Alan Wake To Be Natal’s Launch Title?
Posted on 21. Jun, 2009 by Master Samo in Microsoft, Real Talk with the HipHopGamer
I recently contacted Remedy to conduct an interview with them; the first part of the interview will be posted tomorrow. However, one of the answers that I received was so interesting that I had to post it today. While interviewing Oskari Hakkinen, Head of Franchise Development at Remedy Entertainment, I asked him whether or not Project Natal will be implemented, in some form, in Alan Wake. Surprisingly, his response was the following:
“We unfortunately don’t have anything to communicate concerning Natal other than it looks like a very cool piece of technology“.
Given the fact that I asked him a simple question, I was expecting him to give me a direct answer. All he needed to say was No!!! In fact, I expected him to say No!!! The fact that he chose to avoid giving me a straight answer means that there might actually be a secret that he is intentionally declining to reveal. His response lead me to believe that Alan Wake might actually include gameplay elements that utilize Project Natal’s Technology!
We know that Microsoft has chosen to keep gamers in the dark regarding the launch date for Project Natal simply to keep their competition in the dark as well. Despite that, everyone is assuming that Fall of 2010 would be the perfect time to launch it. In fact, what would be a better title to launch a new technology for Microsoft than a new Halo game? Besides, let’s not forget that Halo is Microsoft’s flagship franchise, and its prized possession. Thus, it would make sense to expect Halo Reach to be the perfect launch title for this groundbreaking technology. On the other hand, wouldn’t it be smart to jumpstart the launch by releasing Natal earlier than expected, which would give Microsoft an advantage over the competition by beating them to the market with their new product….Again?!
After all, they have done it already with the Xbox 360; considering that it is a strategy that has already worked for Microsoft, why not repeat it with Natal in early 2010, and take Sony by surprise?
If you also consider the fact that White Night Chronicles, MAG, Mod Nation Racers, and DC Universe Online have an early 2010 estimated release date, and that God of War 3 is set to be released on March 2010, it would make sense to launch their new project earlier than expected. Despite the fact that Alan Wake is destined to be a phenomenal title, it would be unwise to assume that it could stand up against the PS3 titles that I just mentioned all by itself. However, the only way for Alan Wake to neutralize the PS3 titles, that are set to be released in early 2010, is if Microsoft decided to back it up with something huge, and what would be better than to launch Project Natal alongside it, make Alan Wake its launch title, include Natal gameplay elements in the Remedy game, and release an arsenal of casual titles, that utilize the new technology, to support Alan in his battle against the army lead by the mighty Kratos?
In case anyone was wondering whether or not Microsoft would actually be able to launch this new technology early, you need to understand that their new product is ready; they do not need to tweak it. For those of you that don’t know, according to the Los Angeles Times, Microsoft has already shipped over 1,000 Natal Dev kits to game developers, all over the world. They would not ship an unfinished product; besides, how can developers utilize a half-baked product?
Even though Don Mattrick, Microsoft’s senior vice president of interactive entertainment, said: “This is about building awareness about our technology”, and then further elaborated by saying: “We want to talk about our vision and engage third-party developers”, it would not take a genius to figure out that this is Microsoft’s way of covering up why they have shipped their product so early. In other words, they would not want the competition to be aware of the fact that their product is, in fact, ready to be utilized by developers. Therefore, it would make sense to conclude that Don Mattrick’s words were nothing more than a PR cover up.
More importantly, it has been revealed in several interviews that both Bungie and Epic Games have been playing with the Natal technology for quite some time. Moreover, after seeing Milo, we know that the Lionhead Studios team has been experimenting with it as well. This brings me to a very interesting question: wouldn’t it make sense for Microsoft to give the first and second party developers the Natal technology before everyone else? and if so, then wouldn’t it be fair to expect that Microsoft has already provided this technology for Rare, Turn 10, Ruffian Games, Mistwalker, and REMEDY?
