Natal will make its official debut at Microsoft’s Natal E3 event in just under two weeks (June 13) but the motion sensing marvel has just been out in public again. And the Natal system snapped onstage at the D8: All Things Digital Conference looks a lot more polished with a fetching new paint job. Is this the finished version of Natal?
The latest public glimpse of Natal shows a new white paint job which will make it match most Xbox 360 consoles out there. But as the previous black shell was a perfect fit for Xbox 360 Elite owners Microsoft might well offer a choice of colours. Engadget caught the smooth looking hardware on camera and notes that though it’s marked up as a developer unit, it looks like a finished retail version of Natal.
Molly O’Donnell of the Xbox team demonstrated the motion tracking smarts of Natal on stage with the same skeleton tracking system that we saw in a previous Natal video. And though we’ve heard chatter about other Natal titles including River Rush, the presenters tried the dodgeball game Microsoft has been busting out at recent demo sessions.
One natty new Natal feature that we haven’t heard tell of before made an appearance: at the end of the game, Polaroid-style snapshots of the action were displayed. It promises to deliver the kind of unflattering photos you usually only see for sale at the end of theme park rides.
While we already know Natal is set for a new name at E3, O’Donnell wouldn’t be draw on any more details saying we’ll have to wait until the launch when “the future of fun” will be revealed. Given that Microsoft has also promised Natal will “take over the living room”, at least that sounds a little friendlier. Hopefully we’ll get a confirmation of that rumoured Natal UK release date too.
Give us your predictions: will Natal really be “the future of fun”? Are you placing your bets on Playstation Move? Or are both really no more wondrous than the Wii?
Due TBC | £TBC | Microsoft (via Engadget/Seattle Times)
