Category: Blog

Motion Sensor Gaming

Huge news out of E3 in LA yesterday when Xbox rolled out its latest gaming technology, which I touched on a little bit yesterday. Project Natal is an awesome new motion control sensor that will do away with traditional controllers. It uses cameras and sensing technology to follow your movements – whether you’re playing soccer, shooting, or running, it will convert your actions onto the video screen.

I think it is probably one of the most exciting developments in gaming history and will give the original motion masters at Nintendo a run for their money. I’m confident that this technology – as long as there are no major bugs – will set the standard for the next decade or so, in gaming. Expect it out just before Christmas, or for it to make a big splash at the beginning of 2010.

Bing It On!

As mentioned on this blog a couple of days ago Microsoft has a new search engine called Bing, which goes live today. We demonstrated some of the more interesting aspects of it on the Today Show this morning.

This includes the ‘hover’ function that allows you to get at brief glimpse of what the website is about. You can also get a preview of a video before clicking through to the website. This is a handy feature for those in a hurry, especially if the browser is slow, or your connection is bad.

Overall, there isn’t a heap of difference between it and the main player in Australia, Google, however give it a crack. It certainly has a more colourful interface than similar products.

Exciting times ahead for the gaming world as Microsoft announced “Project Natal” at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles.

When Nintendo got the ball rolling with its motion controller it opened up a whole new way of playing games, and the Japan-based company reaped the rewards by having the number one selling console with the Wii, as well as gaming publishers knocking down its door to get a piece of the action.

While Microsoft and Sony have been trailling with their big consoles, Nintendo has been making bucket loads. I reckon the balance of power is about to change with Project Natal.

So what is it? Well, we saw the technology in Minority Report, and it’s somehow fitting that Steven Spielberg, who directed that film, introduced it at Microsoft’s press conference at E3. Basically it gets rid of the controller and allows gamers to use hand gestures to browse their dashboard, launch games by talking, and delve into all sorts of onscreen action by using arms, legs and head.

A small box will sit under your television set, which is connected to the Xbox 360. An array of gear sits in the box including a depth sensor, multi-array microphones and custom processors amongst other things.

It certainly makes all other controllers seem redundant, and if the stunned reaction of the gaming press (who are well-known for their blasé nature when it comes to new technology) is anything to go by, Microsoft are on to a winner.

So the boss has asked you to stay behind for an extra half hour to help with an urgent project, but you have a really hot date. Or (s)he’s asked you to take a five percent pay cut for the next few months to see the company through the economic downturn. Maybe you’ve been told that the assistant you were promised to help through the mountain of paperwork won’t be forthcoming in the near future.

You think you’ve got it hard, spare a thought for the poor folk at Canon in Japan, whose boss seems to be stuck in a Dickensian time warp. A little nugget of a story out of Gizmodo US tells us that Canon Electronic’s, Hisashi Sakamaki, believes that chairs and lackadaisical walking are the causes of lower productivity.

To arrest this purported lack of work ethic Mr Sakamaki has found the solution – nobody is allowed chairs in their workplace, and if workers don’t walk at least five metres every 3.6 seconds, then an alarm flashes! Not only that, there is a flashing sign on the ground that says “Let’s rush: If we don’t, the company and world will perish!”

It’s interesting to see that with a high yen, and many Japanese companies posting record losses, that Mr Sakamaki has his priorities straight. And it certainly puts Canon products in a new light! Wonder if he’s going to pay for all the chiropractors that will be needed for fixing all those bad backs due to crappy ergonomics. Time will tell. I wonder whether Canon printers will push pages out even faster in the future with the extra speed generated at head office leaking out to their products!