Wow, what an original idea for an article.

I love my Child of Eden, I wouldn't want to play that game any other way actually. But, it's a long time coming before anything of substance accompanies it. And no, Dance Central doesn't count. Not because it doesn't count, I just personally don't need it. I don't think they're focusing too much on it. It's what they've decided to focus on concerning it, that I'm not particularly impressed with. A little too casual for my tastes. Not all of it, just too much of it.

1ST and formost kinect moved alot of 360,s and MS is going to push kinect to the very end.the core games are gonna be there no matter what.nintendo went total casual and now there trying to win them back with the Wii U.kinect exended the life of the 360,so alot of attention is being focused on kinect.don,t forget casuals outnumber the core this generation.

right microsoft?

yes they are. kinect this round should be a development exercise and not the main attraction as it simply is not ready. not saying it is broken, just not up to MS' marketing message. i think next gen will be a huge improvement, so focussing on it so much right now could jeopardise the future kinect, the kinect they have promised but not quite delivered. speaking from experience here as I dust around one on my TV every week and havent turned it on for 3 months.

They're doing exactly what any other company does that tries to sell a new product. They have games for the hardcore covered already. People just want something to bitch about.

Leave them alone. Let them sell their product. Let them be the billion dollar company that they are.

GET OVER IT BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kinect is here to stay whether you like it or not. Either don't buy it, or find an alternative that fits your needs.

Edit: LOL thanx

yes they are too focused on kinect. Honestly, who can blame the company for its new direction? They hit a gold mine, and they will continue to feed it casual games like DisneyKinect and SesameKinect, etc etc. Its going to sell like hotcakes. Some casual games are really fun, but when you are just dropping shovelware ala Nintendo style, its going to get bland rather quickly.

More importantly, they are not supported the hardcore market as much. Unless 360 fans are ok with Gears of War, Halo as their only core titles... ( i dont consider COD hardcore anymore, since cod4.) Sure there will be multiplats, and a couple other third party exclusives. But I'm just saying SONY and NINTENDO keep pumping unique first party titles into their libraries.

Ill repeat what i said the other day, sorry for the spam people, ipad sucks at quick editing

Sigh...anybody can pull a quote dude. I noticed you missed greenberge's array of crap talking quotes but you've stated MS aren't innocent so kool i only mentioned it because you said something about focusing on the negative an all that.

'Unnecessary skepticism'....really?

Closing and disbanding studios.

Having less studios than they began with, 500 mill (alleged) on Kinect

More kinect games announced than core exclusives at the main gaming trade event.....

Rare announces kinect game instead of Killer Instinct

6 plus month gaps in retail (non kinect) exclusives, c'mon man.

Its not all doom n gloom but MS have shifted their focus and keeping the people who want to believe alls well with the same 4 games. Multiplatform games dont come into this as they have always been there when both hd consoles were released so that point is full of holes.

MS is relying on multiplatform games to appease its core whilst they court our younger siblings and mothers with their 'casulation' from the avatars to the dashboard to kinect. How can you not see it furthermore how have you not seen some of n4g's most ardent 360 followers express disappointment over the past year for the same reasons im stating. They cant ALL be ps3 fanboys or kinect haters can they?

Multiplatform games are NEEDED, many of the great games this gen are in fact multiplatform games but wasnt the point about MS's 07/08 lineups being the best evar because of the exclusives...why move the goalposts now? You dont close studios and expect to magically create games. MS decided that it wasnt financially viable to fund the upkeep of studios...it opted for paying for timed exclusives and dlc and sometimes a combo of the two. Thats how they appease their fanbase and for some thats perfectly fine. Some people just want more games to choose from and they come in the shape of exclusives. Just look at the amount of comments made when a good game goes multi...some because of spite and sheer fanboyism (both sides) but some because another game gets added to their pool of potential games. If ps fans dont want to play dante's inferno, they may play god of war; prototype, infamous; baja, motorstorm etc, yes MS fans can also say crackdown gears, halo, fable but you catch my drift... some people love x genre so much they buy em all, you think they're complaining because theres more choice? MS has been lessening the need for the 360. Im not getting rid of mine, gears is coming but all the multis are just that so i can play them on whatever.

From a retail manager... ...Xbox came out first and captured the market. Nearly every Jr. High and high school kid has it and that is why it sells so much software.

The Kinect was targeted towards moms during the holiday season on Oprah and Ellen that is why it sold so much.

These things HAD a major impact on the gaming industry but like most things the cream floats to the top.

Over the last couple of months the PS3 has outsold the XBOX with many 360 owners finally giving in to the fact that the 360 has little to offer. It gets harder every month to be loyal to a system that really does not know its identity.

