Microsoft Announces Nextgen Controller, "Project Natal"

Imagine: You walk up to your Xbox and it logs you into your user profile. You speak the name of the game and the character you want to play, and suddenly you're in-game. You control your game by running, ducking, and punching with your body. There's nothing in your hands, no mat under your feet. The Xbox watches your body motion and turns it into game controls.

That's what Microsoft just announced: Project Natal, an upright assembly of 3d cameras and microphones that could be available next year.

Some of the games being demonstrated in promo videos are fighting games, a paint game, and one where you punch a hundred basketballs at once to keep them in play.

It's an insanely cool idea. About ten years ago I played with a Windows toy that used a webcam to render my body in much the same way, and you could play a game where you beat the crap out of a clown, or shot basketballs. Even then, as a freebie added on to a webcam purchase, it was impressive.

Maybe now is a better time for such a giant leap in controller tech. My generation remembers the Nintendo Power Glove, which was constructed of pure fail. Unreliable, uncomfortable, not designed for southpaws, one-size-fits all... an absolute belly-flop, despite being the hottest idea of its day. With better technology for motion sensing and voice recognition, who knows?

It's the facial recognition that gets me, though – how could they possibly package facial recognition affordably?

No doubt questions like these are going to keep the buzz train on its track while Microsoft rounds up game programmers and collects pre-orders for Project Natal.

I know I want one, even though it seems too good to be true: