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No voice control for Kinect launch

Microsoft has confirmed to MCV that Kinect will not boast any voice control functionality at launch.

Speaking at Gamescom, marketing manager for Xbox Live EMEA Robin Burrowes stated that “we will be announcing when voice control will be turned on in due course”.

Bereaver5730d ago

Wow, this is turning out to be another thing that they're rushing out the door to try and stay ahead. Well... it's a shame it worked for them in the U.S. with the 360. Let's hope it doesn't work for them again.

Snakefist305730d ago

After all the hype this is just sounding more and more like an expensive eye toy at launch !!

zeeshan5730d ago

This doesn't sound too good to be honest!

GWAVE5730d ago

Dang. So, what exactly WILL Kinect be able to do at launch?

nix5730d ago

i'm sure they're trying to figure out the voice recognition part... with most of the xbox audience being below 12 years with high pitched voices it sure is going to be hard for the programme to figure out whether it's a guy or a girl screaming orders.

8thnightvolley5730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

seriously.. wtf.

first they say u can scan ur stuff and use it in the game .. and then u cant.

then they say u can do 4 players now they say u can do only 2 at a time...

b4 voice communication now none at lauch..

its like they are taking the piss, and want to charge 129.99 for this...

i really dont like where this is going over promise and under deliver ..

iFLOWLIKEWATER5730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

h, so as long as I live in NA and speak english, voice control is on and poppin'? Well, I guess it sucks to be everyone else. There will be plenty of Move bundles for everyone though.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5730d ago
Lekumkee5730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

"UPDATE: MCV can also confirm that chat software Video Kinect will also not feature as part of the accessory's launch. Like voice control, that will also arrive at a alter date."

Microsoft will release these features later as paid DLC. You heard it here first.

table5730d ago

Definitely rushed out for a christmas boost in sales. Half of the E3 presentation was about showing off the voice commands and video chat. I'm guessing there must be issues with it.

Lord_Doggington5730d ago

ouchie

what the eff, the guy was doing it at the e3 presentation
this is a load of horseshit

Dac2u5730d ago

I actually feel bad for the people that have pre-ordered and are looking forward to Kinect. They're really getting the short end of the stick here. I know I give a lot of shit to Kinect, but damn, this is pretty bad.

Immortal3215730d ago

once this sell millions, we would know how many stupid people are out there.
especially the ones who don't do their research before purchasing.

cliffbo5730d ago

and yet another lie outed. they promised the world and offer a cabbage

spacetattoo5729d ago (Edited 5729d ago )

this was on vgchartz and then they confirmed that it actually will have voice over.

so story is busted.

http://gamrfeed.vgchartz.co...

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 5729d ago
8800gtx5730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

Features being dropped in the end. They did the same with their console. Marketed it as an HD machine, now release exclusives in sub HD lol :P

Before the Fangirls boast the PS3. It was marketed to do 120fps and 1080p.... goes without saying it failed pretty badly too. Let alone 120fps, there isnt a single FPS on the PS3 that runs in 1080p and even a mere 30fps.

8800gtx

Conloles5730d ago

Lol another console lie, must be a pretty bad feeling to get constantly buttraped with false smoke and mirrors by these 'console' gods.

darkmurder5730d ago

Ahahaha you have got to be kidding me, if we're going on this ratio we'd be classifying Flash games as great exclusives for the PC...... Nice try though!

fooltheman5730d ago

super stardust is a great game...don't get deceived by the looks...

Chris_TC5730d ago

I didn't say it's not a great game. But using it as proof of graphical superiority is pretty ridiculous.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5730d ago
pixelsword5730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

@ 8800gtx

Both Resistance and Resistance 2 run at 60fps if I'm not mistaken; I'm not certain, so take it with a grain of salt until someone proves otherwise.

I only say that it does because Insomniac announced that they were doing their games in 30fps from now on, which means that they would had to have been 60 for them to come down.
http://www.insomniacgames.c...

And I know that you said FPS, but Lair ran at 60fps, but it was the most inconsistent 60fps I've seen in some parts. Not horrible, but noticeable in some parts. Okay, horrible in like one or two parts, but it was only for a sec, and under certain conditions; you'd have to want to have it to slow down to trigger one of them. LoL!

Substance1015730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

Resistance is 720p mate, not 1080p. He mentioned there are no FPS games in 1080p which run at 30fps which is true.

http://www.1up.com/news/ins...

(Insomniac Confirms Resistance is 720p
They aimed for 1080p, but it didn't work out.) Could Be due to Console limitations.

pixelsword5730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

@ substance101

Thanks for the info, I was talking about the frames per second and I wasn't making reference to 1080p because, well, I totally missed that part lol!

Actually though Lair is 1080p and (a wobbly) 60fps, so it is in theory possible to make a game with such resolution as a FPS, but as he says, there is no current FPS like that as of now...