In addition, Bungie, Epic, and Remedy are all second-party developers, which means that they are not owned by the Xbox 360 creator. Hence, why would Microsoft provide both Bungie and Epic with the Natal Dev kits, but avoid providing them for Remedy? The answer is quite simple, they wouldn’t. In fact, it is my belief that not only has Remedy already received their Natal Dev kits, but they have also been playing with it for the last four months!
After all, Peter Molyneux did mention, during the E3 09 Microsoft Press Conference, that they have been experimenting with Project Natal for the last few months, and came up with Milo in the process. Thus, it would be fair to assume that February was the month in which all the first and second party developers received their Natal Dev kits, which would mean that Remedy has around 12 months to experiment with this new technology and implement it, in some form, in Alan Wake. Given the fact that all they need to do is integrate the technology in certain aspects of the game rather than in the entire experience, implementing Natal in Alan Wake before February of 2010 would not be hard to achieve.
Lastly, whenever you ask someone about something, and they respond to you by saying: “I can’t comment on that”, that means that what you are asking about is either a possibility or a certainty. In Remedy’s case, it is either a possibility that they are looking into, or a certainty that will absolutely happen. One thing is certain, we will find out very soon, but until then, I will leave you with this: If Alan Wake will not have gameplay elements that utilize Project Natal, Oskari Hakkinen would have said No! and the fact that he didn’t means that we need to get ready for one hell of a ride when the time comes for Alan to finally Wake up.
God Bless You All
Master Samo
June 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Great read. Hopefully this is true. Imagine the immersive feeling in the game if it is.
June 21st, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Story added…
Your story was featured in Drigg! Here is the link to vote it up and promote it: http://gamekicker.com/Gaming-News/Alan-Wake-To-Be-Natal-s-Launch-Title…
June 21st, 2009 at 4:38 pm
I don’t know man. Just basing it off that response? Seems like a stretch. It would be nice, but trying to figure out how you can use it with that game is a little tricky. I personally don’t think they will use it with alan wake. Maybe with another game they are making, but then again you never know. Saying it could happen because of that response seems like a huge stretch.
June 21st, 2009 at 6:37 pm
@ Killa-Indian
Long time no see; I hope everything’s great with you. It’s not just about what he said; it’s about all the points that I mentioned to back it up as well. In truth, we don’t really know when, exactly, will Natal launch, and that by itself indicates that anything is possible. Meaning, as long as you don’t know when Natal will actually launch, then it could in fact launch at anytime; maybe even as early as Spring 2010. After all, as I mentioned in the article. Microsoft is done with the development process of Natal. Thus, they can launch at anytime. The problem is that they don’t have games yet, and that the technology is still too expensive to launch now.
According to an interesting article by Dean Takahashi, he believes that Microsoft has been working on Natal for over three years. However, he also believes that they are waiting to launch it in 2010 in order to give developers enough time to make use of it, and more importantly, to lower the cost of the technology under $100! Given the fact that such an advanced technology would, initially, be extremely expensive for the consumer, I believe that releasing Natal in the Fall of 2009 would dramatically raise the price of the Xbox 360 consoles that are bundled with it; that would result in a devastating blow to the Xbox 360 sales during the Holidays.
Anyways, it’s good to see you, and I’ll talk to you soon.
God Bless You
Master Samo
June 21st, 2009 at 8:02 pm
great artical man…. i want to point somthing out to you guys that i been pondering since E3 that no one has said or put together but you seem to touch on it a bit but not really… doesn’t it strike anyone a little odd that the next Halo game is called Halo “REACH” as in reaching with your arms out at the TV set or somthing!? i haven’t read about anyone making this point so im giving it to you guys first to ponder and maybe ask questions about to who every you can… but im surprised no has been able to put 2 and 2 together yet =] oh and lets say Remedy dosen’t use Natal, theres always DLC that could be added to the game and any game for that matter.. i think that if Microsoft made such a bold statment saying that they aim to make the game expirience controller free i don’t think its far fetched to assume that natal will be backwards compatable with all the games we own in some way and or just releasing DLC that’s Natal driven.
