“Natal is challenging because it’s so different,” says Molyneux

[binary solo]

NightAntilli said:

Bamboleo said:

“It’s very, very different to any input other mechanism the world has even seen before because there isn’t any buttons and that’s both its strength and its big challenge. So when you’ve got a game like Fable, there is an enormous number of things we can do with Natal.”

 

I think that Mr. Molyneux didn't make the right choice of words to describe why natal is "very, very different to any other mechanism"...

The eyetoy couldn't make a geometry model of your body and use it in a game. It worked in a completely different way.

You mean PS2 couldn't do those things. With the right software and hardware (processing capacity) the image captured through an Eyetoy could do a reasonable approximation of image capture sufficient for many of the gaming applications Natal will be used for. But it would be limited and a lot less precise and so Natal can obviously do more. Hence "very very different to any other mechanism..." is hyperbole.

The last thing Natal needs is a "difficult to develop for" reputation. We've already seen that sort of reputation in a different context this generation and it was a contributing factor to the position that device finds itself in today. MS can head off that sort of rap at E3, and obviously they know this which is why they have a stand alone Natal event. It'll be interesting to see how it comes off.