Review on Microsoft Xbox360 project natal

 Perhaps you've heard of Microsoft's next big thing for Xbox 360, Project Natal. This little peripheral is the company's answer to Wii's motion controllers that have brought gaming to a whole new audience. Natal was first announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo earlier this year. Since then, the information has been trickling out of all corners, from loose-lipped execs to third-party developers. To get everyone up to date, i have compiled this set of frequently asked questions and the answers i have so far. There's still so much more to learn, but if you're looking for a little clarification, this is the place to start.

What is Project Natal?

Project Natal is Microsoft's 3D camera for Xbox 360. It tracks people's motions in three dimensions and has a microphone capable of voice recognition. It is to be used as a controller-free method of playing video games, tracking the player's body movements and voice and transferring that information directly to the gaming console.

Microsoft has described the codename as having several sources. "The name "Project Natal" has several sources. Microsoft Corp. traditionally uses cities as code names. As a result, Alex Kipman, who incubated the project and is from Brazil, chose Natal, a city along the northeastern coast of Brazil, as a tribute to his country. In addition, he knew that Natal also means "to be born" in Latin. Given the new audiences "Project Natal" will bring to Xbox 360, this felt right."

When is it coming?

No official release date has been offered by Microsoft. That said, you can expect it to release in the latter half of 2010. The CEO of THQ, a third-party videogame publisher and developer, mentioned this release window during a financial call earlier this year. IGN has had this expected release period confirmed by developers off of the record as well.

How does it work?

Project Natal uses an RGB camera, an infrared projector and a monochrome CMOS sensor. The RGB camera tracks basic colors and enables features such as Natal's ability to recognize faces. The infrared and CMOS sensors work in tandem to create a 3D image of the room. Microsoft claims that it is this combination of several sensory arrays that allow Natal to work in any light condition.

This data is then combined with proprietary algorithms to map a wire-frame skeleton of the player in real-time. It is this extra layer of processing that allows Natal to continue working even if something wanders between the player and the camera. This wire-frame system also allows Natal to recognize four players at once without getting overlapping limbs confused.

In addition to its visual sensors, Natal has a multiarray microphone that can "locate voices by sound and extract ambient noise." This will allow for individual voice recognition and headset-free chatting in online games.

How is this different from Nintendo's Wii remote

Natal is the only motion controller that doesn't actually use a controller at all.

Sony PSP 2 is Real, Features Cell Processor

Sources in the UK have confirmed that a successor to the PSP is already well along in development, although the new device probably won't be shown at E3 this year. I suggest that the PSP 2 is coming as soon as this spring.

The PSP 2 is described as roughly half as powerful as a Playstation 3. It will run on a 4 core version of Sony's Cell processor. Little is known about the graphics capabilities of the device, but in my openion it might uses the PowerVR SGX graphics chip.

Even more exciting, the next PSP will contain two cameras built in to the device, with one facing the user and the other pointing away. The same landscape-oriented widescreen is present, but now it is a touch-enabled display. Sony has also retained sleek versions of its trademark face buttons, for those gamers like us who prefer old-fashioned input for our games. Interestingly, there is no word yet on the number (if any) of analog sticks that will be included on this new handheld.

Sony is reported to be finalizing the online connectivity features of the device. It will of course be Internet connected, but the question is, how? A plan to include 3G wireless connectivity in the device is still on the table, and I hope Sony decides to go for it. Similarly, while the basic specifications of the device have been more or less determined, nobody has yet seen the actual case design for the retail device. So, we'll have to wait for sony to show its demon.