superchunk said
– Microsoft is the most vague out of all of them. It’s slated to be the most powerful out of all the next gen consoles about 4 to 6 times more powerful than Wii U and 2 to 3 times more powerful than Playstation Omni. The project has gone through many name iterations and will not be decided on until shortly before it’s E3 unveiling. Microsoft is also running into manufacturing issues and developers not having games done on time so instead of delaying the launch to Summer 2014, they are thinking of “soft launching” it Holiday November 2013 and then have a full blow out in the summer. All units will come with Kinect 2 built in which can track up to four people, all objects in the living room, clothing, face structure and fingers. It can also understand different voices and has it’s own PPU. In 2014, Microsoft will introduce the “LiveWall”, a omni-projection unit that will allow game environments to be projected nearly 360 degrees around the user. Useing Kinect 2, they have two demos of one that is a battlefield RTS and one that is a kung fu game with guys attacking all around. The LiveWall can also project diffrent images on the wall, so people can play different games on different walls. Microsoft is prepared to champion this unit as a cheaper and more effective alternative to wearing a “goofy stupid VR headset” to combat Sony’s Omniviewer while Sony is going to point out the low resolution quality and the lack of privacy. The system is going to be very expensive in the $499 range so Microsoft is planning on using a remolded X-Box Live (Possibly renamed X-Box Life) to offer a Pro (Gold) subscription two or three year contract to sell the unit at $300 – $399. The final goal with the tech is to shrink the system on a chip down enough so it can be put into tablets, PCs and Smart TVs so that all devices are X-Box ready.
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I am really curious about how the "LiveWall" tech will work from a practical standpoint. I already fear that it is something that will only work marginally well in a very controlled environment that was designed specifically with it in mind (If you ever played a kinect game at E3 and then in your living room you will know what I am talking about).
I am boggling my mind thinking about it ... I get how it could project images on my wall behind where I am playing in my game area (which even that has problems since my wall has a bunch of posters on it). On my right and left sides of my gaming area, however, there is no wall or barrier for about 15 ft on one side and about 20 ft on the other ... so is this thing going to project light onto thin air like a holodeck or something (I doubt it for just $499 asking price)?
Is Microsoft expecting us to put up drywall and design a mini play environment just for a video game console (maybe so since I have already sort of had to do that with my gaming area in order to accomodate the kinect)? Don't get me wrong, I am mostly an Xbox gamer, and I want to see the nextbox do well, but the Sony offering just seems a lot more practical with a VR headset device even if it seems a little less ambitious (we all did the VR headset thing back when they had it in malls and arcades during the 90's).
