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Despite previous assertions from Microsoft that it’s upcoming Xbox 360 peripheral Natal is very much for the hardcore gamer as well as the casual market, Michael Pachter has claimed that simply isn’t the case.
Microsoft isn’t concerned about the gaming community with Natal, they’re concerned about the gaming community’s mothers and girlfriends,” he told Eurogamer.
I really do think the gaming press has completely missed the mark on this one, that Natal is not intended for you to get up there and pretend you’re holding a rifle and playing Call of Duty. It’s intended for your mum to use the Xbox 360 to download a movie or watch Netflix and to make it less intimidating.
The cool thing about Natal is the voice command. ‘Xbox on’. I mean, that’s cool. People will really like it when they see it and they begin to appreciate what it is.”
It will be interesting to see what strategy Microsoft adopts as it tries to roll-out Natal to a wider market. For instance, could E3 bring about an announcement concerning Windows compatibility? Or perhaps a tie-up with an electronics firm for IPTV interoperability?
