When comparing console prices, one side says we should just look at the entry level price, because that's all that matters, while the other side says we need to add in all the extras to compare value. When it comes to the motion controllers, the sides flip-flop.
Sometimes looking stupid is part of the fun. It gives people a chance to let go of their self-consciousness because it is expected for them to look stupid. Karaoke is not popular all over the world because it makes you look cool.
In an interview awhile back, Dr. Marks was asked why Sony decided to pass on 3DV's z-cam (which serves a similar purpose to Kinect's cameras), and his response was that it didn't open up any new possibilities over what they were already doing with the Eyetoy, it just made that functionality more robust. I think what Kinect has shown so far backs up that statement. While Kinect is technically far superior to the Eyetoy, functionally it is doing pretty much the same stuff.
The Wii crowd would go for the Arcade/Kinect bundle, not the Elite, and they have no interest in playing games online, so wouldn't be paying for XBL Gold. If they want the extra features of Gold (Netflix, facebook, etc.), they get them elsewhere.
People who live in glass houses...
They say that the skeletal mapping software has trouble tracking when you sit down. During the conference, they showed that video chat tracking the person on the other end while she was sitting down, but that doesn't need the skeletal mapping, it can be done with the RGB camera using normal head-tracking software.
My guess is "depending on the experience" means "depending on if it needs the skeletal mapping or not." Voice control can be used sitting ...
I knew they were working on similar technology, but are they the ones doing Kinect's software? I thought Microsoft did it all in-house. Could you please post a source?
At least the games at launch will probably have options for one controller or two controllers. eg. The archery game can probably be done by using one controller as a pointer, but the two controller set-up looks like more fun.
During the conference they showed that video chat feature being used, and the person on the other end was sitting down while being tracked by the Kinect unit when she moved.
Edit: Just thought of this, that could have been just regular head tracking software using just the RGB camera on the Kinect unit.
Sorcery was the game that most surprised me with how I actually want to play it. Killzone 3 and Crysis 2, of course, are higher on my list, but I expected them. Sorcery came on the screen, and I thought "That looks kinda crappy," but by the end of that demo, I was thinking I might actually want to pick it up.
I am giving Nintendo the benefit of the doubt with the "interference" excuse on Zelda (they have me wanting to get a Wii again), but everything Mov...
Microsoft released that concept video last year showing ideas of what COULD be done with "Project Natal" if developers choose to develop them, and people took it as truth that it WOULD do those things.
PSEye could do the voice recognition stuff, too. I was expecting Sony to show something like that, just to deflate Kinect's balloon a little by showing they can do it too, but they didn't.
I think Kinect will do some really cool things, but Move is the overall better system. I am a little disappointed that Microsoft didn't surprise me with some core game integrations of Kinect, but mostly I expected exactly the stuff that we have seen from it. It looks like fun for the family, but not fun for the individual core gamer.
There is a company called Sixense that has created a very Move-like controller called Truemotion, whose slogan is "It's YOUR move." It works differently than Move, but functionally is very similar. I was half expecting Microsoft to announce a partnership with them, including that system with Kinect (which would have explained the higher-than-expected, rumored price). Having a system that has the strengths of both Kinect and Move would be killer.
This was the only chance, out of everything they showed for Kinect, to say "Core gamers, we want you to enjoy Kinect, too", but they are throwing that away. Maybe in the months to come they will show something for their core audience because I think Kinect can do some cool things (as long as developers are aware of its limitations), but they are throwing that idea away.
Is it tomorrow that the show floor opens and the press will get to try it for themselves?
1: Metal Gear Solid: Rising supporting Move
2: A Star Wars game supporting Move that looks good enough to play for more than five minutes
That combined with the little bit of lag that is apparent in many of the demos, even from today, and it really limits its uses in core games.
I have been saying for months, it will be really cool for what it does - i thought much of the stuff shown today looked like a lot of fun - but it will have some serious limitations.
"According to a fact sheet released by Microsoft tonight, Kinect will require 175MB of memory to run"
Sounds like RAM to me. 360 has enough of that.
That's exactly what I plan on doing. The games that use the Navigator controller, I will only ever play one-player, or if I do play two, I will use my dualshock for myself. I want two Move controllers, though, for multi-player and for the games that will be better with two.