Natal and its motion control smarts recently sparked speculation that folk with small living rooms would be locked out from the fun. Now Microsoft has sought to reassure those of us living in sardine can style apartments that Natal will work just as well for us.
Worries about whether Microsoft’s Natal camera-based motion controller will work in small rooms were sparked by a description which said: “…you’ll want to clear an area extending at least 4 metres (a little more than 13 feet) away from the television.”
The explanation implied that Natal would require you to have 4 metres of clear space in your living room which would be a big problem in a little living room. But Microsoft has jumped into the fray to explain that it’s not the case.
Microsoft says: “The Natal sensor reads the configuration of your room and adjusts play space as appropriate.” And just in case you thought that Natal would discriminate against your diminutive room, Microsoft assures us that: “We know that living rooms come in all shapes and sizes…” Phew!
While we’re sure Microsoft has done plenty of tests in different sorts of rooms while testing Natal, don’t be surprised if we see a raft of stories about frustrated folk bashing into things when it launches in the Winter.
The batch of stories about people slinging Playstation Move controllers through their TV screens are probably already being drafted too.
Due Winter 2010 | £TBC | Microsoft (via Kotaku)
