Big names develop for Natal

Microsoft has been quiet about its Project Natal since showing off the motion-capture technology at E3 earlier this year, writes CNET News.

However, a lot has been going on behind the scenes, particularly in getting developers to build games that can take advantage of the technology, which lets a player control a game with their body as opposed to a joystick. In an announcement at the Tokyo Game Show last week, Microsoft noted that nearly all of the big names in video games are working on Natal titles.

Microsoft's list includes Activision, Capcom, Disney, EA, Konami, MTV, Namco Bandai, Sega, Square Enix, THQ, and Ubisoft. Game makers have had development kits in their hands since June, Microsoft said.

At the Tokyo Game Show Sony went to great pains to make its upcoming motion control more 'real', showing off tech demos and announcing specific games that will make use of the technology, states Ars Technica.

When will consumers be able to play with the motion controller themselves? In Spring, 2010. Unfortunately, the questions still seem to outnumber the answers. There is still no official name for the product, the official paperwork lists it as "motion controller," and then notes that this is a tentative name.

There is likewise no specific price for the hardware. Sony provided a quick rundown of how the technology will work. "Together with the PlayStation Eye camera for PS3 which can accurately track the absolute position of the controller, the controller can detect the natural and intuitive movement of the hand and reflect the precise movement on to the game," the marketing material states.

Toshiba has unveiled an 18.4-inch gaming laptop, called the Qosmio X500, which is powered by a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 720QM processor, has a high-definition 1.920x1.08-pixel TruBrite LCD display, and up to a terabyte of hard disc space, reports PC Advisor.

Inside the laptop is 8GB of RAM and a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTS 250MNV graphics processor. Multimedia credentials include a DVD-RW drive that can play Blu-ray films, Harman Kardon stereo speakers and Resolution+ upscaling technology, which Toshiba says upscales standard-definition DVDs and videos to near high definition quality.

The laptop comes with Bluetooth and wireless connectivity, a 5-in-1 memory card reader, three USB ports and the ability to charge mobile devices even when the laptop is switched off.