ThatArtGuy5730d ago

Wipeout HD is 1080p at 60 frames per second.

tynam5730d ago

Seriously...what happened, I was hoping Kinect would turn out good.
At least Move might be pretty good, only 1 month to wait.
Are you buying Kinect, if so, why?

pixelsword5730d ago

I still say I'm going to wait and see before passing judgment, although this is another very hard hit to my confidence.

Omega45730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

Seems odd considering it obviously works.

Also I think there are some games which use it too.

zeeshan5730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

^ You are nuts!

5730d ago
brazilianbumpincher5730d ago (Edited 5730d ago )

every system or company has faults

seems odd? microsoft rushed out a faulty console KNOWINGLY,have not bought any first party studios despite being in the game TEN years, have removed features from kinect like its cpu its not the NATAL we first saw,games are unresponsive

and it seems odd to you? did you see the sonic game? in your heart if this was a camera for ps3 you would bash it to high heavens

fooltheman5730d ago

I already told everyone that voice control sounds great, but isn't...
singstar does it...it only brings frustration and is slower than a controller.

Pillville5730d ago

Omega, I see you commenting all over the place and claiming the PS3 fanboys comments are "Damage Control".

At this very moment in time, you are the queen of Damage Control.
If we hooked up a turbine to you, we could power Vegas with your spinning.

lodossrage5730d ago

If it "worked" the feature wouldn't be getting taken away at launch like that. Obviously something is wrong. Use your common sense for once

mcstorm5730d ago

I was a fan of Kinect until I heard this news today what are MS playing at.one of the best games for kids is voice controlled so I dont get how it cant have it a launch.

Well if this is true you can count me out of my preorder.

cliffbo5730d ago

Omega4, please fella for goodness sake see the truth. i'm feeling sorry for you. MS LIED, they FAKED the videos and demos. can't you see it?

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5730d ago
Jack The Lad5730d ago

So it can't hear you scream in anger then? lol

Show all comments (93)
20°

Joy Ride Turbo - The Beginning of the End for Xbox Kinect

Joy Ride Turbo launched 10 years ago today. The first title was Xbox Kinect exclusive, yet this sequel failed to support the device at all.

300°

10 of the Biggest Video Game Hardware Failures Ever

Cultured Vultures: "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal, and no matter how much developers might try, some gaming hardware just fails to hit the mark. We’ve compiled a list of 10 gaming hardware fails, and boy did some fail hard."

Read Full Story >>
culturedvultures.com
Knightofelemia1561d ago

I would label the Power Glove, Kinect, and that Tony Hawk skateboard more as hardware addons hardware failure would be like the Virtual Boy and one day Stadia.

Magog1561d ago

Kinect was bundled with every Xbox One and inflated the price on an already underpowered and low RAM machine so for the One it wasn't an accessory as much as a white elephant.

CaptainHenry9161561d ago (Edited 1561d ago )

Definitely the RROD but that power glove had a lot of issues as well. The Kinect just didn't work

1561d ago
CrimsonWing691561d ago

Hardware add-ons are more like RAM or a video card, basically components that enhance capabilities or performance of the computer.

If you really want to get technical the Kinect is more of a peripheral device, kind of like a keyboard or mouse to a computer.

ThatsGaming1561d ago

The person in this article obviously is not up on their gaming history....

Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Coleco Gemini, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga, Atari 5200, Atari 7800 were all massive failures and in most cases cost their companies participating in future gaming generations.

Gamer791561d ago

Sega saturn (successful in Japan) and dreamcast were not failures.
Seems like you're not up on you're gaming history

septemberindecember1560d ago

@Gamer79

How in the world are the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast not seen as failures? They both sold around 8M each, which is much lower than the ~30M that the Genesis had sold before it, and even the Master System before that. They were both the worst selling consoles in their respective generation (PS1, N64 outsold Saturn, PS2, GC, and Xbox outsold Dreamcast). Both of the consoles were incredibly short lived. The Saturn was discontinued in every territory but Japan after just three years. In Japan the console was discontinued after six years. Meanwhile the Dreamcast was discontinued worldwide in 2001 after launching in most territories in 1999 and in Japan in 1998. The failure of the Saturn and Dreamcast lead to Sega pulling out of the hardware market. Which, by the way, all of this occurred when Sega was massively dropping the price of their consoles quickly to compete. Sega was hemorrhaging money at this point.

None of this indicates a successful console. Saying the Saturn was a success because it did better in Japan is like saying the Vita is a success (they both sold around the same amount of units in Japan). Even the Wii U outsold these consoles worldwide.

Magog1561d ago

The picture should be the 360 RROD. When I think of gaming hardware failures that's what springs to mind. Kinect and it's bundled price tag definitely hobbled the already underpowered Xbox One though for sure so I would give it a close second place.

porkChop1561d ago (Edited 1561d ago )

That's not what the author means by failures. It's about hardware that failed in terms of sales (Wii U) or just failed to deliver on its promise (Kinect).

