# Sony Passed on Natal Tech, Explains Why



## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

*Sony Passed on Natal Tech, Explains Why*
03/28/2010 Written by Steven Garcia









It’s a little known fact that during the early days of the PlayStation Move, Sony had the opportunity to work with 3DV Systems, the Israeli based company now owned by Microsoft that specializes in digital imaging technology and the masterminds behind Natal. Ultimately, Sony chose to utilize a combination of light, a camera, and instruments used to measure the action of acceleration and magnetic fields instead of implementing the many patents undoubtedly held by 3DV. Recently, Dr. Richard Marks explained why.








During the recent _Engadget Show_, Dr. Marks treated viewers with a stunning display of the Move’s potential and the type of impact it can have on the future of gaming. He also revealed the reasoning behind Sony’s design decisions and the downsides of 3D cameras. When asked about investing research into 3D cameras like Natal’s, Marks explained:We tried a lot of different 3D cameras. I love the 3D camera technology; personally, I like the technology part of it. We worked closely with our game teams at what it would enable, and it enabled making the things we already did with EyeToy more robust, but it didn’t really enable as many new experiences as what we were hoping it would enable, so it made the things we were already able to do a little bit more robust — which is good — but it adds a lot of cost and it didn’t enable some of the other experiences we wanted to achieve.​







In addition, Dr. Marks explains the purpose of having the Move employ glowing spheres.Sometimes a tech demo doesn’t translate into a product very well, for example, [in the tech demo] we were tracking those colored balls, but since there’s no light in the ball or anything like that, the lighting in the room has to be good enough for the camera to see the color reliably and that makes for a difficult product when you don’t have a control over those variables. And with the 3D camera it’s a little bit similar that we found that there were some things we wanted to be able to do and sometimes it wouldn’t work reliably for what we wanted to do.​Since there is no control over light conditions, Microsoft may have to include those red jumpsuits after all. Joking aside, it’s worth noting that prior to being purchased by Microsoft, 3DV also reportedly approached Nintendo, hoping to be adopted into their family. In the end, concerns about latency and the costs involved lead to 3DV being dismissed as a solution.
Microsoft claims to have addressed some issues by improving the software of Natal. In addition, the original co-processor that was supposed to be integrated into Natal has been eliminated due to costs. Doing so not only effectively assigns all processing duties to the Xbox 360, but also taxes the system up to 15%, leaving less computing power for developers to utilize. This amount of headroom required will make it problematic to support software that was released prior to Natal.
It’s interesting to get a sense of the amount of thought that went into engineering the Move. Given Dr. Marks’ responses, Natal could very well be destined to be a glorified EyeToy. Not to downplay the abilities of Natal, but PlayStation Move already seems to be delivering much of its promise. Of course only time will tell which technology is best suited to usher in the next evolution in gaming. Until then, be sure to check out our impressions of PlayStation Move.


----------



## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Its nice to see Sony being sensible and diplomatic for once, and this is what I listen too a lot more. It does sound as if MS have taken the difficult route, but if the videos I posted in the Nintendo 3D thread are anything to go by, then 3D and motion sensing will go hand in hand and Natal may actually be ablt to offer something the others cant.

It all about technology as ever, and it should be an interesting year to 18 months. Lets see what they do with the Technology eh.


----------



## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

I agree Dan this is going to be a interesting year for gaming as a whole, Natal and the Move is something to keep your eye on, I believe it will come down to easy of use, price, and game support but hey what do I know, I thought Nintendo would be in 3rd place this gen.:doh:


----------



## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Well the main things that affect what does and doesnt catch on are these:

Pricing - It has to be easily affordable relatively speaking, so pretty cheap for what you get.
Support - Good support will make a system catch on
Ease of Use - Nintendo have shown an easy pick up and play approach will pay dividends
It has to work - If its not stable people will soon tire of it and let it gather dust

As long as each cracks this little lot, they will all catch on. Each console has its market. IMO, Sony and MS are joint first. Nintendo is is first by itself in its own little carved out niche.

For any new technology that comes along, the more you need to do to enjoy it (glasses, VR headsets etc) the less likely people will make the effort to try it. PC are better than consoles period, but the fact all you need to do to enjoy gaming on consoles, is nip to the shop, pick up your chosen console, plug it in to your system, and sit on your sofa enjoying the game you just loaded. As long as the new motion technologies, and 3D can give the experience without straying to far out of that comfort zone, they will all take off.

Taking a step back and looking at the 3 companies and what thy intend to offer, I think Natal is technically the most difficult to hit the nail on the head with the above criteria, and I can see why others might not want to take on that challenge, but I think if they can master it it could stand out as the one offering something extra, while being the most comfortable ease of use system with,no motion capture device the user has to setup or hold, and possibly one of the biggest benefits IMO, *NO BATTERIES REQUIRED*.

Lets see what they come up with then eh onder:


----------

