The future of (gaming) technology!

 The E3, which is a mecca for all types of gaming announcements, has been taking place this week. Usually it comes and goes without the non-gaming community of the world even knowing what went on during the event, or even that it took place. This year though, things have been different. If you haven't been hearing all the buzz about the new products that are out, you obviously haven't been looking in the right places.

I'm not a gamer. I am one of those very weird individuals who despite owning a PS3, a PSP and a Nintendo DS (with intentions of getting a Wii fairly soon) have barely ever touched the devices. In the past I've tried getting into it, thinking that maybe it was natural progression for someone tech obsessed to be into their gaming devices too, but never really been bitten by the bug. And yet, the kind of stuff that was launched at the E3 this year, made me sit up and take notice, not of the gaming industry, but technology in general.

 The "Kinect" buzz was all over the internet the minute after it was announced, with the gaming and tech sites raving about "Project Natal" (the project name for the Kinect) being real.. and being amazing. Hang on, I thought. What the hell is Kinect, or Project Natal for that matter? The tech blog Gizmodo cleared the air for me, which is what I'm going to try doing for you.

The Kinect is an extra additional device that connects to your existing Xbox 360, and acts as a webcam of sorts. Gizmodo described it as a "webcam on steroids" and after listening to it's capabilities, I must admit that is a very apt description. The Kinect uses infrared light to cover a room so it sees you  and your body very clearly (it tracks 48 points on your body for up to 2 people simultaneously). With "videokinect" you can chat with your friends on Xbox Live of on Windows Live Messenger, and even watch movies together. The coolest thing about it is the way the interface is set up to handle human interaction. It recognizes your face to log you in, and if you want it to go to an app, you either just say its name, or you wave to hit the "button." If you want to pause something, you either tell it to pause, or you reach into the air to use a virtual pause button!! WOW! Imagine using this "gaming" device for workout or yoga videos? Or even dancing games, now track your every movement perfectly, as opposed to the Wii, which just tracked hand movement. And imagine the type of change such an interface is going to bring to the living room!! Virtual remote?? Imagine never having to search for a remote control (or ten) every again!!! The possibilities are SO exciting!! The Kinect launches in the US on November 4th.

The Nintendo 3DS is another product that is pretty amazing in its technology. Most people who don't know anything about gaming, know the name of Nintendo, with them having been around forever and being leaders in the handheld gaming market way before Sony or Microsoft ever had anything to do with the industry. It is no surprise then, that the Nintendo DS series has been a runaway success with 3 generations of the device being out already. When there were rumours of a 3D DS device first heard, people were skeptical and complained about having to walk around with glasses to use on a device that was meant to be portable. Two days back however, when the Nintendo 3DS was officially launched, the critics were blown away. The DS has retained its sleek appearance and slim shape, with a 3.5 inch screen on top, which is a 3-D screen... that can be used without glasses! Apparently the games look amazing and pop out at you, with a lot more than one blog saying they can't quite explain the effect of how it works to someone who hasn't used it (I haven't) but that it's quite addictive (you betcha!) Gizmodo in their review here gives an example of how the dog in the Nintendogs game almost comes out at you.. can't you imagine how nuts the kids will be over this? And maybe some adults too... Ahem. Can you imagine what technology like this will lead up to in laptops and DVD/Blu Ray players?? The device also comes with a 3D camera at it's back, and another regular one in the front (like it's current DS line up).
Unfortunately, there is no release date yet for this device.

 
Last night, Sony announced that via a software update, they would be enabling 3D on every single PS3 already out there! That is pretty amazing! The only thing the device would require, is a 3D TV  for it to work properly, but apart from that, it is really good that people won't have to go out there and BUY another whole device. A lot of games will be 3D enabled to take advantage of this feature, and you can turn it off whenever you want, depending on your love for all things 3D... and of course, nausea levels that you can handle. Another cool device that Sony demoed yesterday was the PlayStation Move, which is shown above. I knew that Sony had come out with a Wii type of device, and I knew also that I was going to get one to review pretty soon... but when I saw what it did last night on the Live feed of the E3 show, I was doubly excited to be able to get my hands on one! Take a look at what was shown- It is the demo of the game "Sorcery"



I am sure you'll agree with me that a lot of very cool technology looks like it is soon coming our way!
Which one are you going to get?
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