So, Microsoft is giving Natal, its motion sensing controller for the Xbox 360, its proper debut on Sunday, ahead of a launch later this year. And the gaming world seems to have gone nuts over it – but personally I’ve got my doubts about how much of an impact this (undoubtedly clever) gizmo will have on the world of gaming.
For me, one of the benefits of console gaming are its physical controllers. Back in the 8-bit and 16-bit days, controllers were uncomfortable to hold and unresponsive, but since then controllers have developed to the point where you can play games in comfort and input potentially hundreds of different actions with a high degree of accuracy. Can Natal really match that?
Natal can apparently track up to 48 skeletal points at once, on up to four different people, but in order to match what the standard Xbox 360 controller can produce it needs to do that with an almost incredible level of precision – either that or Natal-compatible Xbox 360 games will have to be essentially dumbed down for the motion controller.
Can you imagine a four player game of FIFA 10 using Natal? With four players, the sensor can only track 12 skeletal points per person. How are you going to exert the level of control over your virtual Peter Crouch available to you from a controller with two analogue sticks and a heap of buttons, all of which can be combined in a huge variety of different ways.
Get rid of the traditional controller and I can’t see Natal actually improving gaming for anybody. Despite its sale success, I’ve found the Wii to be a huge disappointment on the games front – aside from a handful of A list titles, most Wii games are dull, simplistic affairs in thrall to the console’s motion sensing controller. I’d hate for the Xbox 360 and its followups to go down a similar route.
And well, my lounge is tiny. How the hell am I going to play a four player beat ‘em up without trashing the bookshelves and sending my foot through the glass coffee table?
Of course, we haven’t really seen Natal properly yet. That’s all happening on Sunday and in the following days at E3. Maybe I’m wrong – but I think Microsoft is going to have to pull something totally amazing out of the bag to convince me that the traditional joypad is kaput.
Out late 2010 | £TBC | Natal
