JaggedSac said:
Reasonable said:
welshbloke said:
Price and Software
They will be the major factors. I do not see feedback being an issue as this could easily be resolved by a peripheral if people felt they needed that but seeing people play to date the immersion comes from being in the game and not from the feedback supplied by the wheel. I think people get a bit to hung up on the idea that Natal for some reason is banned from using peripherals.
Skin colour and the number of players is also I think a red herring as Microsoft have already demonstrated and declared that it will work with all skin types and sizes. The number of players has again already been demonstrated to be well handled by the body signature which changes over time and detects persons even when temporarily out of site and in the dark.
Space is a concern but I think only for very few people as most living rooms will provide sufficient space obviously when multiple poeple are on screen then at some point we will have space concerns. It will be interesting to go to a large LAN and watch lots of people jumping around in the aisles or even in a shop.
I also do not think it is a good idea for Sony to try to market its device as Natal capable because it is not and this will eventually lead to negative feedback. They should make use of any lead to market. |
Oh I don't think Natal is 'banned' from peripherals, I'm just going by MS current positioning of 'no controller'. I half expect MS to quietly do an about face and produce some peripherals at some point post launch. My point is that in practise, people normally prefer to feel a physical connection - it just doesn't feel 'right' swining you arms and seeming to hit something with zero feedback. Try it right now and you'll see what I mean. Swing your arm as though playing Tennis - feels off, right? Swing your arm as though playing tennis holding something inert - feels better, right? Now, get access to a Wii if you don't have one, play Wii Sports and feel the rumble when you play Tennis - feels much better than the other two, right? You can't change that, as we're wired for physical feedback.
You're right on price though, if it's too expensive that will negate any potential impact vs the Wii, particularly with Wii getting a price drop.
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I don't think MS cares too much about the controllerless aspects of Natal outside of their marketing. They are basically handing Natal to developers and telling them to do with it what you will. Kudo has stated a couple time I believe about the possibilities of the Natal controller hybrid.
As far as feedback, sound and visuals are enough. People playing on PC with mouse and keyboard don't have rumble, and they seem to do alright.
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I'm compaing Natal to Wii. I'm asking myself why I'd want to swing my arms at nothing with no feedback when I can swing my arms with feedback?
For Natal to really take off it seems to me it need to offer a supeiror gaming experience to Wii (and I guess Sony Wand) and I'm actually not sure on the evidence so far it does. I will wait to see what titles ship with it, but right now I'm pretty much convinced that stuff like tennis, bowling, etc. will all be better on Wii.
Natal needs titles where the camera approach is superior to Wii I think, not just a different version with no real difference and potentially less immersion.
I love everything about Natal as an inteface - in fact I can't wait to hook it up to my gaming PC if MS make good on that promise, but I do have doubts about it's impact on gaming.
In US I think it will do best, due to 360 position and it's appeal as a futuristic device, but even there the Wii is pretty entrenched and I could see Sony still having decent brand awareness with the average Joe in the street.
I'm just saying I don't see Natal as a slam dunk by any means from a gaming perspective. I think MS are taking a fair bit of a risk with Natal, particularly when so many people have already got a Wii.
