Code-named Project Natal, the camera is able to accurately transform 3-D body movements into onscreen play, one-upping the Nintendo Wii’s handheld motion controllers.
The 3-D camera also comes equipped with facial-and-speech recognition capabilities that allow for more personalized and interactive engagement with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console.
Microsoft showed several demonstrations in which players rode skateboards, fought hand to hand, painted a large canvas, kicked and headed balls or drove a race car, all with movements both big and subtle.
Gamers will also be able to log into their Xbox Live accounts by allowing the camera to recognize them or navigate through menus with a wave of their hand. Voice commands can also trigger game action or simply turn off the Xbox.
At the E3 video game conference in Los Angeles, the technology was hailed as a watershed moment in gaming. Movie director Steven Spielberg said many people find gaming controls too complicated, something Natal addresses by doing away with them entirely.
“I think what Microsoft is doing is not about reinventing the wheel; it’s about no wheel at all,” Spielberg said.
Microsoft’s Don Mattrick, senior vice president of Xbox, did not announce a price or launch date but said the technology is being released to developers so they can create games for it.
Mattrick envisioned a new generation of titles that would appeal to everyone in the household.
“Can we go beyond the controller? Can we deliver games and entertainment that everyone can instantly enjoy? Can we make you the controller?” he asked. “We can.”
The move represents Microsoft’s aggressive ambitions to own the living room experience by making the Xbox 360 the go-to device for entertainment and media, said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. Microsoft also announced the Xbox would have 1080p high-definition video streaming, Internet radio through Last.fm, and Facebook and Twitter integration.
Pachter, who was given a private demo of Natal, said the technology opens up new opportunities for gaming and raises the level of immersion in games.
“There’s not much software for it, but the technology is awesome,” he said. “It’s very cool and very sensitive.”
3-D cameras have emerged in the past couple of years at technology shows as innovative input mechanisms that can be used not only for gaming but also as replacements for remote controls. But Microsoft’s blessing of the technology is the biggest endorsement for the systems and could usher in more applications of the technology.
Microsoft appears to be utilizing camera technology from 3DV Systems, a startup Microsoft reportedly bought earlier this year.
In other news, Microsoft announced that the next in the Metal Gear Solid franchise – Metal Gear Solid: Rising – will appear on the Xbox 360 platform for the first time.
Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison also appeared to promote The Beatles: Rock Band, which will premiere Sept. 9 with songs like “Day Tripper,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “I am the Walrus,” “Back in the USSR,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Here Comes the Sun.”
