Ever since last year’s Microsoft press conference at E3 2009, people around the gaming industry have been wondering about what their new motion control system, codenamed Natal, was eventually going to end up being named. We saw a similar thing several years ago, when the Nintendo “Revolution” wound up with the then-strange-but-now-household moniker: “Wii”. Well, news has finally dropped tonight. Natal’s final title will be the Xbox “Kinect”.
While the name certainly isn’t everything, and I see the idea they’re going for, I actually thought Natal was kind of catchy in the same sense that “Wii” was, because it represented something new that we hadn’t seen before. With no controllers, Kinect is certainly going to be an interesting evolution of the motion control platform. By all accounts, this makes Sony’s Move seem like a stroke of genius in comparison.
In addition to that piece of news, there are also reports of the long-rumored “slim” XBox 360 finally making its debut at E3 this week, along with pictures of the new model. Supposedly, the only difference between this new model and the old ones is that the HDD is 250 GB and it also has built-in Wi Fi. To me, this design seems like a step back, especially compared to the PS3 slim, which was such a well done re-design of a system. This rumored model is sharp and angular. If this ends up being real, they might as well call it the XBox 360 Orthanc, after Saruman’s tower in Lord of the Rings.
Anyway, there has also been a short list of Kinect’s launch games, which include a dance game as well as a Wii Sports ripoff. So what do you guys think of all of these developments? Do you like the name Kinect?
Source- Kotaku (Kinect) and Kotaku (New XBox 360 Model)
Not gonna lie, natal was a much cooler name.
I’m not gonna lie either; whoever thought up the name “Kinect” should be fired from Microsoft immediately.
As for the 360 redesign, I’m all for it if it means an improvement in reliability.
+1 on zayven
To add: I may get a 360 slim. I want a 360 so if the price is reasonable Microsoft may have a customer.
I’ve only ever had one X-Box conk out on me, and it wasn’t even from the RRoD. The internal video card crapped out, so I picked up an Arcade unit and slapped my HDD onto it. It’s been working fine so far.
Although this new X-Box might be a good buy depending on the price. 250GB HDD and a built in Wi-Fi is quite the deal. I payed $99 for my damn adapter. I still feel ripped off about that.
I’ll wait to see a real announcement before I believe the slim, although it seems like it’s legit. And remember how much shit we gave the Wii, and now it doesn’t bother us? Kinect sounds a lot better than the Wii.
@ Mitch, that adapter is the exact reason this 360 is appealing to me. £60? No thank you.
See, I never thought the Wii sounded all that ridiculous. I mean, sure, it was a little strange, and I dug the “Revolution” codename, but it communicates something that’s never been done before, so it seemed right to me at the time.
Ugh. Hold onto your butts. Here comes the next generation of worthless Wii rip-offs and pathetic gimmicks. HO, FETCH ME MY N64!
Doesn’t matter what it’s called, this thing looks incredibly stupid. I understand that Microsoft is going for the “family fun” thing, but it’s time for serious video game publications to stop taking this seriously. The best “hardcore” (aka “real”) games for the Wii are the ones that make almost no (or unnecessary) use of the motion controls like No More Heroes and Twilight Princess, and the best Wii game so far designed a whole new controller (Monster Hunter 3) with zero motion controls. Resident Evil 4 was cool, but gun accessories can be attached to cool games.
Let Microsoft sell millions of these to women wearing mom-jeans, but don’t let it touch my Fallout, Splinter Cell, or Mass Effect!!