http://www.videogamer.com/news/next-gen_natal_prototype_is_ready.html
Promises to be more precise than E3 hardware says The Gadget Show.
Channel Five's The Gadget Show were invited to try out Project Natal last night - the same demonstration that Jonathan Ross attended - and enthusiastic tech expert and gamer Jason Bradbury has given his verdict. It's fair to say he was impressed.
Literally bouncing out of the demo, Bradbury's first words were, "amazing, brilliant," before he added: "I mean, OK, a little bit of work to do regarding the clarity of the experience of how you use your body. I was doing my breakdancing moves and it was recognising them. I saw a guy do a Moon Walk... it actually recognised the movements.”
Bradbury said the only game being demoed was the previously shown Ricochet, but nonetheless, he liked what he saw.
"I did some boxing moves. I did a few little jabs and honestly it works. It picked them up. You could see my character in silhouette mimicking my moves," he said. "That's where it's going to be exciting."
Interestingly, Bradbury revealed that Microsoft had told him an improved version of the prototype is now ready.
"[Microsoft] did make a point that the next generation of prototype, which is now ready, which is not what we were using, we were using the E3 hardware. The new stuff is even more precise, the movements are more precise," he said.
An obviously enthusiastic Bradbury concluded: "That Natal promise from my experience tonight...very, very much intact. I need to wander the streets and calm down before I go home."
We came away impressed from our time with Natal back at gamescom, but it's certainly good to hear that a newer version of the motion controller is now ready.
Project Natal is scheduled for release this holiday season - if fellow demo attendee Jonathan Ross has his facts right, it'll be out in October.
You can see what Bradbury had to say in full over on The Gadget Show website.
So, they have been displaying the E3 version of Natal up until this point. And by next-gen, they are just referring to the next iteration of the Natal hardware that is closer to being what will be released to public, not that it will be the hardware for the next gen XBox.
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