
Agreeing with Dexter345, the fact that they were wearing orange jumpsuits was a "Hmmm..." moment, but it could have been the fact that it was a TV studio with very particular lighting and the camera facing out into the dark audience bleachers might have had something to do with it.

Or it just could have been a gimmick of the show since they were branded with the logo and all.
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