Microsoft thinks that the kinect is their path to profit. The reality is the games suck. People keep buying games currently to justify the $149 they spent on it while the core owners of the XBOX buy PS3's and realize what it has to offer. The fact is the actual stand alone Kinect sits on shelves with little to no movement.

The consumer eventually wises up to the reality of the situation. Kinect is garbage. Seaseme street and Disney theme park games are not cutting edge. You as the controller is great in theory but terrible in reality.

Microsoft blew it. They had the industry in the palm of their hands. The majority. All they had to do was push out some great titles.

Instead they chose the average gamer and the quick fix to revenue. Consumers wise up to this eventually. Microsoft lose their core audience to the PS3 daily and what it has to offer. I have seen this over and over the last few months.

If the next Sony system hits the shelves at the same time the next Xbox hits who buys what? Casual gamers don't rush to the stores for the next best thing they wait for it to be trendy. Gamers rush and turn it into trendy.

What do you buy? I buy what has the most to offer... ..and playing a game as Elmo or touring Disneyland is not what I am looking for. By the way I have three kids 9,7 and 4.

I don't see anything wrong with adding small kinect features to games (like Ghost Recon and the gun modding). It dosn't have to be a full kinect halo or gears but small pieces to make the bigger picture better. Its the simple things that really shine..

Plus someone has to step up and try to do something different or else we will all be playing the same rehashed game play for years.....change only happens when someone has the balls to make it happen

During the KINECT Launch and all the interviews after MS clearly stated 2011 was gonna be all about KINECT so why are we having this discussion?

"Is Microsoft too Focused on Kinect?"

No-no-no-no.

/S

Uh, do we need any more confirmation of this except the fact that Kameo 2 and Perfect Dark Core were cannned so Rare could make Kinect Sports?

YES!

I supported Microsoft by buying a launch model of both the original XBOX and the XBOX 360. I continued to support them as a loyal customer.

Now, they have completely betrayed me buy shifting ALL their focus onto Kinect and the Nintendo Wii casual market.

A couple things based on what I've read so far...

The 360 IS supported by a ton of gamers that don't care about exclusives. As long as there's a Madden, FiFa, or CoD released annually, they're happy. As a multi-console hardcore gamer, I find this line of thought to be a detriment to the industry. "We support you for giving us less every year".

The 360 IS supported by a ton of gamers...true gamers that demand more from their console of choice. These are the people that want more quality games like Alan Wake and ???? Those people don't want to rely on multiplatform releases, especially this year when so few multiplatform games are any good. We've seen Dead Space and what? LA Noire. Two really good games swimming in a sea of crap. These are the gamers that are getting fed up with MS's treatment of their base...they're also the people the make up the other 45 million that do not own, nor care about Kinect.

For the price of Kinect alone, you can buy a Wii and have a similar experience. Mom and grandpa won't be out buying an expensive accessory just to pretend to work out. That ship has sailed.

Exclusives make or break consoles. The only exception seems to be the Xbox 360. Why? Media hype and fanboys. If you're happy with with the 360's current line-up 3 exclusives coming after an ENTIRE year since the last (Reach), then you are either a casual or a dedicated fanboy. Earlier in this gen, the PS3 was crucified for having a poor line-up of games, and rightfully so. The 360 is now in the same position the PS3 was, but fanboys, the media, and casuals have allowed it to escape the same criticism. Remember all of those "articles" on the top gaming consoles of all time? Would any of you place the 360 anywhere near the top ten with it's piss poor line-up of games from the past 3 years? Gears and Halo...that's all you have to look forward to which leads me to...People need to stop placing Forza along side the true giants from Microsoft. Bundles and major discounts are the reason why the series has sold what it has, which is less than 3rd or what Halo 3 alone has. We're talking less than 9 million for the entire franchise. Forza is not one of those franchises that people wait in line for or pre-order months in advance like Gears and Halo. It's also not a 6 million+ seller like Gears and Halo. It's a solid franchise with a great meta-score, but it is not a system seller.

As for MS's focus on Kinect, they really have no choice. There's nothing left of the other side of the business and they know it. They've ruined relationships with 3rd party devs and closed down most of their studios. They've basically done the same thing as Activision by only supporting guaranteed hits like Halo and Gears. The difference is, they don't have a CEO that's foolish enough to admit it.

This thread is making me sick. Who cares what Microsoft is supporting. So there's only like 5-6 exclusives coming out. Who can afford to buy them all. Anyway there are so many good multiplatforms games coming out that it's a good year to be a true gamer. I believe a true gamer is someone who believes in exclusives up to a point. Bit I'd never trade in a console cause it doesn't have enough exclusives, only idiots do that. So Microsoft is giving a couple amazing exclusives and supporting the rest on casual. My hardcore gaming is satisfied. So stop b****ing and play your console of choice. Just shut up about it.

