Bravo.
That could be, but it would be entirely Microsoft’s fault that it’s being judged prematurely since they are putting it in to stores and asking the public to judge.
Did they have Dance Central there? Did you ask them what games they had in store?
If they are putting it in public, it’s not premature, it’s finished.
I know it is cool to hate the Kinect, but talking with family and friends who game on the periphery (casual games, Fable 2, single system, sports only games) they are all excited by this. I asked them about the PS3 Move, and they didn’t get it, why not just get the Wii, but this is something different in their eyes.
I didn’t like the tact MS took with the casual focus on Kinect at the conference, but as a marketing move, I think they may be on to something. A lot of these people I talked to have a 360 already, either they have a dedicated gamer in the house already or there was a specific title or they just heard it was the best system to get. So adding Kinect, even at $150, doesn’t seem that bad to them, they are basically getting a more advanced HD version of a Wii without all the controllers. Plus, it is a one-time $150 for everyone to play on the system.
Now, I am hoping that MS works on the software and brings out some titles that I also want to play, but it has been interesting to talk to these periphery gamers and see their excitement over something the core gamers just don’t see.
No and no, but it’s pretty likely that I will be back this weekend so Matt can have a crack at it, so I’ll try to remember to ask.
I think most of the core gamers are going to change their tune if head tracking ends up working and is supported by many games. Having played some FPS and Flight-Sims with Track-IR, I can say the advantage is significant. Has anyone asked if it will be possible?
They’d have to do something about the lag before I would have any faith in a Kinect FPS. And, you know, movement and whatnot. I have yet to see any implementation of the Kinect that involves using the controller for regular controls and Kinect for added stuff like head tracking. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible, but it’s not something we have been shown either.
These descriptions remind me of Freeverse’s “ToySight” which came out around the same time as Apple’s first iSight cameras. I remember trying it out and having lag and recognition issues. It also seemed very gimmicky.
I’m sure the Kinect is much better, but I’ll reserve judgement until I can try one out.
Head tracking is completely possible on Move. Hell, it’s basically possible on the DSi; it’s not something you’d need Kinect for.
In any case, it’s confirmed for Gran Turismo 5.
Maybe. But we are something like 3 months out - they still have time to fix some things. It could be that they realize they have a big hill to climb to sell this and they are resorting to relatively desperate measures at the last minute. In this case they are demoing a unfinished product.
When the old Nokia phone/handheld was launched several years ago I went to an industry event a few months before launch. It was very clear that Nokia had zero idea going into that event how much negativity there already was about their product. By the end of the event they had announced a totally different (and desperate and expensive) launch strategy then what they were talking about at the beginning of the event. The feedback they were getting at the event was a slap in the face.
So Microsoft may realize that the Kinect is getting a lot of bad press and decided that the only way to overcome that is to get it out into the public and see if, even in its unfinished state, they can get people interested in its potential. You’ll note that they aren’t demoing this at GameStop or some other place where they will attract hard core gamers - they are doing it department stores where they will be showing it off to parents who have different expectations.
I’m not saying it will work or that the Kinect will succeed. What I’m saying is that technical issues in what is essentially a beta should not be automatically assumed for the retail launch.
Thinking more about it, I still think that controller-less play is a bit of a mistake. That is, humans are tool-using creatures, and most of the things we do in real life are tool-assisted. We play sports with sporting equipment. We drive vehicles with a wheel/joystick in our hands. Combat takes place via swords and guns. Well, except martial arts, and so why isn’t there a martial arts game for the Kinect?
The exercise stuff is still the best fit for the Kinect that I’ve seen so far, but I’m not convinced it’s a system-seller.
So yes, the controller-less Kinect technology is very cool, but I’m not convinced it translates well to the games that they’re offering. It makes me think that the device was built by incredibly smart engineers who have little gaming experience.
- Alan
Thanks again, Angie, for being the brave vanguard of scary and potentially embarrassing things.
Does anyone think this is going to be an absolute bomb? I have no idea what to make of this thing yet, but it seems not beyond the realm of possibility…
Ahem5
I’m not prepared to call it a bomb, I just really have to wonder if the strong points of the Kinect are enough to really make people overlook the warts. When I got some hands-on time with it, it just seemed too buggy and frustrating to really be ‘fun’ in a party situation. Since this was in controlled circumstances, I have to wonder how it will function in homes. I compare this to the Wii, where folks can pull out four Wiimotes and be playing relatively easily in a few moments and with (what seems to be) less of a learning curve.
If Kinect worked better (and if the price isn’t the ridiculous $300 minimum), I’d say they have a sure thing on their hands. For now though… I just have trouble seeing it.
I’d be surprised if either Move or Kinect took off, at least in the more gamer-oriented end of the market. Not just because of people like me who’ve found motion controls a dramatic downgrade from more traditional gaming controls on our Wiis, but because they’re aftermarket accessories and I can’t think of one of those that’s really gotten all that much in the way of software support.
I’ll be surprised if we’re using Kinect in two years, successful or not. Microsoft doesn’t seem to know how to handle failures or successes in the console world.
I think if people try it and notice the lag that it’s going to just die. Even a layman can tell that control lag sucks. As opposed to pulling you into the experience, it disconnects you from it even more than using an abstract but accurate controller would.
It’s funny that human beings, who on average have around a 200ms reaction time, can so greatly notice lag that is even just a fraction of that if it comes in the form of reality not matching our expected outcome from actions that we personally initiate.
All the things that the Kinect seems like it’d be perfect and cool to do will not work with the lag people are seeing on this thing, and it sounds like the only solution to the lag would have been for Microsoft to have spent more on the hardware - too late now.
Possibly, but I don’t think the answer is found here. I thinks it’s safe to say that it will be a bomb with the hardcore. I think the real question is whether or not the Wii crowd wants that experience in HD or likes the thing enough to want more.
I’m actually really interested in how it does. I’ve always felt that the Wii was a flash in the pan. I think Move and Kinect may give us an indication if all those Wii owners are now gamers and will continually upgrade thier hardware, or if it was just a one off thing for them.