The differance is that with The Mouse it's usefulness and improvement over the keyboard was obvious, which is why it was able to succeed despite a lot of missteps. For example the original "mice" were so buggy that I wound up using the keyboard for a while, and even avoiding some of the first games that required the use of a mouse.
With project Natal, it's less so. In part because it's a bloody motion sensor. In general I can sit down and mess around with my keyboard and mouse, or gamepad in a relatively small space, while sitting at a desk, with minimal distance between me and my system. Right now in my home we have 3 computers all placed in a relatively small computer room (mine, my father's, and my stepmothers. I'm disabled and live at home as I've mentioned, and also all three of us are gamers).
The thing with Natal is that in order to use it, I need to make space, get up, and wave my hands around to do stuff.
What's more the mouse, was a general operating device, that works with all kinds of programs not just for gaming. I can't for example see someone attaching this to a computer (since he's claiming a similar revolution, not just for a game console) and then using it to select functions in say a word processor in an office or cubicle farm.
What's more, I think Natal is being directed at trying to cut in on the popularity of the Wii. A system that has constantly been plagued by questions of "why don't serious games on it go anywhere?". The Wii involves like clearing out the entire living room to make space, and entertain the family for a couple of hours. It's also buggy enough where in general most complicated games tend to turn into junk quickly (as Yahtzee always pointed out), the games that work best are the most simplistic ones like bowling and such. I think the issue is that nobody wants undertake something like a potentially hundred hour epic game like say "Dragon Age Origins", standing there in the living room, doing wierd dances to cast spells and such.
As funny as it sounds, doing the bowling motions and such is a lot less silly looking/seeming from an objective standpoint, than dancing around like an idiot and performing some of the spazztastic motions more complex games require.
With project Natal, it's less so. In part because it's a bloody motion sensor. In general I can sit down and mess around with my keyboard and mouse, or gamepad in a relatively small space, while sitting at a desk, with minimal distance between me and my system. Right now in my home we have 3 computers all placed in a relatively small computer room (mine, my father's, and my stepmothers. I'm disabled and live at home as I've mentioned, and also all three of us are gamers).
The thing with Natal is that in order to use it, I need to make space, get up, and wave my hands around to do stuff.
What's more the mouse, was a general operating device, that works with all kinds of programs not just for gaming. I can't for example see someone attaching this to a computer (since he's claiming a similar revolution, not just for a game console) and then using it to select functions in say a word processor in an office or cubicle farm.
What's more, I think Natal is being directed at trying to cut in on the popularity of the Wii. A system that has constantly been plagued by questions of "why don't serious games on it go anywhere?". The Wii involves like clearing out the entire living room to make space, and entertain the family for a couple of hours. It's also buggy enough where in general most complicated games tend to turn into junk quickly (as Yahtzee always pointed out), the games that work best are the most simplistic ones like bowling and such. I think the issue is that nobody wants undertake something like a potentially hundred hour epic game like say "Dragon Age Origins", standing there in the living room, doing wierd dances to cast spells and such.
As funny as it sounds, doing the bowling motions and such is a lot less silly looking/seeming from an objective standpoint, than dancing around like an idiot and performing some of the spazztastic motions more complex games require.
