490°

Microsoft's Kinect Launch Lineup Reveals Imitation, Not Innovation

Ex: Earlier this evening USA Today officially broke the news (which as of this writing has been pulled from USA Today's Game Hunters section) that Microsoft's Project Natal's final name is Kinect. Most likely a play on the words 'connect' and 'kinetic,' the Xbox 360 peripheral is expected to make an impact with its controller-free, motion sensing technology.

Then why is it so easy to draw parallels to the Wii when analyzing the Kinect launch lineup?

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examiner.com
Sunny_D5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

So true. So true. Same thing with the MOVE. Motion controls are jsut a gimmick trying to copy Nintendo's style.

-Alpha5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

But even MOVE is imitating Wii Games. These games are expected to demonstrate the technology. They are easy to make and demonstrate the concept and use of the product in a way that everyone can relate to. That's why they exist. However, I surely expect more to come out of the products.

I don't like articles like this that try to start unnecessary controversy. People shouldn't be surprised seeing these early demo titles. The title of this article makes it sound as if Kinect has to be either innovative or imitative. Frankly the word "innovative" gets tossed around way too much for my liking, but the point is that these titles are completely expected and the title makes it sound like Imitation or Innovation are the only options. So either do something that gamers have never seen or GTFO? I hope no one has endorsed that attitude. I know MS tried to hype it as innovative but that's like believing Sony's PS3 really does "Everything". I have expectations for Kinect but I'm not going to deem it a failure if it doesn't "innovate" gaming, especially based off these demo titles. What kind of journalism does that? The idea is to see the technology and to build off of it. You can't expect complex games to form. Even Socom 4 isn't using MOVE exclusively, we've yet to see a game use the features of motion control more exclusively and we shouldn't today. The following week will change all of that.

I would withhold judgment until the 17th when MS reveals everything else about Kinect.

Remember, tomorrow is not about Kinect at all, just the 360. There is a separate day for Kinect.

deadreckoning6665080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

@Alpha- Bubbles up!

@sunnyd- LOL at ur stealth edit dude.

Aquanox5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

He's jealous because he wasn't invited to Kinect conference.

Watch the damn live blogs and know there's a lot of stuff apart from what LA Times revealed. Double vader's light saber included =)

Conloles5080d ago

Anyone who honestly thought these were gonna be for the hardcore market is delusional, these are such a blatant cash grab for the casual market. I'm pretty disappointed as now we're going to see hardly any hardcore games.

jack_burt0n5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

@alpha

"I would withhold judgment until the 17th when MS reveals everything else about Kinect. "

The natal conference just finished.

@alpha
LOL thats the broadcast of the jungle circus show which just finished.

-Alpha5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

@jack

No, it didn't. This was a private viewing: http://www.e3expo.com/

Look at the right side. They actually changed it, but now it seems Kinect's conference is going to be Tuesday, and today (Monday) will be about the Xbox.

@Conloles

First of all, I just understood your name. Consoles= Con"lol"es. Clever.

Second, motion controls are not going to take over traditional gaming. I do not for a second think a majority will adopt motion controls. As for hardcore games, what makes us so hardcore? Is it the fact that we play complex shooters? RPGs? I mean, I enjoy the Sims, Flower, Rock Band, etc. but apparently these are casual games. I don't care about calling myself a hardcore gamer. I don't care if Move or Natal doesn't have hardcore games. I just want what is appealing to me, and if something appeals to me then I will be interested in purchasing it.

ARBitrator5080d ago

Can anyone name ANY video game that doesn't draw a parallel form something else that they have hear or seen. What is this guy's point, he sound like a crybaby little biotch looking for something to draw hits to his site.

Overall, this article was lame to me.

Bnet3435080d ago

good read alpha male, you'll have 10 bubbles while we all have 4 lol. very good points man.

beardpapa5080d ago

well the guy writing the article is talking about the games MS is pairing with the Kinect.

He's not really saying the device itself is imitation, but that the presented games are really just stuff that the Wii already has and not games that really reflect the potential of the device.

The same can be said about the Move, but hey at least Move showed RE5 and Socom can be done. MS just has to show us that a non-casual game can be done on the Kinect.

