For gamers who want to know what they will be able to play on the Xbox 360’s ‘Natal’ motion controller, here are a few more details from the FT’s interview with Don Mattrick, head of Microsoft’s games business.
There will be a ‘creator’s panel’ at the Tokyo Game Show on September 24 featuring three of Japan’s top developers discussing the possibilities of Natal. They will be Keiji Inafune of Capcom, the man behind zombies-in-a-mall hit Dead Rising; Sega’s Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of Super Monkey Ball; and Hideo Kojima, previously of Konami, the director of the Metal Gear Solid series.
Mr Mattrick did not say that those three would be making games for Natal. I don’t know how one would do Metal Gear on Natal – unless players can creep up on their television and throttle it – but Mr Kojima’s thoughts should be interesting.
Microsoft will also be showing some Japanese games working with Natal, including Katamari and the classic Space Invaders.
I had a go at Space Invaders on Natal. The player side-steps to the left or right to move the cannon across the bottom of the screen, and lifts both arms in the air to fire.
It turns Space Invaders into a cross between playing dodgeball and doing the YMCA. It works and it is fun, but it is also physically tiring in a way that twiddling a controller is not – a legitimate concern about the longevity of all motion controlled games.
Providing the 3G data connection works we will live blog Sony’s keynote address at TGS. Check back here at 1030 Tokyo time on September 24th. That’s 0230 on the 24th in London, 2130 on the 23rd on the US East Coast, and 1830 on the 23rd on the US West Coast.
