More E3 Thoughts, Part I: Microsoft's Keynote

To put it concisely, Microsoft knocked their E3 keynote presentation out of the park. Not only did they provide updates on titles that the public already knew about, such as Mass Effect 2, Rock Band: The Beatles Edition, Modern Warfare 2, Halo: ODST, and Alan Wake., they also revealed previously unannounced titles such as Crackdown 2, Halo: Reach, and Metal Gear Solid: Rising.

With the software portion covered, they turned towards new features for the Xbox Live online service. In addition to movies now capable of streaming at 1080p resolution, Microsoft announced an integration of Xbox Live with the ultra-popular social sites Facebook and Twitter. Basically, players will now be able to write "tweets" straight from their console, as well as connect with all of their friends on Facebook. This portion of the Microsoft's keynote seems to have flown under the radar quite a bit, but it seems to me that it is a significant step towards the goal that Microsoft laid out when they introduced the 360: make their console not only for gaming, but also a hub of entertainment and social interactivity. When these updates hit XBL in the fall, players will now be able to put names to the gamertags they have never met on their friend lists, and then put those faces to names. They'll be able to see who among their Facebook friends are active XBL users. It is an incredibly horizon-broadening melding of three monster services that, in my opinion, will absolutely take off when it goes live.

Despite all of the above, the announcement that really stole the show was, of course, Project Natal (nuh-TALL). For those who haven't heard about this potentially ground-breaking technology, here goes: Natal is a motion-sensing camera that connects to the Xbox 360 (it reportedly will be compatible with all versions of the console released to date) and sits in front of the TV. It is capable of sensing any motion you make and converting that into actual controls for a racing game. So, for example, you hold your hands in front of you as if gripping a steering wheel and the game will sense that; there is no controller whatsoever. You drive the car in the game just as you would in real life, except there's no wheel you're holding on to.

Additionally, Natal is capable of facial recognition. One feature showcased during its unveiling at E3 was the ability to automatically sign in a player to their profile/gamertag simply by the player walking in front of the television. It is also capable of voice recognition. You can flip through your Netflix cue simply by moving your hand to one side or the other and when you find a film to watch, you say, "Play movie," and Natal will do so.

In other words, this sounds pretty amazing.

Right?