Concerns over the space requirements for Microsoft's upcoming Project Natal motion-sensing system have been put at ease after confirmation that comments made earlier this month were "misinterpreted." TechFlash had been told that you would need at least 4 meters for it to work properly.
The comments were made in a briefing from the Natal team to a group of journalists and bloggers on March 1st, with TechFlash reporting "you'll want to clear an area extending at least 4 meters (a little more than 13 feet) away from the television. That's the back edge of the space to be taken into account by the Natal sensors. In terms of width and height, the field of vision naturally expands as it moves from the Natal device to that back edge, ending up a little more than 4 meters wide and 2.7 meters high (about 8 feet, 10 inches)."
This had caused worries in countries such as Japan, where the average urban living room is a lot smaller than those in countries like America. Gaming website Kotaku contacted Microsoft for clarification over these issues, and were told, "The comments recently about the play space for 'Project Natal' were misinterpreted."
The spokesperson went on to say, "It is true that the 'Project Natal' sensor reads the configuration of your room and adjusts play space, as appropriate. We know that living rooms come in all shapes and sizes, and have conducted numerous play tests to ensure everyone will be able to jump off the couch and into the fun when 'Project Natal' launches globally this holiday."
So it sounds like when Natal hits the shelves in October or November of this year, you should be able to enjoy it no matter what size or shape room you have to play it in.
Image credit: JacobMetcalf on Flickr
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