~EnVy~
HipHopGamerShow Avid Supporter From Harlem NYC
June 21st, 2009 at 8:37 pm
no offense but THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST STUPIDEST ARTICLES I HAVE EVER READ!!!!!
1. the response he gave you was a basic response nothing special
2. Natal ISN’T ready to be shipped or else Microsoft would of shipped it already knowing them. if you watched there press conference you would of seen NATAL HAS GLITCHES (ever wonder what the bottom of an avatars shoe looks like bam)
3. people are already skeptical about Alan Wake using natal with it would make it even worse. they need to use it with halo reach if anything( or maybe a special halo just for natal
4.Bungie isn’t a second party dev they broke ties with Microsoft. they are third party.
5.Like above Remedy is a third party Developer. they make the max payne series. max payne 3 is coming to xbox and playstation on november 30
6.epic is the only first party dev
no offense to you and sorry to be mean about it but that was seriously stupid
June 21st, 2009 at 8:39 pm
oooo and mag is set for fall release not 2010
June 21st, 2009 at 9:54 pm
hold on, just because his foot glitched around dosen’t mean it isn’t ready. first off you should take to account that he was on a giant open stage and even still the damn thing was impressive. and as for just a small foot glitch im sure it dosn’t take much to fix and them sending out the Dev-kits should indicate its pretty ready and could see the light of day by early next year with a few casual games and backwards compatability. i mean we don’t know what there planing for Natal but i think your being a little to hard on him for shuting down his idea unless you know something we all dont know. i think he makes a good point and the fact that he can actually get in contact with Remedy for a interview should marot him enough for his idea to be praised and taken noted of.
~EnVy~
HipHopGamerShow Avid Supporter From Harlem NYC
XBL: OHH YEAHHH
PSN: EnVyMoNtOyA
Skype/Aim/Gtalk: EnVyMoNtOyA
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:42 am
o no.
please say it isent so.
if its optional than i couldent care less but if they force you to use natal like the wii, DAMMMMMMMMMMMMMM i just lost the 1 360 exclusive i was looking foward 2
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:45 am
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June 22nd, 2009 at 7:57 am
VeRy GooD PoiNt EnVy, aBouT HaLo “ReAcH” — i DouBt iT’z CaLLeD HaLo “ReAcH” BeCaUsE it TaKeS PLaCe oN tHe PLaNeT ReAcH… oR BeCaUsE iT MiGhT HaVe SoMeThiNg To dO WiTh ThE eXceLLenT Halo Novel, Fall of Reach.
i ThiNk yOuR TheoRy MaKeS PeRfEcT SeNsE, ThAnK YoU FoR TaKiNg TiMe To dO ReSeaRcH! AnD i HoPe ThAt The AmAzYn HiP HoP GaMeR HiMSeLF TaKeZ TiMe tO ThAnK Y’aLL!
GoD bLeSS YoU, HoMie “EnVyMoNtOyA”
ReaL TaLK
aLsO MaY i JuSt CoNgRaDgULaTe YoU oN YouR CaPs-LoCk nOnE CaPs-LocK MiXeD ViRtUaL iD…
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:58 am
@ EnVy
I thank you for your complement, and great comment!! I would like to state that your observation regarding the word “REACH” is quite impressive! On the other hand, we do know that most games that will come out after Natal’s launch will include Natal gameplay, so it’s kind of a given that Halo Reach will absolutely utilize Natal. In addition, I am sure that “Reach” is from “The Fall of Reach” Novel.
However, what you mentioned regarding backwards compatibility was an incredible idea!! and I would definitely explore the other possibilities regarding this matter. Lastly, I thank you for responding to marcelles25.
God Bless You
Master Samo
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:47 am
[...] Alan Wake To Be Natal’s Launch Title? [...]
