Final Hard News Story

Project Natal. Does this sound unfamiliar? “Yes”, said senior Steve Denzer, “I had no clue about it.” Well for those who don’t know Project Natal, it may be the biggest advancement in gaming technology ever. After the watching the promo video, gaming expert Mark Besonen agreed, saying,” it wont be the biggest advancement ever but at least the biggest any high school student has seen in their lifetimes.” Project Natal is software being developed for the Xbox 360 that would allow gamers to play games without the use of a controller. It also has a feature that scans the person using the xbox and recreates a visual image of them allowing users to try on clothes virtually.
Without needing a controller anymore, hand motions are used to play games with Project Natal. For example when playing Project Gotham Racing you use your hands to grasp an invisible steering wheel and rotate it to drive the car. While playing Top Spin you act like you are holding a tennis racket and run around your living room as if it were the tennis court. However, perhaps unfairly, Project Natal will undoubtedly draw comparisons to the Nintendo wii. Most seem to think that Project Natal will be superior though. “Project Natal will be better”, says Mark Besonen, “Because the wii still uses a controller and the 360 has better games.”
An exciting new prospect of Project Natal is that it is expected to draw many new gamers from new demographics. The theory is that people who don’t know how to use a controller will know how to play with Project Natal because it uses simple hand motions that are easily compatible to the games being played. However, this presents a problem because the hand motions may be very complex for some games, such as Call of Duty. For example, in Call of Duty the hand motions for changing weapons and zooming in with a scope may be very complex and confusing. This has not deterred mainstream gamers, in fact Steve Denzer lists Call of Duty as the first game that he would want to try on Natal.
The hype for Natal has yet to be generated in the mainstream public, but gaming insiders know that it has the capabilities to completely transform gaming as we know it. “It is very possible we will see many imitators of Project Natal in the coming years”, said senior Mark Besonen, “If it is successful.” Well only time will tell if Project Natal is a success story or a complete failure. One thing, however, is certain and that is that Project Natal has the right the ideas for moving video gaming in to the next generation. When asked what his favorite feature of the new Project Natal was, senior Eli Golder said, “I am most excited for the scan that takes place when you enter the room.” That’s right, Natal scans the user’s body and face and so it automatically logs the user on to the correct profile when the system is turned on. That is some high tech equipment.