I think it will be an interesting toy- as all motion controls are.
Not anything HARDCORE though.

The main problem I see with motion sensors is companies are "dumbing down" games for them. So we end up seeing a bunch of extremely simple games that I find boring to play.

@SlimeBeast

MS INVTENTED MOTION CONTROL WITH NO CONTROL IM STARTING THE HYPE TRAIN NOW!

ALL ABOARD!

MILLIONS FIRST DAY,TEH CASUALS! NON HARDCORE! EVEN THO MY SYSTEM IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR THE HARDCORE GAMERS! RAWR!

I J/k plz dont ban me :p

OT- How are they gonna do games? are there gonna be minigames? There are so many questions that have yet to be anwsered.

Here is my big problem with idiots who talk about Natal like it's trash and say it can't do anything or it's an Eyetoy ripoff. You have no imagination... that's the beginning and the end of everything you are when it comes to this topic... saying you can't see how something would be done is like saying you can't envision how the same particle of light can hit two separate spots at the same time. Just because you can't understand it doesn't mean it can't be done and done well.

The difference is that when you discover a strange phenomenon in nature you have to cope with it, even if it's counterintuitive. Usually when you invent/build something, on the other hand, it's because you have an itch to scratch i.e. a predating need that must be satisfied and that you know already.

What itch would you say Natal was born to scratch? That controllers - all controllers - are too hard to use? Or that interacting with your whole body in a less abstract manner opens up new possibilities?

Isn't it a little strange that we are here even asking how a tool will be used?

Project Natal will be of limited use for traditional games--yes, you could use it as an alternate controller for a variety of games but that's not its strength. Certain genres--fitness games, dance, some sports, etc.--work well and others like racing games or FPS aren't a good match. And Happy Squirrel is right on the money in that it's games that will drive the adoption (or lack thereof) of the peripheral.

Nothing that's been shown yet is enough to put it over the top. But having worked with the tech before the possibilities are good enough that really fun games can be created with it.

"I am not going to discuss how well it works, or whether or not Elmo, Leroy or whatever that AI kid's name was, is real."

You know, I can't remember what that kid's name was either. It's driving me crazy! I knew it a few minutes ago!!

@Garnett

Haha, good! And at least you understood my point. ^^

Well, Natal fit very well with what Pete was wanting from Project Dmitri.  An ability to more fully immerse someone in an experience.  Whether Milo ends up matching Pete's vision is yet to be seen, but I am sure there are others who have ideas as to what Natal can be used for. 

I do not think all video games fits well into your argument for inventing or building things.  I don't think interacting with a video screen was an itch anyone had before it was invented.

I think Natal fits very well with humanity's instinctive nature of communication.  When we interact with anything in real life we use our body, not a controller.  If we want to express ourselves, we use vocal, facial, or gestural expressions.  If we feel the need to block something, we use our arms, if we feel the need to kick something, we use our feet.  That is much different than if we feel the need for something in a current game, we have to map it to a game pad.  For example, a soccer ball is heading towards you, you want to kick it, you then map that to a button.  With Natal, you just kick.

Sure this will not fit a lot of current genres of gaming because character motion is limited to a limited area(using no controller).  But there are sure to be new genres or game types to come out of this.

Motion control, which I have been a defender of (this post was more like Microsoft trying to steal thunder than anything else), provides a way to have people naturally interface with a videogame, without needing to memorize controls. You have people do what comes naturally, and the game responds. Of course, not everything should be shoehorned into motion control. Nintendo has learned with the Wii to not do that, but they do use it in places where it is a fit.

Again here, the idea is to cut the learning curve and get people up to speed in a hurry. Being "Core" and demanding it go away, isn't an answer (let alone right answer). And to say it will "dumb down" a game I believe is also off base.