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 am
[...] Wake titolo di lancio per Natal? http://www.hiphopgamershow.com/?p=11354 “We unfortunately don’t have anything to communicate concerning Natal other than it looks like [...]
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
[...] http://www.hiphopgameshow.com Share and [...]
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
@ marcelles25
First, you could have presented your opinion in a more mature and constructive way. Calling the article “Stupid”, and then telling me “no offense” sounds ridiculous. If you don’t want to sound offensive, then just don’t, and this is a written comment, which means that you could go back and erase what you wrote in the heat of the moment if you wanted to.
Second, the response he gave me was not a basic response. If Alan Wake was never going to utilize Natal, he would have said so. After all, when there were rumors regarding Gears of War 3 coming out as a multiplatform title, Hiphopgamer asked Cliffy B directly whether or not we will see GOW 3 on the PS3, and his reponse was “NO!!”. Furthermore, when Ubisoft was asked regarding the possibility of Splinter Cell: Conviction coming to the PS3, their response was even stronger than just a “NO!!”; it was “NEVER!!”.
Third, Natal would not have been shipped to developers if they were not done with its development process. Moreover, what you need to observe is how responsive Natal was when the woman was demoing it.
Fourth, Halo Reach will absolutely utilize Natal. Gamers were skeptical regarding Alan Wake because they didn’t see it in action. Now that it has been revealed, it is one of the most highly anticipated games of 2010; having it utilize Natal would not necessarily be a bad thing. In fact, if done right, it might even make the experience more immersive.
Fifth, Epic is not a first party developer; they are a second party developer. Let me explain, a first party developer is a developer that is entirely owned by a company e.g. Rare. A second party developer is a developer that has a publishing deal with a specific company, and remains an independent entity e.g. Bungie, Epic, Remedy, and Insomniac (Bungie was a first party developer before breaking away from Microsoft). A third party developer is a developer owned by a third party publisher e.g. Bioware is owned by EA.
Lastly, Remedy did Max Payne and Max Payne 2. However, they are not involved in any form with Max Payne 3. The developer working on Max Payne 3 is Rockstar Vancouver.
God Bless You
Master Samo
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:07 pm
@above
completely correct i’ll man up and admit i was wrong
i really dont think alan wake will use this and i’m 90% sure natal is coming fall of next year
sorry to call your article stupid and all that , my fault, ill admit it
great post also post ENVY really made me think
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:28 pm
@ marcelles25
Your last comment was incredible, and I am sure that anyone that reads it would have nothing but respect for you, including me. I highly appreciate your honesty, and I thank you for your complement. I respect you standing by your opinion regarding Alan Wake not utilizing Natal; that’s fair, and in the end, I guess only time will tell. Lastly, for you, I have nothing but respect.
God Bless you
Master Samo
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Wow is i can say as my response… Thanks Samo… i guess i know why no one made that point LoL… i never read the Halo novel but now i know LoL thanks… im jus so blown away at what i jus read… so much respect!.. the fact that we can have a respectful conversation and share ideas and thoughts is pure awesome… this is exactly what this site needs from its readers on the regular… this should end with a great game over XBL or PSN =]
~EnVy~
HipHopGamerShow Avid Supporter From Harlem NYC
XBL: OHH YEAHHH
PSN: EnVyMoNtOyA
Skype/Aim/Gtalk: EnVyMoNtOyA
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:22 am
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June 23rd, 2009 at 3:59 am
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June 23rd, 2009 at 6:32 pm
well when you have real people commenting sharing healthy comments (removing my first comment) not being fanboys. you get a good community
really i love this site more than N4G but n4g gets updated way more
thats why everyone reads it implementthat feature you have a top website
June 24th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Very True I Guess.. I Don’t Visit That Site At All
~EnVy~
HipHopGamerShow Avid Supporter From Harlem NYC
XBL: OHH YEAHHH
PSN: EnVyMoNtOyA
Skype/Aim/Gtalk: EnVyMoNtOyA
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