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Nintendo Conference.

Start talking about how they're going to shock everyone.

That's nothing, I've had conversations with Mormon Bishops about a**l Sex.

Here's my argument about Project NATAL. I did watch the expose on it during the press conference. I am just as familiar with it as everyone else, and I definitely admit that it is revolutionary for a home console. It is something no other developers have been able to match.

However.

I do NOT think that Project NATAL will change the way games are developed on the Xbox 360 like many people argue. Why? Because something like Project NATAL is being presented as what would appeal to the casual audience. Even moreso, it is (and this is no secret) direct competition to the Wii (the guy said "this isn't waggle", and I was like OH NO YOU DI-INT), which is a console meant for the casual audience.

But look at the developer faithfuls to the 360, the ones who have made/are making the 360 killer apps. All these developers are hardcore gamers themselves, making games for the hardcore audience. They develop games using the old-fashioned, traditional, proven-to-work joystick and buttons setup, sitting on your couch in front of your 50-inch. This formula has withstood the test of time for all the gaming generations (we're on seven now), and all these developers have an agenda. And in this agenda, something casual (and campy, IMO) like Project NATAL has no place.

Most of this audience is hardcore gamers, like I said before. They do NOT want all the developers they're relying on for a great joystick and button experience to force them to buy a new add-on that makes them do exactly what they don't want so they can play what could have potentially been the best game on the console thus far.

Project NATAL is a great idea. But in no way will it revolutionize the 360. Last year at E3, they revealed new games like "You're In The Movies" or something to that effect, as well as other new "casual, fun for everyone" add-ons that introduced new concepts that could have potentially changed the way games on the 360 were developed and played. Unfortunately, and this is just in my case, I never heard a single thing about these new concepts after that press conference.

It just seems like every idea recently that Microsoft has come up with to market their console to a casual audience is cast aside for the audience that the console is really meant for, that being the hardcore audience. The ones who spent 400 dollars on the first day in 2005 the console was released in hopes that they could get their hands on the new Halo, or the new Gears. The ones who, after RRoD, decided not to live without games and instead replaced their console multiple times after it crapped out on them multiple times. The ones who not only find it worth their time to watch E3, but actually make time and go out of their way to see what the company putting out the console they love has got in store for THEM.

So in summary, Project NATAL is a great idea, but it's just not worth it. It's marketing to an audience that has no interest in this console. It may have done better on the Wii, if the Wii wasn't so totally royally ******** by now (though with Metroid: Other M on the way, my perception of the Wii has definitely changed). But I can tell you that Project NATAL is definitely no competition for the Wii.

*shrug* I was just being a goof.

I'm watching the first broadcast (that aired yesterday) today and the new broadcast (that airs today) tomorrow.... due to my busy schedule.

So, forgive me if my comments are full of "OLD NEWZ IZ OLDZ!11"

D:

But the 360 isn't what interests the casual market! It's been proven through time, Microsoft tries to push the console towards the casual market and the casual gamers still continue to use the Wii.

It's because the 360, now matter how much they try, is still forever going to be marketed to the hardcore audience. It's what the console was built for. It was built with hardware to rival the Ps3, and it uses a traditional control setup that developers for killer apps are familiar with. Something like this intimidates the casual audience away from the 360 but draws them closer to the Wii, because the Wii offers them a new, more comfortable-looking controller, a nice price point, and a hell of a lot of family friendly games and casual games that support what the console is trying to market towards.

If Microsoft really wants to compete with the Wii, they need to try and make more casual GAMES, not more casual peripherals or add-ons.

I knew they were going to "copy it" at some point and try to milk some of the success of the casual games. lol