Bill Gates has told Cnet that Microsoft’s Project Natal will not only work with the Xbox 360, but also with Windows based PCs.
In the interview Gates talks about how he envisions a future where ‘depth-sensing’ camera devices such as Natal are used to control home PCs, televisions and gaming devices.
This future is not that far off, and Gates goes on to elaborate saying “I’d say a cool example of that, that you’ll see… in a little over a year, is this (depth) camera thing.” Gates said it was not just for games, “but for media consumption as a whole, and even if they connect it up to Windows PCs for interacting in terms of meetings, and collaboration, and communication.”
Apparently the technology behind Natal has been in development for quite some time, and the product’s Xbox 360 and Windows debut is just the beginning of what it can do.
“Both the Xbox guys and the Windows guys latched onto that and now even since they latched onto it the idea of how it can be used in the office is getting much more concrete, and is pretty exciting,” said Gates.
Up until now there has been plenty of hype generated around how the Xbox 360 wants to take the Wii on at its own game, but this is the first mention of the technology coming to Windows. It seems like a natural progression, and it is hardly surprising that Microsoft is planning to bring the device to its PC operating system.
Gaming industry analyst Michael Pachter recently predicted that Natal will sell for as little as $50. At this price point the device is sure to do very well in the hardware market and will make it difficult for Sony to compete.
Natal is expected to launch later this year.
Discuss Natal on PC in the forums
Join the conversation