Steven Spielberg (right) joins Xbox 360 head, Don Mattrick, to introduce ‘Project Natal’ - a revolutionary way to play with no controller required, during Microsoft’s press briefing at E3 in Los Angeles yesterday.

SHOWCASE: Microsoft held its pre-E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 2009 conference (with guests like Steven Spielberg, Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono)  just hours ago and already the gaming and entertainment fraternities are abuzz about what’s in store for the Xbox 360.

Besides on-demand full game downloads (using credit card payments of course) via Xbox Live, the one thing that would give the Nintendo Wii a run on its WiiMote is Microsoft’s Project Natal. Technically, it’s a camera system that senses your body movements in 3-D and translates them into control actions in-game. The system even recognizes your voice and face.

According to Microsoft, Project Natal’s camera system combines the use of an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone and custom processor hooked up to the Xbox 360. It tracks full-body movement and individual voices, giving gamers a controller-free environment.

But of course, no mo-cap jargon is complete without a demo of what it does exactly. Here’s a video to give you a better idea. For more details on what Microsoft announced at E3, look here. (Editor opinions: 1)

Paolo Manzano, Managing Editor, HWM Philippines

Paolo (HWM Philippines): Project Natal seems to be an evolution of what the Wii has started. It could very well be revolutionary if Microsoft gets it right the first time around.

Although I am not aware on how far motion sensing and recognition technology has advanced, hopefully Microsoft, with their large cachet of resources and vast experience, will come up with a product that does not disappoint. Despite all these reservations though, the price point it ships at and the quality of games that supports it when it launches will also be a big difference maker. All in all, a winning announcement from Redmond.

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However, several game developers interviewed felt that both Microsoft and Sony have yet to discuss future console plans with game companies, raising concerns that console manufacturers might be too focused on mainstream entertainment services rather than games.

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