Magog1561d ago (Edited 1561d ago )

Given that the 360 had a year head start, much easier hardware to develop for, was cheaper, and still ended up in third place I think it qualifies especially when you factor in the frustration and huge losses incurred by RROD.

porkChop1561d ago

Selling over 80 million consoles isn't a sales flop. We get it, you don't like Xbox, but that doesn't mean the 360 is suddenly a failure.

Rhythmattic1560d ago

Porky....
You know how many people I know bought a 2nd or third 360 due to RROD? Even when MS had to confront the issue with replacement systems, my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in, and waiting for a replacement.,,..,..
If that's how you consider it a win... OK.. but so is having 5 , of which 3 don't function.... Its a win win....mwhahahahaha

porkChop1560d ago

"my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in"

You're acting like it would take months. When I sent my 360 in I got a new one literally 5 days later. As soon as MS had tracking confirmation that you sent yours, they'd send a new one to you the same day. No one is going to spend hundreds to buy a new console instead of waiting a week. I swear you guys pull some of the dumbest shit out of nowhere and think people will actually believe it.

Regardless, none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about.

Rhythmattic1559d ago (Edited 1559d ago )

Porky
"You're acting like it would take months"
Sometimes it could.. FFS.. 'Strya here...
Best turnaround I reckon was 2-3 weeks.....
Either way, My mates experiences still exist.. So Sorry, no point trying to earn Xbox Achievements when it doesn't feature in what was a situation you never dealt with,,,,
3 of my friends would disagree (overall, 10 extra Xboxes purchased)
Regardless.. MS sold a lot of 360's that was due to this reason.. That is sales. Fact

"none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about."
Headline says HELLO !
Oh and "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal," that's enough to pass this on without taking your article bias into consideration.....
As for the rest.... Ok.. But you've actually gone out of your way to give MS a Pass... Fap on.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1559d ago
Aloymetal1561d ago (Edited 1561d ago )

Yup, and because of that big fiasco MS had to fork out 1 billion but knowing them I think they're very proud of the 360, it's the only time a MS console reached 80mil+ sales, RROD played a big part of that and a record they will never break again.

Rhythmattic1560d ago (Edited 1560d ago )

So true.. Even when MS accepted they where caught out in the biggest lie of any generation, The wait for a replacement was outweighed by just buying another, and having one be returned as a backup, which, btw, generally failed on first swap.
I own honestly can't believe MS tards are just supporting , or arguing why and what MS did by just dismissing it....

lonewolf101561d ago

Lol I had the Atari Jaguar, surprised its "competition" the 3DO isn't on the list too, both as "popular" as each other.

SullysCigar1561d ago

Lol same. Played the crap out of Aliens Vs Predator and Tempest 2000 .... aaand that's about it really!!

lonewolf101561d ago

Sad but true that was pretty much it.

Kurt Russell1561d ago

Agreed, I never actually saw a 3DO make it to retailers in the UK. At least the Atari Jaguar was sold for around 6 months.

lonewolf101561d ago

It made it to some my brother got one, fared just as well as the Jaguar so most probably hard to find in general.

darthv721561d ago

3do had way better games. Jaguar not so much. Neo Geo sold less than both and yet isnt considered a failure. Go figure.

LWOGaming1561d ago

Stadia is a weird one. It hasn’t sold at all well but in terms of how it works it’s still miles ahead of Xcloud in terms of stability and performance. Xcloud is still a way behind and that needs sorting but it will be in time. Stadia for me is one of those things that will go down as a what could have been moments. With better marketing it could have been a roaring success. I still play it and it remains the best place in my opinion to play CyberPunk 2077. Only platform I have played it on without having any issues at all. The tech is great. The concept is fine. Marketing terrible. Shame really.

Magog1561d ago

The sales model was awful. They should have teamed with an existing player to allow for local and cloud access to games or a gaming subscription service.

LWOGaming1561d ago

It was a strange mess from such a huge company, as I said, as a system it works really well but without gamers it’s nothing. Such a waste,

LWOGaming1561d ago

The Xbox One was Microsoft’s Nintendo Wii U. Undercooked, undersold and just an unholy mess. The thing is with any of these failures is to learn from them and thankfully both Nintendo and Xbox did just that to the benefit of gamers everywhere.

Show all comments (39)
120°

Pivotal Decisions in Gaming History - Xbox Goes All-In on Kinect

Xbox 360's Kinect had flopped yet Microsoft insisted on mandatory Kinect for Xbox One, driving the price up and alienating their potential customers.

Read Full Story >>
techstomper.com
darthv721738d ago

the tech was pretty damn good but their focus on making it the centerpiece was not. Had they opted to keep it as a secondary or even tertiary device, it may have found new use for AR/VR.

