Xbox 360 Kinect

reviews have been online all morning saying this thing really doesn't seem ready for release. maybe 2 games are polished at all, and the camera needs to be at least 8 feet from where you're standing or it can't see you. was hoping the racing game would be worth the purchase, but even that seems to be kinda wonky. maybe MS should have given this another year in development, bad word of mouth early on could hurt what might eventually be a cool platform.

Yeah, I was super pumped for this when I first heard about it - then, as time has gone on, I'm less and less hyped. I mean, for the cool-ass menu navigation/voice recognition stuff I would probably find it really useful, but as a gaming device? Well, if it wasn't 150$ that would probably help.

Since M$ is putting like 4 billion into marketing this thing, guess that it'll probably stick around - when the price drops and then have a "killer app" for hardcore gamers I'll probably get it - right now, the "wii centric" games just kind of leave me all "meh." I mean, again, 150 bones is LOT for something with limited functionality. I rarely side w/Sony, but Move seems like it has a lot more "out of the box" applications, with it being applied to FPS (supposedly really well), and other existing games (Heavy Rain, etc.).

Probably M$ strategy though right? Get the casual market with the thing at the outset and then add functionality to draw in everyone else once the first wave is done.

No-one's going to buy it.

The racing game looked terrible. Moving your hands in a motion like it's holding a wheel, but having no weight in your hands looks so flimsy and ill-conceived.

It's the next logical step to remove controllers, but it's much too early to make anything other than a few demonstration games.

I just hope Microsoft don't get angry with us for not swallowing up this shit.

off topic but ever so slightly on topic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ym0tZSWGMc

  On 11/4/2010 at 4:58 PM, Rubin Farr said:

reviews have been online all morning saying this thing really doesn't seem ready for release. maybe 2 games are polished at all, and the camera needs to be at least 8 feet from where you're standing or it can't see you. was hoping the racing game would be worth the purchase, but even that seems to be kinda wonky. maybe MS should have given this another year in development, bad word of mouth early on could hurt what might eventually be a cool platform.

I think i've mentioned before but this tech is about far more than gaming so it wont be a fail even if the original push doesnt turn out that successful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7nRKU0nFxA

Awesome. Awesome to the max.

KinIIIIct.

That's amazing

ok that's fucking cool. they should make this a bundle. Only 799.99!!!!

  On 11/4/2010 at 6:42 PM, Rambo said:

That's amazing

Agreed, that's pretty cool.

I think move has the advantage over Kinect. I never replaced my 360 and I don't think Kinect is gonna make me get a new one. Sorry M$, Sony has my attention now.

Got one on order. 10th it will turn up.

It will be just like when the 360 was released to begin with. No good games, no developers were really taking advantage of the new system. A year or so down the line and it was amazing.

Having said that I think it holds zero advantage for the average gamer, unless they develop a whole range of weapons you can use with it. That would be cool.

  On 11/4/2010 at 6:01 PM, Rambo said:

  On 11/4/2010 at 4:58 PM, Rubin Farr said:

reviews have been online all morning saying this thing really doesn't seem ready for release. maybe 2 games are polished at all, and the camera needs to be at least 8 feet from where you're standing or it can't see you. was hoping the racing game would be worth the purchase, but even that seems to be kinda wonky. maybe MS should have given this another year in development, bad word of mouth early on could hurt what might eventually be a cool platform.

 

I think i've mentioned before but this tech is about far more than gaming so it wont be a fail even if the original push doesnt turn out that successful.

Problem is, right now the tech is tied to a closed-platform, and the non-gaming aspects (right now) are pretty thin - voice commands? Hand gestures? Other than the 360 dashboard, there really isn't any apps yet that would benefit from it (no web browser on 360). I think MS made a mistake in removing the controller from the setup - there has to be some sort of physical connection to what you're doing onscreen. The only applications I can see where no controller is needed is fighting games (assuming they can get the latency on the movements taken care of), or sports games where there is no equipment (running, etc.)

