Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed last night that the software giant will unveil a new Xbox platform in 2010 that will come with a “natural interface” and built-in camera that recognises movement and voice.
Addressing the Executives Club in Chicago last night, Ballmer said the new device will start hitting shelves next year.
The move follows the unveiling in recent weeks of ‘Project Natal’ at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in San Francisco, where Microsoft introduced a revolutionary new way of playing video games in which no controller is required.
The motion sensor is the world’s first to combine an RGB camera, multi-array microphone and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device. Project Natal tracks your full body movement in 3D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in your voice.
If a user sees a ball in a game, they can kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it by moving their body.
By John Kennedy
