Kinect, it's everywhere, I can't step into a game store without the words "have you pre-ordered yours yet?" hitting me with a condescending tone. With every poster, advert and overly pushy sales person I can see Microsoft's $500m ticking away, like coal on the fire of ignorant consumerism.
There's something very dirty about the marketing for Kinect, as if the boundary between the manufacturer and consumer has broken down, making it look almost like Microsoft is paying the consumer to buy their product. This is made even more sickening by the fact that 99% of pre-orders are by people who have never actually played on it. Add to this a ridiculous review embargo and it makes me think MS have something to be ashamed of and, maybe, they do. Everything from the TV ads with little to no actual game footage to staged circus showings are all threads in the metaphorical wool that MS are pulling over the general publics eyes. It's a very sad day when an unproven, laggy, twitch-filled, limited piece of tech like Kinect can be sold on mass with nothing but sheer force of money.
Not only that but MS have made some outrageous claims, which, to my utter disbelief, a lot of people have just swallowed e.g:
Kinect is "next generation experience now" - Aaron Greenberg
http://n4g.com/news/568613/...
"Biggest platform launch in history" - Microsoft Game Studios VP Bill Spencer
http://n4g.com/news/636257/...
"Biggest Innovation In 20 Years" - Peter Molyneux
http://n4g.com/news/588688/...
The last one is my favorite, it's downright laughable when you consider what has come along in the last 20 years: HD graphics, wireless controllers/internet, Online gaming, 3D, 7.1 surround sound, dual analogue sticks, rumble etc.
OK this is probably starting to sound like another Kinect hate-rant but I am coming to my point soon, honestly. Also, unlike a lot of the haters, I HAVE tried Kinect out and in more depth than most. I compare it to the first time you walked past an electronics store and saw yourself in the TV. At first it seems really fun and has you dancing and pulling faces and such but it soon wears thin (unless you're really narcissistic) and you move on. Admittedly the media functionality would be handy but also has its limits (text/number input?) and sometimes(most times) it's just easier to press a button.
This is where I explain the title (finally) and give my prediction/opinion on the impact Kinect will have on gaming. As far as 'controllerless' gaming is concerned Kinect doesn't bring much new to the table. Depth tracking is only useful, in gaming, if it is accurate enough to allow developers to do something interesting with it. For example when playing Playstation Moves' Tumble you can reach into the screen with pinpoint accuracy to 'thread' the onscreen controller though a small hoop. When testing out Kinect I thought it would be good to see if I could do the same, albeit with an imaginary hoop. Turns out you can't, it picked up my depth OK but the onscreen avatar twitched so much that I couldn't be sure that I would hit the same spot twice, like trying to find a keyhole in the dark... with a jellyfish. I left dissapointed and I'm pretty sure that's how most GAMERS will feel come launch day.
It's this dissapointing feeling that makes me believe that the MASSIVE hype surrounding this device will come crashing down on top of it when people realize it's limitations. I'm not arguing Kinects worth to a casual non- gamer but, for the real gamers out there, it changes nothing, there will always be alternatives as long as we are here to demand it, even if we have to buy a different console. 'Core' games will never disappear for good as long as we chose to play what we WANT to play and not what is thrust in our faces by Oprah.
Down with casual shovelware, long live the gamers!
Final Fantasy VII 1997 exceeds 15.5 million units sold worldwide as of February 2026, reinforcing its legacy as the series best selling title.
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There are over 30 ships in Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown, which include enemy and Borg vessels that have some fantastic on-board technologies and weaponry.
The Kinect launch figures will be tremendous.
We will all have to wait to see if the product will sell itself once the financial and marketing push subsides. Not the end of gaming.. just another option for the casual market.
With that said..
I'm going to make a conscious effort to read the "blogs" more often (360 & PS3 base).
"It's this dissapointing feeling that makes me believe that the MASSIVE hype surrounding this device will come crashing down on top of it when people realize it's limitations"
I don't know if this is true. Yes, the limitations are evident, but I don't think the Kinect market will be aware to care.
Because when I see Kinect I don't see it through the N4G/internet gaming community perspective. You have to detach yourself from this because Kinect is detached from this too. Kinect is a casual product. It's a product that isn't meant for us, as evident by the marketing and thematic push MS is giving it.
However, in our Internet Gaming Community, Kinect is largely scoffed. Even the hardcore 360 fanboys speak of how well it will sell, but never about their experiences or their intentions with the product.
I think Kinect has the potential to alter a lot for MS. I won't be surprised if the 360 widens its gap with this thing. It's significant. Not to me, but to Microsoft definitely. This is my problem. I find that they are so over-invested in it that I don't see a good future for the MS that I would expect something from.
I don't think the Kinect market will see the hype "come crashing down". I don't think they care. I don't see them going on the internet to give us their opinion on the future of the 360 or where the industry is headed. That world doesn't exist to them.
They buy the product and they either love it or hate it, or get tired of it. I can't really scold them for that, but I do resent the path MS is taking and I am aware that this new audience is going to take them there.
^^ can you give me an example of how a deep mech game is going to work on kinect?...what gesture do you us for shooting and switching inventory?
whats the gesture for walking, sprinting etc?
or is it just going to be a steamlined rail shooter, with dumded down gameplay?
I checked Molyneux's claim. He didn't say it was the biggest innovation in 20 years, he said it was the "biggest innovation to hit the GAMES INDUSTRY in the last 20 years". Not that that's any more true but there's a distinction.