Xbox Natal Milo The Boy in Your TV

If you're not aware of Xbox Natal Milo or what is called; Project Natal, this is advanced technology that is slowing making its way to consumers. It's a specific input that is utilized with the gaming console to go by your motion as opposed to a basic controller. While other consoles are doing this, the Xbox Natal Milo project is set to recognize voice commands and bring a whole new light to the gaming industry.

Who is Milo? This is just a little 8-year old kid who lives in your Xbox. It's going to be about as realistic as it gets and is basically like having a virtual pet. You know, the ones we used to carry around in our pockets way back in the day? Well, even if you don't remember those, it's important to understand that this is just much more advanced than anything we've seen.

The voice recognition capabilities of Natal Project Milo are going to reshape how people play games. Even the recent demos have promoted this and tested how much this little boy actually knew. Basic tests revolved around asking for their name, then having Milo repeat back. While this isn't a huge innovation, the excitement comes from the boy not having a computerized voiceover. There is no shift in the audio and it's like talking to one of your friends.

When it's time to actually play the game, tests have been made when touching water. If you just place your hand on it then a small ripple will occur. However, if you slam your hand on the water it will make a splash. It's crazy that the lightest touch can make all the difference, but it's just another tribute to our technology today. It may sound funny, but you can actually catch a ball that the Xbox Natal Milo throws at you. There is a long list of benefits, but the understanding is that the gaming world is heading into a new direction.

You will also be able to converse with Milo, meaning that someday this could be present in other role playing games. Can you imagine playing something like Mass Effect with this sort of voice recognition system? A huge part of RPG's has been trying to convince NPC's in game of your intentions, and now your actual tone of voice might have something to do with your game progression.

With any luck, Milo will someday be capable of holding an actual conversation and remembering the things that you have said to him. There is no way that this will replace actual friendship, but it will at least provide something entertaining to do if nothing else!

Overall this is a wonderful piece of technology, and definitely something to watch as it grows into a viable game. When will it be available? The problem right now is that it's release depends on the release of project Natal. The developers hope to release it at the same time as Natal but whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen. So for now all we can do is watch and wait, hoping that we get our hands on this groundbreaking piece of technology soon.