Whitten: Natal is more than gaming and “learns about you”

By Stephany Nunneley

Marc Whitten, Xbox 360 general manager, has said that Natal is not just about gaming, but experiences that you can have in your living-room.

Speaking over on Fast Company, Whitten said that Natal also learns from the user.

“If you counted the number of buttons in your living room, it would send a chill down your spine,” he said. “A lot of people can play games amazingly well, but others feel locked out if games involve a bunch of triggers and buttons.

“Natal solves that by using 3-D sensors and cameras that let you be the controller. If you want to do the spin-kick serve, no programmer has to implement the spin-kick-serve button. You just do it, and it works.

“But Natal isn’t just about gaming — it’s about all living-room experiences.

“Imagine a sporting event — Natal could know which team you’re for because it sees your jersey, or knows you thought a bad call was made when you yell ‘boo.’

“It learns about you and gets smarter to create a more tailored entertainment experience.”

So, it’s either like a parrot or a very smart robot that does your dishes. Both kind of scare us to be honest, unless you can teach it profanity, in which case, that is kind of cool.

Honestly, it won’t let you do that though, we can almost bet.

Dave: “God damn it Manning! You flubbed that pass! Natal, tell Manning he’s shit!”

Natal: “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Shudder.

The new controller will have it’s own special event at E3 this year, there are plenty of games in the works for it, and it is expected to sell millions and millions.