-Alpha5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

Sony really didn't show anything exclusive about Move technology. I mean, even the Wii can do the Resident Evil and Socom motion that Sony demonstrated. Would you really notice the difference of the motion technology? This was thrown out just to show hardcore gamers they have Sony's support. I'm still waiting for the games to focus entirely on Move's technology. This was very easy for Sony to do and once they did it it allowed people to ask "Where's Natal's hardcore support?" Smart move by Sony (do I even need to tell you I'm making the pun purposely?) Sony revealed Socom with MOVE a long time ago but I didn't need to see it to know it could be done. I of course wasn't expecting to see complex uses of MOVE all those months ago, but of course, what better way to feed the war than to show a hardcore game with motion support. It was a clever move, regardless of Sony did it intentionally.

Most of what we saw from MOVE focused around those games that no one wants and from what this article is complaining about-- Wii Sports games, that are purposely designed for ease of demonstration purposes. Sony even used that mature fighting game, but again, it doesn't show anything about hardcore games, just outlines, very simply, the technology behind the motion. That's all MS is doing here. Frankly I think the problem is that MS has shown the technology all year and at this point people just want to see the actual retail games.

EVILDEAD3605080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

All year BOTH Move and Natal showed NO innovation.but now it's an issue because of the launch games?

The Natal approach was smart..show the red balls again and again..get bashed by the haters..and watch them huddle by their computer as the news rolls in

Move showed nothing that hasnt been done on the Wii..ever..Sony is just donig something that the Wii can't which is bring better graphics and control..

But Games..ALL have been done on the Wii..
Every demo has been a game from Wii Sports and Wii Sports resort..

They say it appeals to hardcore..but they showed a light gun game..but can they top House of dead Overkill on the Wii?

They use what was a really cool Game Trailers dedut in Socom 4..

But the Wii has been doing shooters forever..
Metroid Prime..like 3 Call of Dutys..Medal of Honer..Conduit..

Hell people sleep on the fact that it was the PS2 using Guncon with the pretty cheesy Redsident Evil: Dead Aim games that tried to innovate the FPS shooter with aiming techniques..

I've said it from day one..Move and Natal need to do exactly what the Wii did to be successful..pack-in a bowling game and some other mini-sports that the family can enjoy in the holidays and show off to other people..and watch the sales pour in.

The author of the article obviously doesnt know much about the games..because there really hasnt been a volleyball game where you set and hit like you would in real life..I honestly think that's a great one..on paper (watch it suck..hard in real life though)

I salute what both Sony and Microsft are doing..but don't sleep on the giant wall of games that the Wii has at your local gamestop..because they have done it all with motion controls ad nauseum..but the differences will ANY of the new motion controllers have a game like Zelda, Mario, or the new Metroid..

That what makes this gen so special..you got so many choices..for fans of ALL systems

Evil

Dark_king5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

well technical the boxing game is just a move game alpha.Then Socom may use both controller or the move with Zipper stating move players had an advantage over DS3 players.But the game I am waiting to hear have Move support is elder scrolls.Cloud got me excited thinking about using it for a game like that.Actully controlling your sword and shield,using voice commands to cast spells.Just got to love the possibilities.And of course any hard core natal game is not going to be ready to show yet.It takes years to make those games and they haven't had that long yet.Actually they probably haven't had six whole months with the final build specs to work with. originally the cam was suppose to do all its own processing when that changed so to would any game counting on using the 360 processor to its fullest.Better games will come,it just takes time to make them.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 5080d ago
niceguywii605080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

"Lame
The author has no idea what's really going on over there.
Who?Disagree(2)Agree(0)Nike | 18m ago"

examiner.com is suddenly PS3 fanboys favorite site again?

Blaze9295080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

examiner.com for ya. Quick, someone turn the event into a tweet so they can understand what's going on.

killyourfm5080d ago

Take a look at my article list and you'll see tons of pro-360 coverage.It's an opinion piece folks, everyone has them.

Nike5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

All you did was look at an ad and summarize that MS is imitating the Wii with Kinect.

No mention of video chat. No mention of Star Wars or Disney. No mention of Track and Field. No mention about the yoga and Tai Chi. No mention about what was actually happening on the floor. You just looked at every one else's rumours and decide to paste your own condescending opinion about it.

If I sound bitter, it's because I find it sad how Examiner's abuse of reporting tweets as news stories caused a legit Tweet feed by a journalist who snuck into and took pics of the event to get failed, while this tripe got passed.

It's not about you being pro-Microsoft or pro-Sony. It's about you being a complete and utter tabloidist only looking to stir controversy for the greatest number of views, passing quick judgement for the sake of some short-term hits.

