Sometimes the internet is a bit slow and a couple of days back it picked up on something Techflash wrote on March 4. According to their "notes of Natal" the device needed a cleared area extending four metres from the TV.
Techflash wrote:
"To be precise, 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)."
Obviously, this would present a number of problems in any given home and girlfriends, mothers, fathers, boyfriends and pets would be curious about the new home styling we would adapt ("the barren living room"). The Japanese on the other hand would ignore it, exactly like they have ignored everything Microsoft have done since they launched the original Xbox.
Today Kotaku reached Microsoft representatives who assured them Natal would work in smaller spaces as well:
"The comments recently about the play space for "Project Natal" were misinterpreted. 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 while we didn't report what Techflash wrote (it was simply not believable), you may have read it elsewhere, and thus the record needed to be set straight.