stusser
3487
We think it’s a gimmick, but MS is more optimistic. Hey, hopefully they’re right.
That’s the thing about business. These companies are laying big bets on the table. Literally hundreds of millions. Microsoft is confident the Kinect 2.0 will help in the long run. Sony is betting it won’t. The onus is now on the former to prove the latter wrong. Here’s where I give Microsoft the edge. If I had to bet on one company to make a smart push around Kinect-like technology, it would be Microsoft, not Sony.
That said, I would not assume that Sony is right nor would I assume that hardware won’t change. Anyone remember Sony claiming that rumble controllers were last gen? Yeah… that didn’t last.
JoshV
3489
Yeah, there was a fairly sizable uptick in sales for xboxes with kinects a while back. I have a feeling that is driving the decision to make it standard. That and then people might actually develop for it, since it will be on every xbox, instead of some fraction. (Though considering that the xbone and ps4 are essentially the same, it’s like it won’t have 100% adoption rates anyway and none of the big multiplatform titles will touch it.)
I don’t really have much interest in the console wars, as I’m hardly an active console gamer (own two Xbox 360s that are gathering dust along with the old PS2 that still is hooked up in the basement), but I do wonder, how many people are “gamers” in the sense that they play all sorts of games, and identify with the general idea of video gaming, and how many are “gamers who play a very specific subset of games,” who really only play a handful of types/genres? I ask because I’ve found myself over the years becoming more and more focused on a few types of games, and ignoring all the rest. An emphasis on Kinect and such things seems to indicate that companies feel the former category outnumbers the latter. Are they right?
Armiger
3491
I think the push for Kinect is the exact opposite as most of its touted features are about improving the aspects of the xbone that are additions beyond its gaming capabilities.
Agree. I don’t think the Kinect 2.0 push is entirely about Kinect gaming. It’s also about the features the Kinect 2.0 enables that may go beyond gaming that they have yet to unveil. Just a guess, of course.
IGN did a “Ask Microsoft Anything” session
Highlights… Avatars? Gone?
What’s the resolution for game captures?
Achievements possible for both the 360 and Xbox One?
When next are you doing this?
Armiger
3494
Those were some tame ones to start off with.
Thongsy
3495
That was PR speak and if I remember correctly. It had to do with a patent issue which Sony refused to pay for so they couldn’t have rumble support in the controllers and had nothing to do with an actual belief and direction they were pushing the PS3 in.
Please, never stop being awesome, Jack.
So you want me to pay $100 for the ability to flail my hands around like an idiot in an attempt to change the channel which actually ends up raising the volume to levels that causes my neighbors to call the police?
Why shouldn’t i just spend a portion of this to buy a damned harmony remote which will no doubt work better! Not to mention i can use the harmony remote when i have friends over without looking like a jackass…
In my experience, the best uses of Kinect 1.0 have been voice-related. I never flail my arms around, I just say “Xbox Pause”. “Xbox Play”, instead of looking around for where I put the controller, turning it on, and then pressing a button. A long process compared to just talking to the Kinect. My wife and I have gotten very used to that, and it’s jarring when it doesn’t work (like with Windows Media Center and playing DVDs on Xbox).
Similarly with games, I loved how voice control allowed inventory sorting, quick inventory changing and all kinds of stuff that allowed me to stay inside the world of Skyrim instead of pausing the game and going into a menu all the time; which was a necessity before Kinect because there’s only so many buttons on the controller, and only so many shortcuts you can do with those limited buttons. Saying “Equip Sword and Shield” and “Equip Bow” out loud without pausing the game, and then saying “Equip healing” to switch to a healing spell or saying “Health potion” to swallow a health potion, it all keeps the combat flowing instead of the previous Pause-hotkey menu scrolling using d-pad-unpause method of getting through combat. It changed the game for the better immeasurably for me.
Even if Kinect 2.0 doesn’t make the promised advances in the visual recognition realm, I’d still want the Kinect for the voice commands that developers have already started showing that they can use well.
Kildar
3501
If its true that Sony is release a 500 USD PS4/Vita bundle, your 100 USD can get you a Vita.
jpinard
3502
Since we all know the Xbox One is a huge move to digital, asking if XBox Live is still around is like asking if the Xbox One is a square box. That entire article was a useless waste of space. Why not ask about something cool and pertinent like… “What kind of testing goes on to make sure the box will last 10 years under heavy use when you only have a few months left for the finalized design”? <— that is something I find fascinating. Pushing hardware to it’s breaking point is fun.
So is the kinect a motion control device or a $100 standalone mic?
I don’t get why people are saying that voice control is an advantage of the kinect. The two don’t seem to have anything to do with each other to me.
Canuck
3504
It’s such a good deal that it can’t possibly be true. I already have a Vita but I would upgrade to the bundle just so I could sell it for $150 and get myself a PS4 for the equivalent of $349. I guess we’ll find out at the next big show. Sony has been particularly good this go around and dropping bombshells and stealing the show from MS.
Teiman
3505
This is just Sony trolling Microsoft. Now can say “You can get two consoles for the price a XBox One”.
Joe_M
3506
Man, I would love to be able to snag an extra Vita for my nephew at that price. Is it just a rumor at this point?