@Parapraxis: Look at the statement that completes the paragraph -

"You just looked at every one else's rumours and decide to paste your own condescending opinion about it."

We all know MS's strategy for appealing to the casuals with their games, and it's obvious they'd imitate the Wii's library of instant hits. The issue is this guy's reporting. I highly doubt this guy went any where near those demos and tried them out. I'm questioning his credibility and urge to stir controversy just for the sake of N4G hits. That's obvious in the omitted details - you'd think some one who was actually there would mention light saber dueling with Darth Vader in Star Wars.

Parapraxis5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

"No mention of video chat. No mention of Star Wars or Disney. No mention of Track and Field. No mention about the yoga and Tai Chi."
MS is imitating the Wii with Kinect, if you don't realize this...wow.

http://yfrog.com/0y79qhj

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5080d ago
pain777pas5080d ago

Remember the Wii is a response to the eyetoy and that was Sony's baby though I can say that Nintendo is the most successful and will remain the most success full unless Move has a hardcore shooter/horror game that makes use of all the tech. Kinect seems to smell of fail but I want Kameo to succeed so I might get this thing at somepoint at a much lower price point.

Parapraxis5080d ago

So all casual games.
Awesome =D

MostJadedGamer5080d ago

Casual, and Non gamers already got a Wii, and are not going to buy another motion control console while hardcore gamers are not going to touch this crap with a 10 foot pole.

RememberThe3575080d ago

I think it's time for MS fanboys to drop this illusion that Kinetic will offer much in terms of a hardcore experience.

I personally don't see anything wrong with it. There will always be hardcore games so I don't see the casual movement as a threat. The more the merrier. I sure in the future there will be some games that incorporate Natal with the controller but I don't see it being a significant enough addition to warrant the purchase.

epoxy795074d ago

Im tired of debating

http://stanford-online.stan...

watch for yourselves. Sony has been reseaching and perfecting this tech for years before the wii came out. and kinect being innovative give me a break.

open your eyes!!

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 5074d ago
-Alpha5080d ago (Edited 5080d ago )

Of course the early games are Wii-like. I am fully expecting these games to exist, they are pretty much games that demonstrate the technology. Even MOVE has it

I'm sure this is not all MS will offer.

@Kill

Natal's official conference is on the 17th. Hopefully they can make a final impression as it is the last major chance MS has before launch

killyourfm5080d ago

I know it's not all they will offer, and I know the software will improve greatly. But this is NOT a good first impression.

dktxx25080d ago

add to that - when they introduced it, they showed off milo, the super ai that you could have a conversation with. that, turned into river rafting.

not exactly what they led people to believe it was huh?

SOAD5080d ago

What do you mean? They completely scrapped Milo in favor of that river rafting game? If that's true then I'm really disappointed.

Milo's potential was pretty big. Imagine Wolfram-Alpha in human form. That could be Milo.

dktxx25080d ago

okay im not going to say they scrapped milo for river rafting, i dont know. i dont think milo was ever going to be a game actually, it was a tech demo of what it was capable of, so ms said.

im trying to say that ms led gamers into thinking natal was capable of truly impressive, innovative things. and it looks like they have absolutely nothing to show for it that is even remotely unique or innovative. maybe they have more to show for it, but i doubt it.

Unicron5080d ago

Indeed Alpha. But considering how much the media and MS have hyped Natal to be the next big innovative thing... well, this feels remarkably subpar.

I still think the best uses will be in tandem with controllers for games like those in the RTS genre (Halo Wars 2 anyone?). But as it stands, this is a personal "nail in the coffin" for my total NOT caring of motion controls this year, on any system. Until I see something that really is amazingly innovative from Sony or MS on the GAME aspect of these motion controls, that's a resounding MEH from me.

Tony-A5080d ago

I thought they would've thrown a hardcore game in there to steal some of that Sony commitment when they said they'll have things for the hardcore.

Instead, they did what I should've know they would do all along.

Ivan Drago IV5080d ago

"Only $149.99 US dollars" Riiiiver Rush! oh and this http://www.youtube.com/watc...

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80°

Microsoft Opening Xbox Mobile Game Store in July

The Xbox brand is expanding, as an Xbox mobile game store is opening this coming July where Microsoft will brings its "first-party portfolio."

