Natal Technology “Turned Down” by Nintendo President

Following the E3 2009 debut of Microsoft’s Project Natal, both Nintendo Co. Ltd. President Satoru Iwata and Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime commented on their competitor’s choice of technology, noting that they had looked into it before settling on what would eventually go into the Wii. “Ironic” is what the latter man called the situation.

Recently, however, the subject came up once more as a “top insider” told CVG that 2007 saw Israel firm 3DV Systems approach the “bigwigs” at Nintendo’s Japanese headquarters, Iwata included, to demonstrate their technology. While impressed with the prototype, Iwata didn’t see it as Wii material, which left the firm in a position to be snatched up by Microsoft a year later.

“Iwata-san only ever invests in something he can guarantee will work for a Nintendo audience,” the exec told CVG. “3DV showed off a camera that detected motion in 3D, and had voice recognition – but Iwata-San was unconvinced he could sell it at a Nintendo price point. He also had some worries around latency during gameplay.”

The source added “Honestly – I’ve heard Iwata describe the prototype he saw at length, and it’s definitely Natal.”

“What we witnessed at E3 was smaller and the facial [reading] stuff had improved, but it’s the same technology. We remain unconvinced Natal will deliver on the more sophisticated elements of what Microsoft is promising at the price they’re aiming for.”

Talk of price seems in line with what Microsoft announced recently, that they were dropping a chip from the unit to save on costs. In addition, there have previously been reports of lag during gameplay.

Neither company would comment on the speculation (natch), though CVG puts the term in quotes with the assurance that it is anything but.

The question that remains to be seen is whether or not Microsoft can make this thing work well enough to leave Nintendo with any regrets. The clock is ticking…