  On 11/4/2010 at 6:57 PM, T35513R said:

ok that's fucking cool. they should make this a bundle. Only 799.99!!!!

The Modern Warfare (and other IR goggles) are only around 80USD off the shelf at Target.

  On 11/4/2010 at 7:09 PM, El_Chemso said:

Got one on order. 10th it will turn up.

 

It will be just like when the 360 was released to begin with. No good games, no developers were really taking advantage of the new system. A year or so down the line and it was amazing.

 

Having said that I think it holds zero advantage for the average gamer, unless they develop a whole range of weapons you can use with it. That would be cool.

Developing attachments defeats MS's core marketing element/push - YOU are the controller, not some plastic rifle or guitar you're holding.

The difference between this launch and a console launch is while they typically don't have strong launch games, the Kinect can't stand on it's own - you MUST use a 360 with it, and the games only run on the 360, not the Kinect itself. Nobody will "need" a Kinect if they want to experience XBOX 360; they'll just get a 360. Unless the tech is integrated into the console hardware, developers won't take big risks with making Kinect-specific games, which will in turn reduce the adoption rate.

It's exactly the opposite that plagued the Wii - developers were compelled to put in motion controls as that was the machine's main focus - as a result, a lot of games were poorly conceived and executed, and the ratio of good Wii games vs shovelware is horribly disproportionate. A lot of the Wii's best games don't make motion controls the focus, but rather more traditional controls mixed with a smattering of motion control aspects.

Sony, I think took the right approach and took existing tech, improved it, and made it an optional experience for both developers and users when it comes to more traditional games. The next CoD won't rely on motion controls to play it; but if they implement Move controls into it, that's an option gamers have.

  On 11/4/2010 at 7:48 PM, Joy Rex said:

Problem is, right now the tech is tied to a closed-platform, and the non-gaming aspects (right now) are pretty thin - voice commands? Hand gestures? Other than the 360 dashboard, there really isn't any apps yet that would benefit from it (no web browser on 360). I think MS made a mistake in removing the controller from the setup - there has to be some sort of physical connection to what you're doing onscreen. The only applications I can see where no controller is needed is fighting games (assuming they can get the latency on the movements taken care of), or sports games where there is no equipment (running, etc.)

Yeah, see, I actually agree here. I've thought about this a lot, and it seems like someone would have come up with a came that uses the existing controller in conjunction w/Kinect. I mean, it seems like a no brainer to design a lightsaber game, FPS, etc. where you hold the 360 controller in one hand, sideways, and click one of the triggers and/or bumpers. That way you could get the feedback/tactile part in there but not have to buy some sort of "extra" controller. WTF MICROSOFT. I'M JUST A MB TROLLIN' DUMMY, I THOUGHT YOU HAD LEGIONS OF PRODUCT DESIGNERS ON THIS SHIT?!

  On 11/4/2010 at 7:48 PM, Joy Rex said:

  On 11/4/2010 at 6:57 PM, T35513R said:

ok that's fucking cool. they should make this a bundle. Only 799.99!!!!

 

The Modern Warfare (and other IR goggles) are only around 80USD off the shelf at Target.

Lol yeah - I actually flirted with the idea of getting them. Then I realized i needed new brakes on the car. Stupid car.

  On 11/4/2010 at 7:48 PM, Joy Rex said:

Developing attachments defeats MS's core marketing element/push - YOU are the controller, not some plastic rifle or guitar you're holding.

 

The difference between this launch and a console launch is while they typically don't have strong launch games, the Kinect can't stand on it's own - you MUST use a 360 with it, and the games only run on the 360, not the Kinect itself. Nobody will "need" a Kinect if they want to experience XBOX 360; they'll just get a 360. Unless the tech is integrated into the console hardware, developers won't take big risks with making Kinect-specific games, which will in turn reduce the adoption rate.