PrimeVinister1738d ago

Maybe. But they were two early for VR and too late for motion control

1738d ago Replies(2)
Godmars2901738d ago

Their focus was marketing metrics. Information gathering for targeted advertising. Also "event curating" or head counting for special TV events. If MS had had their way with always online and mandatory Kinect pre COVID, as and during it they'd likely be turning into dominant presence in many Western homes. Be getting subsidized by Disney and other streamers as well as the NFL.

Thing was, Kinect as an actual game system, its games, just weren't ready. MS moved on it too soon. Thankfully.

Atticus_finch1738d ago

Sorry but it was incredibly bad for gaming. The thing barely worked as intended and the games were broken shovelware. And let's not forget all the lies from Xbox to try and sell it. What happened to Milo?
It's like Xbox it's a perpetual lying machine.

PrimeVinister1738d ago

I had almost forgotten about Milo. It looks so unbelievable in retrospect. How did anyone believe it?!

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1737d ago
TheEnigma3131738d ago

Kinect requirement, TV focused, DRM, and $100 buried Xbone before it even stared.

PrimeVinister1738d ago (Edited 1738d ago )

I think Kinect was the worst of the bunch. They reversed DRM overnight and try to play down the TV stuff when they realised it made them look disinterested in gaming.

Kinect stuck around for six months, preventing sales and making more and more people upset when they dropped the Kinect and the price.

Atticus_finch1738d ago

Don't forget the inferior hardware which affects their game development to this day.
And the constant boasting and lying that hasn't change very much to this day.

kayoss1738d ago

I was kind of excited for the kinect. It had potential. That was until i tried it at one of their Microsoft store. The thing was so laggy and worker who was there, had no clue what he was doing. It kind of made rethink about buying an Xbox One with Kinect.

PrimeVinister1738d ago

I had already been turned off of the idea by Kinect for 360. Even when it worked, the games were bad and showed no potential.

Wii made you understand what they were going to do with it within about 10 seconds of Wii Sports. It went on to become a bit of a joke but at least it worked and had a purpose.

Thundercat771737d ago

The damage to the Xbox brand was so hard that til this day they are just the last place brand in the market.

PrimeVinister1737d ago

Totally. They haven't been really all that relevant since.

Godmars2901737d ago

That has to do with repeatedly failing, having to reaffirm only to again fail at creating a competent flow of decent games.

@PrimeVinister:
Until Game Pass and BC are mentioned. Only for the point to be missed.

kayoss1737d ago

thats because they dont know what they want to be. A gaming console, Television, or a gaming service?

Godmars2901737d ago

@kayoss:
They wanted, expected, to be Steam. To have everyone coming to them and paying for the privilege. That's the exact mentality on display when they tried to push always online.

brewin1737d ago

Its sad because the Xbox one version of Kinect was actually pretty solid. Not for motion games, I couldnt care less about those, but for the other features that are now commonplace in the gaming ecosystem. Things like voice control and optional motion features in games. Stuff that Sony did with the PS camera was pretty sweet and they could have done some of that stuff with Kinect.

The tech was pretty sweet when implemented right though. Who remembers the implementation in Dead Rising 3?! You could lure zombies away by saying stuff into the kinect, it was a bit hokey at first, but it actually enhanced the game significantly once you learned all the different voice commands. There was and still is nothing else like that!

The focus on TV seemed to be an issue for people, but the TV pass through had some real potential. They could have had cable companies giving the XBone out instead of cable boxes! I understood what they were trying to do, but they needed to show the games too, and thats where they lost the core gamers. Being able to jump right to a sports event or TV show with out leaving the console was actually a pretty cool thing. I spent many nights switching between NHL games or TV shows and jumping right back into my games seamlessly, just by telling Kinect to do so. It was better than people care to admit, but I loved it!

People say XBone had no games, but on launch I got Dead Rising 3, AC Black Flag, Watch Dogs, Killer Instinct, Battlefield 4, Forza 5, and Ryse. That was actually a pretty solid lineup in hindsight! Then later on it got gems like Quantum Break, Dead Rising 4, Sunset Overdrive, Gears 4 and 5, the Ori games, Rare Replay, Forza Horizon 3/4, State of Decay 2, ReCore (SUPER UNDERRATED GEM), Halo 5, Halo Wars 2, and all the great 3rd party stuff as well! I dare anyone who sat on the Xbox One to go back and give it a shot now.

It was actually a pretty great console all things considered. Yes the PS4 had better 1st party stuff, stuff that MS just couldnt top or even compete with, but there are some really great games that a lot of people missed out on that they would probably really enjoy if they actually played them. Thats why I recommend a Series S and Gamepass to a lot of people, as its a great way to get an awesome lineup pf games for super cheap!

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