As I'm sure you know, later this year Microsoft will release Natal, their attempt at a video game motion controller. What you may not have known, however, is that the concepts behind Natal were originally shopped to Nintendo. According to CVG, who this week spoke to an anonymous Nintendo Japan insider, the company's head, Satoru Iwata turned down 3DV's as-then-unamed motion control technology because he "... was unconvinced he could sell it at a Nintendo price point." The inside man also added, "Iwata-San only ever invests in something he can guarantee will work for a Nintendo audience." Even though it was hinted at around E3 that Nintendo had seen the tech before Microsoft bought the company that developed it, it was all just rumor. Regardless of where you stand on motion control peripherals, you've got to admit this new development is pretty interesting.

One has to wonder just how different the current gaming landscape would be if Nintendo had gone with the motion detecting camera instead of infrared remotes with accelerometers. Despite the fact that Natal is, as of yet, unproven, the question of where Microsoft would currently stand with motion-base peripherals is quite interesting. Particularly when you hear this from Nintendo's Deep Throat: "We remain unconvinced Natal will deliver on the more sophisticated elements of what Microsoft is promising at the price they're aiming for."

So, Iwata passes on the tech because he's not certain he can deliver the final product at a price point he found acceptable for, then Microsoft makes some reportedly lofty claims about just what the tech can do. Either someone's lying, or perhaps there's a bit of non-buyer's remorse going on here. While I'm personally not looking forward to Natal at all, I'm at least mildly curious to see just what Microsoft has in store for people who do want to buy it. Will we be left with a bunch of gimmicky crap, or will there actually be some really inventive new titles released? My money's on the latter, but only time will tell whether Nintendo was right to go in a different direction.

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