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Traveller's Tales Director Claims Natal Lag Will "Hurt Game Development"

Natal is receiving some criticism from an unlikely source in Jon Burton, director at Traveller's Tales. He claims Microsoft's new controller is “exceedingly clever, but the lag on the input and lack of physical buttons is really going to restrict the kind of games that can be done with it.” It seems odd that he's concerned with its ability to impact multiple genres, considering that 10 of his company's last 13 games have been in what could effectively be called the "Lego genre."

Despite his concerns about Natal, he seems sold on Sony's alternative. “Sony’s solution will be cheap, accurate and will put buttons at your fingertips, meaning everything from action adventures to FPS can be handled with the same input," Burton said.

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Comments
  • I'm sure that lag is one of Microsoft's biggest concerns with Natal.

    That being said, he sounds way too expecting of Sony's controller. There might be something going on behind the scenes...

  • Sony's motion control might work better

    but they look like over sized microphones

  • don't worry, MS will reveal a Natal Motion Plus Add-on shortly after it is released.

  • Does this mean i will actually have to punch my friend in the face for Fight Night Round 4?!?

  • @ Christian A. Ramos

    LOL. And this is exactly why I'm skeptical of Natal. MS track record of not giving you everything you need out of the box and then selling you a bunch of overpriced, proprietary add-ons makes me a little sick to my stomach.

    @ chris bishop

    They look kind of funny. But most prototypes do. Maybe it'll look less wonky in the final version?

    I honestly see the Sony approach, a Wii like control for games of that genre (the "omg Mario can't make this jump I need to move my controller" genre)that can also house a traditional set of buttons, D-pad, and mini-sticks for "core" games as the next step, if not the ultimate future, of gaming. That's just me.

  • wow

  • I don't know about the motion controllers yet.

  • Staff

    Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

  • Staff

    Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

  • Staff

    Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

  • Staff

    Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

  • @ Frogman1975

    Seems the controlers have shrunk sence E3

  • Staff

    Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

  • Erm. Aren't most motion controls like this..?

  • Staff

    Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

  • Why doesn't Microsoft and Sony stick with their controllers while they let the Wii work on what they do.  Seriously, only reason they're doing motion type gaming is because they noticed how much money the wii was making off it.

  • Wonder if it is possible to use a controller with NATAL. Maybe it could "see" the controller, therefore allowing you to use it like normal and at the same time register button presses and motion for certain actions? Hmm

  • Staff

    Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

  • What I have noticed is people now coming out and talking about Natal Lag... but any of the MS vids don't show lag (but they do show people moving a lot slower than what normal action would be) - were they were choreographed motions to a video with the device simply sitting there?

    That aside, motion controls aren't going to be something that incorporate well into the more popular genres.

  • Staff

    Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

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