Microsoft's Finally Got Game

Iwata should be worried about more than game development. Nintendo's archrivals, Microsoft and Sony, are poised to release their own motion-sensing devices in 2010, with Microsoft having the best chance to out-Wii the Wii. Its  Project Natal product, announced in June, eliminates the controller entirely--instead of a player holding a gadget, a special device mounted beneath the TV uses a video camera, an infrared sensor, and software to identify a player's motions. The gamer's actual silhouette, not a generic avatar, can then be inserted directly into games.

I played an early prototype of Natal in May, and it makes the Wii controller's capabilities, once a breakthrough, seem crude. To win at  Wii tennis, you basically just need to swing your wrist back and forth. In contrast, the Natal camera detects the subtle movement of your limbs. I tried a game called Ricochet, where you punch, kick, and head-butt a ball down a corridor to break apart bricks at the far end. It sounds simple, but because the Natal camera tracks the exact movement of each limb going after the careening ball, I really needed to reach for each shot.