Commentary: Microsoft getting couch potatoes off the couch

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Jun 15, 2009 by Larry Fiorino

The days of being a couch potato playing video games all day are over.

Last week, Microsoft unveiled a completely new way to play a video game. Players interact with a game without any controllers to hold -- all they have to do is get up and play. The game responds to players' movements and immerses them in the game.

You can still play the games, but now you'll have to get up and actually participate to make them work. Think about being able to crouch down to hide from a sniper or spar against Bruce Lee. This gaming interface is another big step toward the "virtual reality environment" that has been talked about for a long time -- think about the Holo-deck in "Star Trek." We are not there yet, but it is coming.

The new system is called Natal (pronounced nuh-tal), and Microsoft partnered with Steven Spielberg to make the announcement.

"The vast majority of people are just too intimidated to pick up a game controller," Spielberg said at the announcement.

About 60 percent of U.S. households don't own a console, he said, and the only way to entice non-gamers is to "make the technology invisible."

The bottom line for you and me is that Microsoft sees growth in the gaming market and wants more people to adopt this technology. Needing to be able to be proficient at a controller is getting in the way of that growth. Eliminate the controller and you open up a whole new market of gamers.

The first big step toward this virtual world was taken by Nintendo when it turned the game controller into a simple two- button device and therefore offered more people the ability to do yoga or golf or box, all while the Wii gaming system monitored and responded to your movements.

Now Natal takes this a step further, by removing the controller. A separate device comprising a camera, microphone and software will need to be plugged in/installed to the Xbox 360 system. This is similar to the method that the Wii uses.

Everything from painting to pong to racing to Godzilla vs. Pokemon are being demonstrated. Microsoft is releasing the development tool kit now so that gamers can start building new Natal games, even though the consumer version of Natal won't be released for some time. No date has been given.

One of the big questions is if Natal will be backward compatible with current games? No one knows right now. Natal may be so advanced that backward compatibility with older games could be impossible. We will have to wait and see.

I can't wait to see this interface and will keep you posted when I see it come out.

Larry Fiorino, founder and chief executive of G.1440, a Baltimore- based e-solutions firm, writes every week for The Daily Record. He can be reached at 410-843-3800 or at his company's Web site, www.G1440.com.