Major Nelson has just pointed out that TIME Magazine has included Project Natal in their ‘50 Best Inventions of 2009’ round-up.

Project Natal, Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox 360 motion, voice and face recognition technology, was chosen because it circumvents the “barrier that has stood between gamers” since the advent of videogames - “the controller” - and “enables players to control games using only body movements and voice commands, no controller required — the gamer’s body becomes the controller.”

It’s a great honour, to be sure, especially when it’s sat alongside TIME’s other inventions of the year, such as a more efficient lightbulb and a vaccine for AIDS, but it may be a little too early to start dishing out awards and honours for technology that hasn’t yet been proven ‘in the field,’ or more accurately, ‘in the living room.’

This past month, Project Natal was also received the honour of being included in Popular Mechanics 2009 Breakthrough Award, as well as Popular Science Best of What’s New Grand Award.