Gaming has always been a demanding thing. Right from the developer to the gamer and everything in between, gaming always commands a certain hysteria unseen for anything else computing. And you dont need me to tell you that games have come a really long way. From the tiny, jagged blobs of colour that passed of as game elements, we have moved on to graphics so intense that you’ll be forgiven for assuming you are actually inside the game.
But all along, while the people behind the scene were busy jacking up the hardware requirements for the game in lieu of some improved visauls, the humble game controller didn’t really change much. Yes, we did have motion feedback, wireless controllers and motion sensors on our controllers but the basic shape remained the same for a good part of a decade. And gaming was getting a bit too serious and growth would be difficult with just improved hardware and visuals in the longer term.
But then came in something of a godsend in the form of the Nintendo Wii. It took lazy gamers out of their creaky thrones and on to their feet. It simplified gaming to an extent that even grandma found it involving. And that was when gaming was being re-looked as wholesome entertainment and not just something for geeks who scream “Code Red, Code Red. Bail out, bail out” into their microphones. And before you blinked the Nintendo Wii became the next most popular Christmas gift after the Apple iPod.
That was also probably when Microsoft and Sony got the “oh, why didn’t we think of that before” feeling and went back to their drawing boards. And they did pull out their bag of tricks at this years E3 gaming expo at Los Angeles. Both Microsoft and Sony splurged big bucks on their respective interpretations of Nintendo’s Wii.
And when Microsoft unleashed Project Natal on the unsuspecting masses, it stopped everybody and their uncles in their tracks. Project Natal is essentially a camera (and a very smart one at that) that tracks your movements and executes your biding. It’ll map your body structure and can track upto 4 people at a time. And, get prepared for this, it even tracks your finger movements. And for games like Tony Hawk and Rock Band, you can use your own gear. Which will automatically throw the secondary accessories market out of business. Bye, bye boosted bottom lines.
It recognizes your face, voice, object textures, your cat. Alright, not. Project Natal also extends beyond games. You can control your media with it, use it to video chat and even try the clothes out which you’ve shopped online! Project Natal is expected to ship with a less geekier name sometime in late 2010. Do find an excuse to get a XBox 360 till 2010, if you don’t have one already.
Of course, Sony wasn’t to be left too far behind. And they couldn’t have come up with exactly what Microsoft came up. So, the Japs have concluded that some experiences do require buttons and so they’ve come up with a Nintendo Wii-esque controller with an orb of light at the end. That orb of light is tracked by a camera which executes the actions required in the game. And since it is a piece of hardware that you hold, you can expect haptic vibration and voice recognition through it. Sony promises ‘sub-millimeter’ accuracy using this technology. This too will be out sometime in 2010.
Now, when we look at a gaming progress chart some 10 years down the line, the innovations at E3 mentioned above will most probably contribute to a very different slope in the graph of gaming. And in no way can that be a bad thing.
Originally written for JAM Magazine
