There are several cool things that Natal has going for it that sticks it out from the crowd.

1. One device allows for at least 4 players to play. No need for controllers for each person.

2. 1:1 space mapping. Move forward and to the left 1 foot in real life, your in game character matches the movement. This can be applied to many sports, dodgeball being one I would most like to see created. This is also unique with Natal as it can map you legs and feet so environmental hazards can be created that must be avoided by stepping or hopping over them.

3. 48 points skeletal system. Arms, legs, hands, feet, head, neck, all of them are tracked for each player. This allows for some interesting gameplay. Catch a ball, kick a ball, head butt a ball, butt hit a ball, no need for relying on balance peripherals to guess where the head is. It is where it is.

4. Vocal recognition out of the box. If Natal is there, developers know that this capability is there. Vocal recognition is not new, but having it standard and universal is a major thing. No need for an internet connection to download a patch to allow for this functionality. They also will have an SDK for this so no need to either develop the software or purchase third party software. Having a universal and standard system for vocal recognition makes it easier and more likely for developers to utilize it. Even if only playing with the controller games can make use of this.

5. Facial recognition. Same reasons as vocal recognition.

6. The Natal hardware handles all processing of motion, voice, and facial inputs so that the 360 hardware can handle all the other stuff. No need for developers to section off part of the power of the 360 to handle it, they just use the Natal output like another controller.

Nice to see it's getting strong attention.

What amazes me is that Popular Mechanics isn't just some guy in a room picking a piece of electronics thats cool. Nor are they "money hatted" by Microsoft. This magazine has teams of people scowering the world for cool products. Out of all of the cool stuff coming down the pipe they PICKED the natal to be on the list. So if they think the natal is going to be such a game breaker I am with them. BRING IT ON!!!!!

That doesn't mean the guy that wrote the article isn't a fanboy.  We'll see I guess.

^^^

Do you really think a well established and trusted mag is going to let a fanboy decide whats one of the most innovative products of the year?  Please.....  Like I said these things aren't decided on by a single guy in a dark room somewhere with fanboy tatted on his back.  Give it a rest.

Forza 4 on Natal confirmed! =)

Funny you should say that :)

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=225141

Forza dev: Natal potential "is immense"

Friday 9-Oct-2009 8:30 AM But GT5's head tracking not so exciting, says game director Dan Greenawalt

Forza 3 game director Dan Greenawalt says he and the Turn 10 team are immensely excited at the prospect of working with Microsoft's motion sensing Natal device.

"The moment we saw Natal, everybody was buzzing. There's so much potential for what we could do here," Greenawalt told CVG at a recent Forza event.

"A controller for you and me is natural. We saw Natal and we don't know if it'll take ten years, or five years, but the potential for me and my team to not only do some really cool gameplay mechanics but also to get people who are intimidated by controller excited is immense. It's like a revolution," he added.

But the head tracking announcement Polyphony confirmed for Gran Turismo 5 doesn't excite Greenawalt so much. "Head tracker IR has been around for like seven years," he said.

"We looked into integrating it into Forza 1 on the Xbox, but the issue we came down to is that you have to turn the sensitivity up really high, because if you don't when you turn your head sideways you're no longer facing the TV screen.

"But then, when you're playing even the smallest movements register and your screen is constantly vibrating. So then you have to put dampers on that. We've prototyped it and it's a great concept, but it doesn't work out."

I'd say yes. Anyone remember 3D0 winning "Product of the year" from Time Magazine?

Great preview of what's to come. Looking forward to seeing more of Natal, and the final version to it.

1) Natal looks interesting, certainly ill give it a chance

2) "PM Takes Project Natal For A Test Drive" anyone else read this and think, fuck me Gordon Brown on a 360, lol, lucky I realised PM = Popular Mechanincs