Microsoft Corporation is a giant when it comes to the software industry and at this year’s E3 the company made some rather surprising announcements. Microsoft pushed its Xbox 360 right into the limelight by vowing to revolutionize the way we use the television, and premiering ten exclusive new games. The company also revealed a new way of gaming without using a controller called ‘Project Natal’.
The games for the Xbox 360 showcased at the E3 include Halo 3: ODST, The Beatles: Rock Band, Alan Wake and Forza Motorsport 3. There are also numerous Xbox Live features such as Last.fm and Facebook made especially for TV. Other features include movies and television being streamed in 1080p HD format.
“Today with cultural visionaries at our side and controller-free gaming on our horizon, Xbox 360 authored a new page in home entertainment history,” Don Mattrick, Senior VP for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, stated. “For us, this E3 is about breaking down barriers – between generations, between games and entertainment, and most important, between video game players and everyone else – in a way that only Xbox 360 can.”
The ‘Project Natal’ sensor will allow players to use the Xbox 360 without a controller and is compatible with any Xbox 360. It combines a depth sensor, a multi-array mic, an RGB camera and a custom processor which runs specific software and can track full body movement of the user in 3-dimensions. It can even respond to voice commands and detect a change in emotion by listening to your voice.
“The next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear,” Steven Spielberg, visionary director and producer, explained. “With ‘Project Natal’, we’ll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us.”
The ‘Project Natal’ sensor is not light dependent and can recognize individuals by analyzing facial features. The device doesn’t merely respond to certain key words but it actually understands what users say. Facebook and Last.fm will be available only on Xbox 360 for your TV and you can always stay in touch with friends using Facebook Connect. Also Microsoft announces the Xbox Live Party which allows users to share movie experiences over Xbox Live.
“We are always asking ourselves how to make the TV more social,” commented John Schappert, Corporate VP of Interactive Entertainment Live, Software and Studios at Microsoft. “By bringing Facebook, Last.fm and Xbox Live Party for movies and TV shows to Xbox Live, we’re not only extending the walls of your living room beyond your home to your friends in different corners of the world, we’re creating the definitive social network, uniting more than 200 million people to share status updates, pictures, thoughts on music and the world’s best online gaming experience.”
Xbox 360 users will be able to stream television shows and movies from Zune video onto the Xbox 360 beginning this fall. And while expanding to include Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, The Netherlands and Sweden, Microsoft will more than double the markets in which movies and TV shows are offered by Xbox Live.