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Kinect - Optional, Not Mandatory - Why get so mad?

Gamertag Radio writes: "So everyone on the Internwebs is mad the Halo CE 10th anniversary has Kinect support. Why?

It's an optional feature that won't change anything for those playing with the original controllers. Microsoft is not forcing anyone to play this game with Kinect. Why are people so mad about something that isn't mandatory? Is it a fear of change? Or just another reason to just complain?"

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gamertagradio.com
Del6735445d ago

How dare someone give us more than one way to play a game, the nerve of some people.

Kur05445d ago

That is true for Move but for Kinect it is being forced in a lot of games where it has no business being. People are mad because MS is abandoning the hardcore.

Kur05445d ago Show
Del6735445d ago

But you forgot to mention Heroes on the Move and the new No More Heroes game which are both Move titles. Also can't really compare games that are designed for Kinect to games that have move support. It is literally the same thing differant company. They are adding Kinect support and making Kinect games just like Sony is making Move games as well as move supported games. There is no argument unless both are "abandoning the hardcore," as you stated. The knife cuts both ways in this instance.

falviousuk5445d ago (Edited 5445d ago )

Kinect Fable is a kinect title.
Ryse can use the controller kinect is optional
ME3 is optional
Ghost Recon is optional
Forza is optional

Another ignorant person on here trying to piss on something he clearly knows nothing about.

Learn what the word optional means

The_Ultimate_Guy5445d ago

@ Kur0

Prove to me that game that are only for Kinect would exist if Kinect was not around.

How is Kinect being "forced" on us? You don't need to buy Kinect games. You don't need to use Kinect for Hybrid games like ME3 or GR. Nothing is being forced so quit your bitchin about Kinect. You can play Kinect Hybrid game without using Kinect, so therefor it's not being forced on you. You don't need to buy Kinect games like RYSE which only exist because of Kinect.

Nothing is being forced on you. It's OPTIONAL. Beinf "Forced" means you don't have any options, you have to use Kinect whether you like it or not, and that is only for Kinect only games. Which like stated, wouldn't exist anyways without kinect so you wouldn't have had to play them anyways.

ginsunuva5445d ago

It's being forced on devs, not us.

ImHereNow5445d ago (Edited 5445d ago )

I see you are still mad that Kinect recognizes you as two people.

I would be mad too if I was so fat everytime I wanted to play Halo Anniversary, it loaded to splitscreen.

snipes1015445d ago

@kur...Microsoft has forced nothing on me. Any core games (such as Halo, mass effect, ghost recon etc.) that have been announced to have kinect compatibility have had it as an entirely optional thing. Just because its there does not mean we have to use it if we do not want to. Forced "in" and forced "on" are two entirely different concepts.

Redgehammer5445d ago

I feel I am a hardcore video game aficionado, and I do not feel abandoned.

kingdoms5445d ago (Edited 5445d ago )

Developers are jumping for the opportunity to use kinect It's not forced It's business. Microsoft are not forcing 3rd parties to support kinect, in some cases all games will use kinect the the devs lineup.

The only people complaining about it willfully ignorant about kinect are people that don't even own the 360 perpetrating the 360 community claiming we're angry speaking for us. All this because the popularity and momentum has caught haters and competition off guard with some even secretly envious for one reason or a other.

southernbanana5445d ago

I've noticed most of the people who are so down on the Kinect sensor are the same people who do not own one and have no intention of owning one.

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fr0sty5445d ago ShowReplies(4)
Agent-865445d ago

I think it's more that some core 360 gamers would rather not have MS and developers waste resources "shoehorning" Kinect into games it really doesn't belong in and instead, putting those resources into making the games better or even creating a new IP or two. I'm a PC gamer myself, but, if I was a 360 gamer, I would probably be a little upset with all the Kinect focus when, as a core gamer, it has little appeal to me.

Bigpappy5445d ago

How exactly is it wasting resources when they are selling more 360 now than they ever have, since the release of Kinect? Why did you not get upset at Sony for focusing on Home, 3D and Move? Kinect has had a bigger impact than any of those projects. Kinect has actually brought M$ new customers. What exactly has those projects done for Sony? You are not making any sense as there is alot of Kinect focus on PC too.

Hicken5445d ago

Probably because all those 360s are being sold to casual gamers, and they're being bought FOR the Kinect. It may also have to do with their marketing strategies when the Kinect first released: you want a 360? Gotta shell out the extra cash to buy one with Kinect, cuz that's all we're making.

Sony's moves made their CURRENT customers happy. They came out of the gate with the MOVE having both a good number of games where it was necessary, and an equal number of games where it was optional. So far, only Child of Eden has "Optional" Kinect support, after nearly half a year of that accessory being out.

Agent-865445d ago (Edited 5445d ago )

@Bigpappy, wow, you really love your Kinect. First, it's wasting resources as far as the core gamer is concerned. I don't think core gamers care that MS is selling more 360's to casual gamers because of Kinect. Second, I didn't mention Sony because the article was about Kinect and so, therefore, was my comment. If I said anything about Move or Sony, I would have been called a troll for changing the subject (much like you are doing). And last, there is no Kinect focus on the PC, just a bunch of hacks. They aren't forcing the thing into my games. As far as I know, BF3 doesn't have Kinect in it. There are no PC games that have the "better with Kinect" crap. Thank god for that.

