Edit: Am I being overly dismissive of Natal? You bet. It's part reactionary, and part my continuing lack of interest in most types of games or new, innovative forward leaps in games. There's no doubt this is a big deal, and has the potential to "change everything" as it were, I just don't want to buy one.

We'll skip the boring bits, like everything before the Project Natal video, because I don't really care.

Leading up to the launch of the Wii I was a huge skeptic of the controller. I wasn't convinced that the sort of "traditional gaming environment" (whatever that is/means) could adapt to this absurdity, and I wasn't convinced that developers would have enough ideas to sustain the console for its required five years or so. I think the latter turned out to be somewhat true; last year, Nintendo themselves had something like three total releases: Smash Bros., Wii Fit, Wii Music. Not a lot to get excited about. The Wii had its Boom Bloxes and such, but there is a lack of anything to get excited about on the Wii.

I'm afraid that this technology could be subject to the same fate; the fact that it's clearly well-developed and extensively thought-out (the live demos were very convincing) won't necessarily change that. Also, when Mattrick (I belive it was him) sort of hinted at this being a way to extend the life of the Xbox 360 without developing a whole new system, I was worried even more. That either means (1) this is how the ten-year cycle will finish, or (2) this is where the five-year cycle finishes for the 360, and where Natal takes over as part of the next generation. Neither scenario is appealing; as an add-on, sure, but not as a central part of the Xbox 360. There's no way developers could make enough Natal games to keep people interested in the technology.

I thought Molyneaux's demo was impressive, but it's not something I really want to do. Are you ready to make the leap into the uncanny valley of having a genuine conversation with a fake kid who expresses sort-of-real emotions? It creeps me out. Maybe it's because I tend to lack common human emotions. Plus, you know at some point, Milo will tell the Lionhead chick she's an inferior being, and it's going to be like Terminator or something. Maybe the technology would work best in Persona 5. Imagine that! Not only could you express emotion to fake people, but you could even pantemime the action of summoning a Persona! (Evoker or card, your choice - I'll take the suicide route)

The thing with Natal is that it just seems like a hassle. I'm still not interested in being "immersed" into games. To discuss the concept of immersion in games is opening a whole new can of worms, and a broader topic on gaming I won't write on now. Summary: I don't care. Just give me the dang controller. In my mind it was bad enough to have to make hand seizure motions to swing the sword in Zelda; now, potentially, I have control over not only the sword, but also "my" entire body. Ughhh. Let me retreat to my postmodern living room.

That trend of people in video game press event videos continues to disturb me. I don't know who's to blame for it; most likely Nintendo, which led to Microsoft following suit, and finally Sony. I can broadly label these people as "dey hipstas," but they come in several sub-categories. It's a lot of happy people in unrealistic social situations (for game-players, at least), sitting on Ikea-looking furniture, enjoying the fun of gaming. Being gamers, if you will. Do these people even exsist? They must all live in New York apartments. Maybe that's why I've never seen any of them.

It seems like Microsoft has a good lineup. I don't know that they suck to their "fall release" guns like they did last year, but there's plenty to get excited about this fall, I guess. Once again, I don't really care. Here's my summary of the other things shown:

The Beatles: Rock Band: More of the same.
Tony Hawk: Ride: IMMERSION.
Modern Warfare 2: Liked the setting; more of the same.
Final Fantasy XIII: Still into it, despite the lackluster demo.
Shadow Complex: More into Yung Clifford's awesome Bill Gates shirt.
Joy Ride: Not quite the social experience MS would have you belive.
Crackdown 2: Sounds great, although I never bought the original.
Splinter Cell: Too many strange, automatic things happening.
Left4Dead 2: Why, Valve?
Forza 3: Has cars.
Halo 3: ODST: More of the same.
Other Halo: Please branch out Bungie.
Alan Wake: Not the mind-blowing experience I had heard of.
Felicia Day: Uhhh....