 

It's exactly the opposite that plagued the Wii - developers were compelled to put in motion controls as that was the machine's main focus - as a result, a lot of games were poorly conceived and executed, and the ratio of good Wii games vs shovelware is horribly disproportionate. A lot of the Wii's best games don't make motion controls the focus, but rather more traditional controls mixed with a smattering of motion control aspects.

 

Sony, I think took the right approach and took existing tech, improved it, and made it an optional experience for both developers and users when it comes to more traditional games. The next CoD won't rely on motion controls to play it; but if they implement Move controls into it, that's an option gamers have.

I'd have to agree that what Sony's done w/Move is way more compelling in the short run - they seem to have done a very good job of trying to apply to a variety of applications, and do it pretty well. The example about COD and not making it a "Requirement" to play but an enhancement (if you want it) seems like a good point too. Kinect seems like it has the potential to pigeonhole itself early on as being an either/or scenario.

But, I do imagine it won't go away - M$ will just keep shoving money at it until everyone has one in their livingroom, whether they really want it or not. It'll be too ubiquitous to avoid, and even partpoopers like me will eventually find an excuse to pick it up, even if it's only because they've dropped the price to 50 bucks or something like that.

The latency bullshit really pisses me off though - I mean, wtf use is motion capture tech if it's not 1:1?

I was hyped to get this for my son, but lately I've been unable to muster any enthusiasm. Every time I read about it features were cut and specs downgraded. It all looks shite and laggy. Maybe if I get some IR goggles.

Kinectimals is giving me a boner. Can't wait to get all dog-diggity with some lions.

I can't physically use this in my home without some serious renovation.

I don't give two shits about motion controllers, but I will watch this...

http://www.giantbomb.com/chat/

Live feed from the GiantBomb HQ

Yay!

is there even any way for ms to upgrade this thing? it'd best be good technology..all it is is the little box, right? at least with the wii, nintendo was easily able to update the controller easily. is the kinect going to fail and ms be like, buy the kinect 2.0... ?

  On 11/4/2010 at 10:56 PM, yek said:

is there even any way for ms to upgrade this thing? it'd best be good technology..all it is is the little box, right? at least with the wii, nintendo was easily able to update the controller easily. is the kinect going to fail and ms be like, buy the kinect 2.0... ?

All they'd have to do is clean up some of the codes and patch it just like you do with any other kind of software.

  On 11/4/2010 at 10:15 PM, Squee said:

I don't give two shits about motion controllers, but I will watch this...

 

http://www.giantbomb.com/chat/

 

Live feed from the GiantBomb HQ

 

Yay!

That was a great link. Thanks.

Its completely fool proof for MS.

Everything that has made the wii so successful, its outsold the Xbox and PS3 last I heard, well no MS have a piece of that action, and they've gone one better an removed the controller.

If it ever becomes decent for hardcore gamers, I doubt it.

the whole motion sensory thing bothers me. i dislike how it drew in so many casual gamers who only got into the wii because of this innovation. an innovation that really isn't THAT amazing or cool. for 8/10 games, getting rid of motion sensing reveals that the game itself isn't all that great (some things are exceptions. mario galaxy and twilight princess would've been great regardless of control method). but it captures the attention of so many people who think it's AMAZING because it's like they're ACTUALLY THROWING A FRISBEE. don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad idea for nintendo, but it seems like they went a little apeshit with it. it's like they were trying to appeal to people who don't really care about games that much. at least not for what the games actually are.

watmm should have motion sensing. or we could go one step further. forget CHATMM, there should just be WATMM-VR.

  On 11/5/2010 at 12:47 AM, Calx Sherbet said:

it's like they were trying to appeal to people who don't really care about games that much.

Didn't Miyamoto or someone actually say that the focus of the Wii was to pull in people who didn't really play games?

new markets for their overpriced oldtech, yep that's basically what they were going for.

i already have a lot of games i need to beat on the xbox. then i could go back to playing the sims. then there's things like minecraft. microsoft hasn't really gotten me pumped up to drop $whatever on kinect, and i likely won't.

edit: someday i might get a wii

This is hilarious as shit.