Microsoft: Wii Wasn’t Main Inspiration For Natal

When Microsoft unveiled their project Natal at E3 this year, I think it’s safe to say what everything thought the inspiration behind the technology was. Well, John Schappert, boss of Live and services, when asked if inspiration might have possibly come from the Wii, replied with something else. 

“I’d say Natal is more of a response to breaking down barriers and introducing entertainment for everyone. What we realise is as much as we continue to make [Xbox] more accessible – and I think it’s far more accessible, and an easier-to-use system than ever before, with more functionality than ever before – there still is going to be that challenge of having people to get over the 10-button controller, and feel uncomfortable to navigate the user interface when you play games,” he detailed.

“What Natal is, is a way of breaking down those barriers, making Xbox 360 accessible to everyone, and introducing the world to controller-free gaming,” Schappert added.

So the Wii controler and use of motion control wasn’t the main source of inspiration for Microsoft’s Natal. Does that mean that Microsoft would have created the motion-sensitive controller if Nintendo never came out with the Wii, or the functions that it has? Also, would Microsoft would have even created Project Natal if Nintendo was trailing in third in the console wars? Probably, because Microsoft is thinking of ways to “break down those barriers, and make the 360 accessible to everyone”. Well, I don’t know about that….