This is definitely the problem a console company has when they introduce peripheral hardware late / mid life cycle of a console.

They have to support it full force otherwise it will most certainly die. However, the millions of fan base gamers who dont have said add-on will feel completely abandoned as the company is focused on the getting all to add that device. Its called splitting your base and I wouldn't recommend any company do it.

Sony did it with the PS Move but they have taken a different approach which is to not truly push the device but treat it as add-on tech here and there. Very few games "require it" and it does enhance here and there but on a whole its like just another controller. No real push from Sony to get you to buy it. MS had to push on Kinect since it was such a unique departure from the game pad. If they don't go all in on this, Kinect most certainly would die off much like their vision camera (which being honest was total shit).

I definitely think MS is too focused on Kinect. The tech isn't there yet, Kinect can't really offer quality gaming experiences, either core or casual, the controls are far too limited and imprecise.

Throwing away the hardcore group and going more casual than Nintendo was a lame tactic. Thankfully, many gamers are jumping ship. $190 to play Dance Central is insanity.

I blame Nintendo for messing up this generation of gaming with motion control crap, that company created a trend that follows. Well at least Nintendo realize it abandon its hardcore gamers. Now Nintendo making up for it with the WiiU, a game system that should of been the Wii itself back in 2006. Back in 2006, Nintendo would of still won the console war if this new console was release back than. Kinect!!! What an atrocity that came to the 360!!! This is what will extend the life of the system? As if great games weren't the reason for the extension? With little to no exclusives 360's future is uncertain. As for Playstation on exclusives as usually, which is great!!! They treat their Move like a secondary device that's really not needed, because its a bit tag-on. Playstation 4 is a bright future for Sony, with 3 successful systems under their belt.

I need a moderator...

Tell me again how the multiplatform strategy was supposed to fix everything. Look at your results and compare them to Nintendo, which keeps thriving with exclusives. Your loyal fans are gone. And let’s not forget the pile of IPs you purchased only to let them rot.

The worst thing is this is down from last years numbers/expectations which was down from the previous years numbers/expectations. You think about how long “down” has been a consistent part of the communication and you realize those subscriptions are what’s holding that boat together. The price cut of gamespass is still a price raise in a string of price raises. They are trying to use players to offset the missing revenue. Now call of duty is out of gamespass, which is literally WHY they bought the company. To draw people to the subscription. They realized they missed a boatload of money and that wasn’t sustainable. Now you pay for it like you would have if they never bought the company… so why buy the company? Mind you those billions still need to be paid back. Yeah it gives you a chance to say we make the biggest FPS… but the internal conversations must be brutal at high level on topics that really matter. Like revenue. Profitability. And ROI for the shopping spree.

Is this like the 10th quarter in a row they're down 33% on hardware how is that even mathematically possible. You would think their mediocrity would Plateau

Helix will be expensive but it's still a day one for me.

Oh, my days...
So Nadella meets with the US president multiple times to ensure AI regulations are minimal if any at all, donates to the inauguration and ballroom, and his boy not only won't regulate AI as farmers lose land and billionaires/corporations buy up farmland to build data centers...but because he's insane and compromised, he starts a war on behalf of a rogue colonial zionist state and [further] destabilizes the Middle East, restricting component access and helium supply.

Now the head of Xbox is saying the hardware pricing "could impact" next generation hardware pricing? Asha,...your boss at a minimum played a direct role in this. What are we even talking about?

Yea because a $3 trillion company can’t absorb the majority of the cost to keep the product lower for consumers.

Expensive… oh no, here comes another flop.

Could? Strange how prices rise for virtually everything we buy, yet when things settle down, prices don't come down. This has been happening in the UK probably before I was born. With that, how much is a next gen console going to cost? Look at the price of the PlayStation 5 Pro, which has been a flop for Sony. On that note, we don't need the next consoles for another 5 years.

I guarantee if people just stopped buying this kinda stuff all together. This would all be sorted within 2 weeks and everything would be back to normal.

We seen the exact same thing through the COVID period. Companies just jumped on the bandwagon realising that they can get away with charging far more under false pretences and fear mongering.

Consumers now have this fear of "you know what, I only live once. I'm going to spend all this money I earned through my hard work" Or "I only live once I'm going to take a loan out and enjoy my time here".

Silicone Valley spends literally billions of dollars researching how much they can push society to the limits to increase spending. You can research it yourself. There's published written documentation about it. Have a look for yourself into their group research into subscription programs to see how evil they are and why it's such a giant focus of current civilization. Its the very essence of corporate capitalism.

Just delay all new consoles. I could easily go another 5 years with my base PS5.

could? it's already affecting current gen pricing.

It is greed. Apple are selling at the same price, while Microsoft Surface increases 500$ per unit. Karma will tell.