Natal without its Processor: The beginning of the end
Posted by Ahmad Dajani On January - 8 - 2010
Last year at E3 2009, Microsoft showed its new control free peripheral (project Natal) to the whole world. Just after they had demonstrated some casual games like Ricochet and the infamous Milo, the gaming world went crazy and Natal had become the next big thing and the talk of the media and videogames experts.
Then, the E3 buzz cooled down and gamers started to wonder if all of the buzz surrounding Natal was in place. Some gamers said it’s revolutionary, while others said it’s an Eye Toy with a new paint, and a lot of people were in the grey area; waiting patiently for Microsoft to show something that Justifies all of the talk about Natal. Guess what? Grey is my favorite color when someone discusses Natal with me.
If you are a hardcore gamer (like me), I think that you are not liking what Nintendo has been doing this generation. Just look at Nintendo and their Wii games this generation; other than some high profile games such as Twilight Princess, Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros, and some third party exclusives like Muramasa and Mad World the system is filled with meaningless casual video games. They are having the success, they are making profit, why would they stop? Believe me they won’t. And that’s why my worries about the future of the gaming industry I adore and love is becoming stronger. In fact, Natal and other motion control devices (I’m also in grey area regarding Sony’s motion controller, but to a lesser degree) are ruining the videogames industry for us, the hardcore gamers.
You might say, they are bringing video games to the masses. I will tell you one thing: When I see the same person who plays Wii Fit also playing games like Uncharted 2, Forza 3, Assassin’s Creed 2 and other hardcore games, I will stop complaining and start enjoying this motion control nonsense.
Major Nelson has stated that Natal won’t replace the Xbox 360 controller:
” I think you and I can both agree that if we were playing Call of Duty or any type of FPS, you don’t really want to run around to the back of your couch for cover. That isn’t fun. You may haven’t a couch to do it, or you may haven’t room to do it. With Natal, we want to bring new gaming experiences to the living room.”
Ok. But what’s about their new gaming experiences? New gaming experiences mean here more casual games, and the fact that Microsoft stripped Natal from its Processor is another prove to my whole point. I guess Now, everyone has been informed that Natal is a software based device, and it’s no longer has a Processor power within itself. Also, Kotaku reported that Natal would actually need to use up to 33 percent of the 360’s CPU, and games like Forza 3 is possible while using Natal, but compromises (reduced artificial intelligence, sound or physics) might have to be made in order to run the game properly.
So you won’t be able to play FPS games according to Nelson comment, no high end games; can Xbox 360 run the upcoming Crysis 2 which will have a very sophisticated physic calculations while using Natal? In fact, Natal is putting more limitations on the capabilities of the Xbox 360 hardware, and if we are discussing the issue here on a Logical manner, we are going to see the graphical gap between Xbox360 and PS3 exclusives becoming larger and more obvious in the future.
Which brings us to the main point behind this article: What is the type of games we are going to play using Natal in the future? I guess I have the answer right now: Ricochet and more of them. Nintendo had started this, and in the eyes of hardcore gamers they are doing things in a very wrong way this generation. Until now, the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are consoles dedicated for hardcore gamers. But if they Insisted on conquering the casual market, we will be saying goodbye to hardcore gaming sooner than later.
xBOX360 IS JUST ps2 upscaled ...fact
Posted by Ahmad Dajani On January - 8 - 2010
Last year at E3 2009, Microsoft showed its new control free peripheral (project Natal) to the whole world. Just after they had demonstrated some casual games like Ricochet and the infamous Milo, the gaming world went crazy and Natal had become the next big thing and the talk of the media and videogames experts.
Then, the E3 buzz cooled down and gamers started to wonder if all of the buzz surrounding Natal was in place. Some gamers said it’s revolutionary, while others said it’s an Eye Toy with a new paint, and a lot of people were in the grey area; waiting patiently for Microsoft to show something that Justifies all of the talk about Natal. Guess what? Grey is my favorite color when someone discusses Natal with me.
If you are a hardcore gamer (like me), I think that you are not liking what Nintendo has been doing this generation. Just look at Nintendo and their Wii games this generation; other than some high profile games such as Twilight Princess, Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros, and some third party exclusives like Muramasa and Mad World the system is filled with meaningless casual video games. They are having the success, they are making profit, why would they stop? Believe me they won’t. And that’s why my worries about the future of the gaming industry I adore and love is becoming stronger. In fact, Natal and other motion control devices (I’m also in grey area regarding Sony’s motion controller, but to a lesser degree) are ruining the videogames industry for us, the hardcore gamers.
You might say, they are bringing video games to the masses. I will tell you one thing: When I see the same person who plays Wii Fit also playing games like Uncharted 2, Forza 3, Assassin’s Creed 2 and other hardcore games, I will stop complaining and start enjoying this motion control nonsense.
Major Nelson has stated that Natal won’t replace the Xbox 360 controller:
” I think you and I can both agree that if we were playing Call of Duty or any type of FPS, you don’t really want to run around to the back of your couch for cover. That isn’t fun. You may haven’t a couch to do it, or you may haven’t room to do it. With Natal, we want to bring new gaming experiences to the living room.”
Ok. But what’s about their new gaming experiences? New gaming experiences mean here more casual games, and the fact that Microsoft stripped Natal from its Processor is another prove to my whole point. I guess Now, everyone has been informed that Natal is a software based device, and it’s no longer has a Processor power within itself. Also, Kotaku reported that Natal would actually need to use up to 33 percent of the 360’s CPU, and games like Forza 3 is possible while using Natal, but compromises (reduced artificial intelligence, sound or physics) might have to be made in order to run the game properly.
So you won’t be able to play FPS games according to Nelson comment, no high end games; can Xbox 360 run the upcoming Crysis 2 which will have a very sophisticated physic calculations while using Natal? In fact, Natal is putting more limitations on the capabilities of the Xbox 360 hardware, and if we are discussing the issue here on a Logical manner, we are going to see the graphical gap between Xbox360 and PS3 exclusives becoming larger and more obvious in the future.
Which brings us to the main point behind this article: What is the type of games we are going to play using Natal in the future? I guess I have the answer right now: Ricochet and more of them. Nintendo had started this, and in the eyes of hardcore gamers they are doing things in a very wrong way this generation. Until now, the Xbox 360 and the PS3 are consoles dedicated for hardcore gamers. But if they Insisted on conquering the casual market, we will be saying goodbye to hardcore gaming sooner than later.
xBOX360 IS JUST ps2 upscaled ...fact