Godmars2905445d ago

1) Because it $150.
2) MS advertised it as an alternative to the regular controller.
3) As an "aid" to a standard controller already existing methods are being ignored. Like voice command in ME3 not being done via headset.

Vega755445d ago ShowReplies(2)
mendicant5445d ago

Godmars,

Research is your friend.

What you don't realize is that the voice command functions of Kinect are far more advanced than just adding a headset and having it pick out what you say.

Kinect is more so about the actual software, something you obviously know zero about.

fr0sty5445d ago (Edited 5445d ago )

Actually, you need to do some research. Software is software, which means the XBOX (not Kinect) is what is doing the processing. That renders kinect nothing more than a microphone when it comes to voice commands (a few mics actually, but that is irrelevant.). The only thing Kinect is doing is passing that voice data on to the Xbox to process. The same exact thing would be possible with a headset or any other microphone for that matter. Pass the voice signal on to the Xbox, then Xbox uses the SOFTWARE to interpret the command into some form of game control. Nothing exclusive to kinect, which is what Godmars was talking about.

Kinect's voice control works EXACTLY the same as any other form. It listens for words, matches them to a predetermined set of phrases it can recognize, and then uses that as input. Notice every time they showed it in action during the MS E3 conference, they always had certain things you could say to trigger an action? That's why. It's just matching that sound to what it knows those phrases sound like, the exact same way I used to be able to say "Play artist: Tool, Song: Lateralus" with my PC back in the 90's.

Voice recognition is nothing new, and it's damn sure nothing Kinect can only do. Voice control has been in video games since the Nintendo 64's "hey you piccachu" or dreamcast's "seaman". It's not exclusive to Kinect, never was, and never will be. And all it has or ever will require is a microphone and a computer of some sort to process the audio. MS is just making you pay $150 to use it.

mendicant5444d ago

"Software is software, which means the XBOX (not Kinect) is what is doing the processing. That renders kinect nothing more than a microphone when it comes to voice commands (a few mics actually, but that is irrelevant.)"

I stopped reading after that because you proved right there that you have no idea what you're talking about. Processing? You think that's what this boils down to?

Have fun with that.

Redgehammer5445d ago (Edited 5445d ago )

Godmars, why do you not get that a headset and what Kinect does are different? It has been stated in white papers, research papers, N4G articles etc? There is pure science, and engineering, that went into the audio pipeline aspect of Kinect. It really is quite a device. I am not trying to attack you, I just don't get it, that is all. The following article is a good read.
http://research.microsoft.c...
Edited to ask:
@frosty
Where did you get your infromation about Kinect's audio capabilities?

Sheikh Yerbouti5445d ago (Edited 5445d ago )

"Advanced Audio Capabilities: Audio processing capabilities include sophisticated acoustic noise suppression and echo cancellation, beam formation to identify the current sound source, and integration with the Windows speech recognition API."

According to your article, Kinect processes sound to allow speech to be captured from anywhere four feet in the vicinity of the speakers, cancelling ambient sound and using acoustic algorithms to pick up everything you say. Thus eliminating the need for a headset,...or you can just have a headset.

I'm sorry, but it is possible without the Kinect. It just needs the code to do speech recognition is all.

Redgehammer5445d ago

Btw it is 4 meters, not feet.

Bigpappy5445d ago

Why are you guys still crying about this. Bioware alread said that the feature is for Kinect because it does not require additional software to work. Kinect has UNIQUE voice capabilities. It is not just a mic.

This is like a 360 owner crying over PS3 owners getting extras on a bluray disk. Bluray is a disk like DVD is a disk, but bluray can carry much more info. Kinect has a mic, but it is not a simple mic like a headphone.

shoddy5445d ago

if Kinect can pick up strong accent then it is unique.
if not then it's same as others.

Frost explain it real well.
face it folks voice command is everywhere.
unique my butt.

my samsung galaxy s2 have it.

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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."

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culturedvultures.com
Knightofelemia1578d 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.

Magog1577d 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.

CaptainHenry9161577d ago (Edited 1577d ago )

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

1577d ago
CrimsonWing691577d 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.

ThatsGaming1577d 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.

Gamer791577d ago

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

septemberindecember1577d 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.

Magog1577d 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.

porkChop1577d ago (Edited 1577d 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).

Magog1577d ago (Edited 1577d 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.

porkChop1577d 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.

Rhythmattic1576d 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

porkChop1576d 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.

Rhythmattic1575d ago (Edited 1575d 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.

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Aloymetal1577d ago (Edited 1577d 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.

Rhythmattic1576d ago (Edited 1576d 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....

lonewolf101577d ago

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

SullysCigar1577d ago

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

lonewolf101577d ago

Sad but true that was pretty much it.

Kurt Russell1577d 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.

lonewolf101577d 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.

darthv721577d ago

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

LWOGaming1577d 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.

Magog1577d 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.

LWOGaming1577d 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,

LWOGaming1577d 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.

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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.

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techstomper.com
darthv721754d 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.

PrimeVinister1754d ago

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

1754d ago Replies(2)
Godmars2901754d 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_finch1754d 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.

PrimeVinister1754d ago

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

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TheEnigma3131754d ago

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

PrimeVinister1754d ago (Edited 1754d 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_finch1754d 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.

kayoss1754d 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.

PrimeVinister1754d 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.

Thundercat771754d ago

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

PrimeVinister1754d ago

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

Godmars2901754d 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.

kayoss1753d ago

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

Godmars2901753d 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.

brewin1753d 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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