Jin_Sakai1d 7h ago (Edited 1d 7h ago )

“Bond adds that they will start on the web”

This will go nowhere.

Nice knowing you Xbox. This is what happens when the house never gets cleaned.

MrDead1d 7h ago

The only this MS is expanding is the amount of feculence it sprays on everyone who just want to enjoy gaming and make games.

The best thing MS can do for the gaming industry is leave and never return.

XiNatsuDragnel1d 5h ago

Good luck with this even it might not succeed.

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200°

Microsoft once tried to nab LittleBigPlanet from Sony after a few drinks

It turns out that many moons ago, Microsoft once had its eye on the Sony published LittleBigPlanet series.

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eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel2d ago

Microsoft had a good idea but fumbled it again.

Cacabunga19h ago(Edited 19h ago)

Project Spark idea was decent but they quickly gave up ..
LBP was wonderful

ApocalypseShadow1d 13h ago

Microsoft in a nutshell. Always tried to poach Sony employees, games, 3rd party games and devices like the depth camera that was turned into Kinect but was running on PS2 before Xbox 360. Wouldn't be surprised they wanted LBP. Just like they worked behind the scenes pushing the MLB to bring Sony's baseball game to Xbox instead of making their own.
https://www.playstationlife...

They didn't spend years trying to develop their own baseball game. They wanted Sony's game.

They're scum.

Zachmo18218h ago

Microsoft didn't force MLB on Xbox. MLB gave Sony 2 options either go multiplat or risk losing the license.

Rynxie8h ago

And why do you think MLB said that? I believe Ms approached MLB.

ApocalypseShadow7h ago(Edited 7h ago)

Totally ridiculous comment.

The only exclusivity Sony had was to their own creation of The Show. Microsoft could have paid the MLB for the license just like Sony did and made their own baseball game.

Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox. They're worth 3 TRILLION dollars. You think that's not enough money to make their own baseball game? Don't be delusional.

Microsoft spun it like they always do and told the media that they had to trust Sony with their hardware. After they put Sony in that position of not having a choice. Either go multiplatform or stop making one of their successful games. That's a no win scenario.

And what did Microsoft do? They didn't try to sell the game to the Xbox community. They put it on game pass to hurt Sony. Pushing the idea of why buy games that are $70 when you can play them in their cheap service for $10. It was a dirty tactic.

You fell for the Kool aid drink Microsoft served you instead of spitting it out. Hope it tasted good because you were fooled by Phil and the gang.

PonyRider3h ago

Being downvoted for speaking facts is crazy. They want to spin whatever fits their narrative of evil corporation.

Notellin4h ago

"Microsoft instead, groomed MLB for years in trying to poach Sony's game and bring it to Xbox."

Take a nap, conspiracies are rotting your brain.

PonyRider3h ago

The Blue camp really do be doing mental gymnastics.

OtterX21h ago

"However, Healey said Media Molecule wouldn't have felt right doing that, adding it would have been "morally corrupt"."

Major kudos to Media Molecule for being an upright studio with principles.

RNTody20h ago(Edited 20h ago)

Great, more stories like this please. Show the last of the zombies holding the line what we've been saying for years: Microsoft is anti competition, anti industry and has no interest in making games at all.

But hey, at least there's an Xbox Games Showcase to look forward to, right?

Inverno19h ago

Well considering SONY just killed the series, LBP would've been dead by now either way. Though MM probably wouldn't exist by now either, so I'm glad they stayed with SONY, hopefully they don't get shut down any time soon or ever honestly.

Inverno17h ago

They shut down the servers, that's millions of user created levels gone. That and dead are pretty much the same, it's also been years since 3 and they cancelled HUB soooo.

PonyRider3h ago

Lack of investment and killing off the servers ring a bell?

fsfsxii4h ago

They shutdown the servers because no one was playing, no one in the community cared about the user created levels so why keep them up? Wtf you guys would never succeed in running a business.

Inverno3h ago

Yea dood no one was playing so they shut off the servers. Cause people with enough common sense can't just Google why they were actually shut of, right?

Show all comments (22)
60°

Game Studio Closures, Entertainment News, Disney, And More Skewedcast

The full Skewedcast crew back for this episode and Gareth, Justin, Michael, and JoeyZ at Skewed and Reviewed break down the latest entertainment news qith a focus at 40:00 on the Microsoft Studio Closures and how it impacts the game community and what can be done to help offset this negative trend.