Popular Mechanics test drives Project Natal

Popular Mechanics takes Microsoft’s motion sensing control scheme for the Xbox 360, Project Natal, for a test drive and likes it apparently if you believe this article. In it Seth Porges gets a little too excited about the possibility of controlling his games controller free, testing out a racing game and a full-body Breakout-like game.

While Natal is still pretty interesting Microsoft needs to get past the gimmick phase and show the real power of this system with some key franchises that will get players excited. A racing game is a start but i’m really concerned that will see more silly little applications like a “full body Breakout-like games, than serious ones. Check out the article and the video at the link above and judge for yourselves.

Xbox 360 Elite, Pro price cuts finally official

As predicted, Microsoft officially announced what has been rumored for months: the price of an Xbox 360 Elite console will drop by $100, to a $299.99 estimated retail price in the United States. The Xbox 360 Pro will now be priced at $249.99 (ERP), reflecting a price reduction of $50, while supplies last - because there are no future plans to continue with this model going forward. Finally the Arcade SKU will be priced at $199.99 (ERP). Microsoft also emphasized that the “Xbox 360 you buy today” will work with Project Natal, its controller-free gaming solution..

“With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s already time to start looking for entertainment and gifts that everyone will enjoy,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of strategy and business development for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Corp. “If you’re looking for deep experiences that don’t require deep pockets, now is the time to purchase an Xbox 360. We’ve got the best games, a vast library of TV shows and movies, new music experiences, more ways to connect friends and family, and so much more on the horizon including ‘Project Natal’ — no controller required.”

Of course Shane Kim might have wanted to say something like “Hey Sony, is that my finger in your eye?” or “the PS3 Slim and price cut won’t save you” because this move is obviously an attempt to dampen any momentum Sony might have gotten with cutting the price of the PS3 and the Slim SKU.

Scribblenauts, Uncharted 2 win Best of E3 honors

Scribblenauts, the surprise hit of E3 2009, and Uncharted 2 were the big winners of this year’s Best of E3 2009 Awards. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves won Best of Show, Best Action/Adventure Game and Best console game while the DS game from 5TH Cell won Best Original Game and Best Handheld Game. BioWare and LucasArts’ promising MMO game, Star Wars: The Old Republic, rounded out the platform specific awards, taking home Best PC Game. A full list of winners chosen by the panel of game journalists that made up this year’s Game Critics judging panel, can be found after the break.

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Rare working on secret Project Natal stuff

Microsoft’s Shane Kim told Kotaku that Rare is working on a myriad of projects besides its established franchises s - specifically relating to Project Natal, Microsoft’s motion sensing technology.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it is probably Avatar and interface related. If you were paying attention to Microsoft’s Project Natal presentation during its E3 press conference there was a bit about how you can manipulate menus and avatars using the tech. Since Rare created those avatars my sense is that some of their work efforts are going towards those features.

Peter Molyneux’s secret promotion

Peter Molyneux has been promoted to creative director of European studios at Microsoft Games Studios - or I should say he was promoted to that position … over three months ago. While he will still head up Lionhead studios, in his new role he’ll also oversee Rare and other external projects in Europe. Molyneux quietly took on the new job in Molyneux of this year, proving that he’s a cheeky little monkey.

Molyneux had hinted at a big announcement via his twitter feed yesterday afternoon and apparently this was the big surprise announcement he was referring to. It will be interesting to see what his influence will be on Rare and other studios, and whether or not this new job will diminish work on Milo and other Lionhead project. He also noted via his twitter feed that “Milo” is actually a game and not a tech demo. Milo was shown at the Project Natal presentation. Basically it is an NPC that has the ability to react to facial expression, tone, and even colors. the character also seems to recognize familiar faces, though how that works is not quite clear yet.

Microsoft E3 2009 press conference recap

Microsoft fired the opening salvo a day before the Electronic Entertainment Expo officially opens, revealing new social networking functionality, changes to Xbox Live, new clips from its key franchises - and those from third-party publishers - and revealing its way of doing motion controlled gaming. It was a pretty impressive showing that will set expectations for Nintendo and Sony’s events later this week. What follows is a brief rundown of the press event (check out this additional information, released after the press conference):

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