MS researching Natal 2 already

By Robert Purchese Published 22 March, 2010

Heavy investment equals spare resources.

Project Natal may not be in shops yet, but creator Microsoft is already thinking about "a second version".

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald (spotted by VG247), Hsiao-Wuen Hon - managing director at MS Research Asia - said investing heavily in research allowed flexibility to look towards and plan for the future this far in advance.

"And when we do invent something first like the Natal kind of scenario, while we have a researcher working with the product group for the first version, we already have a researcher thinking about the second version down the road so we certainly hope we will continue to be holding that technology," he said. "I really love what Microsoft is doing."

Project Natal will be available for Xbox 360 this autumn. All we know about Microsoft's motion-sensor is on the gamepage below.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (41) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • JJrabbit #1 2 years ago

    Does that mean the first version is sub-par and that we should all hold out.....?

  • dsmx #2 2 years ago

    yes, yes it does.

  • darleysam #3 2 years ago

    This is what everyone does. You don't just push a product out the door and go "well, job done, let's all go fiddle with our balls for a year or two". Microsoft are working on new hardware. Sony are working on new hardware. Nintendo are working on new hardware. That is all, nothing to get outraged or upset about.
    Stay calm and carry on.

  • ant72 #4 2 years ago

    Post-natal depression.

  • Fab4 #5 2 years ago

    I personally would always wait for the 2nd generation hardware. I waited a year for the 360 after it came out...I foolishly believed that would have been enough time to have eliminated their hardware issues...silly me ;) :) But in general, its a good rule to follow. I even do it with Apple products.

  • Drpwnage #6 2 years ago

    They will probably just put the bone chip thing back in forthe 2nd revision :>

    http://ww w.eurogamer.net/articles/micros...
    Edited by 1 at 22/03/10 @ 15:15

  • Widge #7 2 years ago

    Ah, they're using the Yakuza method of R&D

  • JJrabbit #8 2 years ago

    lol don't worry, my comment wasn't that serious. I just don't see the point of telling consumers that they're doing that.

  • sneetch #9 2 years ago

    @JJrabbit
    Does that mean the first version is sub-par and that we should all hold out.....?

    Microsoft are also working on the successor to the 360, Sony are working on the successor to the PS3 and Nintendo are working on the successor to the Wii we should all hold out for them too. ;)

  • Murton #10 2 years ago

    Coming out this Autumn? That's the Sony Move controller, MS have only ever given the date of "holiday season" and when pushed for details just say "before Christmas"

    Article errors aside, I wonder how many more times MS can get a headline out of Natal before they give up and start showcasing software.

  • irve77 #11 2 years ago

    I'm guessing this was meant to sound like a "Natal is here to stay in this gen and the next" instead it comes out "well we'll knock one up now and work on a better one later" .... this should be reffered to as the motionplus method of designing a controller
    Edited by 1 at 22/03/10 @ 15:28

  • JJrabbit #12 2 years ago

    @sneetch - lest we forget, those consoles are already out and available in shops :) But as I said in my follow up post, it wasn't a serious comment. I just didn't see the point of telling consumers about it.

  • tossetaz #13 2 years ago

    This is how ALL research work, and in order to make further research you have to bring in profits (or at least some kind of return on investment) at some point, MS is a business and I'm sure iteration one of Natal will be great, but of course iteration 2 will be better!
    Edited by 2 at 22/03/10 @ 15:32

  • Widge #14 2 years ago

    Yeah, but when you are talking peripherals, its not best to give the implication that its successor is already on the way.

  • sneetch #15 2 years ago

    @JJrabbit

    I know, I was only kidding, myself. :)

  • des #16 2 years ago

    And water is wet...

  • patch #17 2 years ago

    @Darleysam I think the concern will be that they haven't released Natal yet. Fair enough you'd expect them to work on version 2 when they've pushed the product out the door, but in this case they haven't and won't be for a good while. On top of this bear in mind that Microsoft keep telling us they don't have any immediate plans for a 360 replacement, so will Natal 2 be working on the 360? If so, why not put the "new" features into Natal 1?

  • FogHeart #18 2 years ago

    I doubt Natal 2 is for this gen - wouldn't be wise to have the Natal equivalent of a Motion+. As in, it's a better version, but there'd be reluctance to make games just for it because it limits the audience to those who have upgraded.

  • Slipstream #19 2 years ago

    Talk of a second coming before the first one is even out?

    Sickening...

  • JJrabbit #20 2 years ago

    @sneetch - So much is lost in translation on the interwebz
    Edited by 1 at 22/03/10 @ 15:57

  • FireMonkey #21 2 years ago

    @ Patch - "why not put the "new" features into Natal 1?"

    Because the new features are still being researched? If everyone were to do this nothing would ever get released.

  • darleysam #22 2 years ago

    patch, fair enough. I was expecting a procession of 'M$'-laden railing against evil corporations and somesuch, which I'm pleasantly surprised to see didn't emerge. As for 'shouldn't those features be put in Natal 1?', well, no, not if you want to see it this side of 2015. When they say they're working on something, people seem assume they're tweaking Natal's software and just making some small upgrades. They'll likely be redesigning the technology completely, and that's not going to be a quick or easy process. I'd take it to mean they want to enhance the platform (we read about lag, accuracy, and how much processor power it uses, so they'll be working on that) and make it more integral to the Xbox experience.

  • dalleck #23 2 years ago

    Regardless of those coming to the defence of Microsoft in the comments above that all console manufacturers are always researching their next generation, this is still bad publicity and definitely not something a company should be saying prior to their product launch.

    It's like telling your soon-to-be girlfriend that you can't WAIT to see who you will be sleeping with after her.

    It definitely doesn't instil much confidence in me for their camera.

    Irve77 : Notice how Nintendo made no mention of motion plus in the months before launching the Wii? "Oh yeah, btw fellas, our unreleased controller doesn't actually work all that well."
    Edited by 3 at 22/03/10 @ 16:21

  • yegon #24 2 years ago

    Bugger Natal 2, I want a new Xbox by late 2011!

    (Yes yes, I'm perfectly aware MS will have any number of R&D departments building stuff and won't exclusively be working on Natal 2).

    Seriously though, I'm so underwhelmed by motion controls, be it Natal or Move. It's great for party, MP stuff but for sit-down-for-ages SP, pfft!

  • Toothball #25 2 years ago

    @darleysam

    Isn't that mostly what Nintendo admitted to doing earlier today with Motion Plus? The fiddling part that is, rather than the new tech.
    Edited by 1 at 22/03/10 @ 16:20

  • MavSkipper #26 2 years ago

    I bet they realised how important buttons are.

  • jag10 #27 2 years ago

    Let the P.C type upgrades begin............................. cunts.

  • oreillymj #28 2 years ago

    "And when we do invent something first"

    Shouldn't that be "Buy a company with tech we want"

  • EvilBob_leeds #29 2 years ago

    ^^ Indeed.

    Inventor

    Inventive company

    Neither (well pretty much)

  • makeamazing #30 2 years ago

    Well if they start working on it, they can turn around and say what cool stuff will be in V2 when lots of people are disappointed when they have released version 1. Cynical maybe, but i think pretty much near what will happen.

    I'm a fan of the concept, but just not how MS has sold what Natal can do (anyone noticed that the Natal videos now have a disclaimer on them advising its a product vision), but also users have as usual gone mad on what it is expected to do (eye, finger tracking, amazing voice controls).

    Anyway, its out this year, so everyone will know either way :)

  • Doctor_What #31 2 years ago

    On what I've seen so far regarding its limitations, I'm prepared to be underwhelmed, but I also hope to be pleasently surprised. Realistic optimism FTW.

  • sfp_noodle #32 2 years ago

    given the embarrasing gdc demo where the camera cudnt even detect a guys coat, i think natal 2 will be out quicker than we think ;)

  • I\'mListening #33 2 years ago

    Natal could be useful in games like Half Life 2, Portal or anything where you have to pick up objects and place them in a particular way. The frustration I have had in games where I've had to stack crates for me to reach a ledge/window only for the damn things to constantly fall over. Imagine just lifting, pointing, placing with your hands. So much more precise...I hope...

  • logicub #34 2 years ago

    Is this "research" in the same way that they "researched" the first iteration of Natal? That is, they're currently researching what company to buy to give them the technology?

  • Negotiator #35 2 years ago

    The thing that is so important for Microsoft when working on a version 2 of Natal, is that this tech (that they own the rights to) is only going to get better. And the competition (Sony and Nintendo) will fall futher and further behind, when they got the exclusive patent on 3D cameras by buying that company who had one years ago, it put Microsoft right at the front of the pack with regards to motion controls in the future.

  • makeamazing #36 2 years ago

    The problem is that the gamers expectation of what MS has sold to people is not what the Tech can do... i have no doubt that the concept is excellent, but its not ready for the big time... so yes version 2 should get better, but its a pretty low base its working from and the tech is going to take more than a few years to get right (10-15 years imho).... Its a good first try, but there is a very very long road, and who says that MS will still want to be pushing this tech in say 10 years time. By then who knows if some other technology will take its place (I'm still waiting for cheap full wall screens like in Total Recall).

  • Spekingur #37 2 years ago

    All this means to me is that MS has put Natal into production at the appropiate factories. I guess they want to have enough stock to have everything ready. It might also mean that Natal could be packaged with a new production of the X360. Slim version maybe?

    The technology behind Natal is high-tech. That means more research time. If they have already finished the current iteration of Natal, hardware-wise (as I do remember one of the MS guys saying that they were using software rather than hardware in some cases to keep costs down), well then it comes as no surprise that MS would already have a development team working on Natal 2 - even if it were nothing but development ideas.

    What I really would like to know is weither Natal will be compatible with PCs or not.

  • K1LLAY #38 2 years ago

    I wonder if it works with players in the nude...

  • Kerome #39 2 years ago

    Considering past comments along the lines of "the future is natural interfaces" it's not surprising.

    And who knows what the lead time is on these things? Developing new tech is time-consuming, it could easily take them 4 years to do a significant revision.

    And yes, it does work on players in the nude ;) Cf the very funny post-release Penny Arcade...
    Edited by 1 at 23/03/10 @ 08:36

  • StooMonster #40 2 years ago

    Maybe Natal 2 won't require players to be 4 metres away from the screen like Natal 1, then it won't be a problem in so many UK homes.

  • laharl80 #41 2 years ago

    But how can they be when Sony hasn't released an eyetoy 2 yet?