220°

Molyneux: Kinect is a bigger 'step forward' than the Wii

Molyneux explains that Kinect is a revolutionary product, so it will take time for developers to wrap their heads around the technology and adjust to it. Even the Wii, he asserted, is still a button-based device at its core, so it's easier to design for than Kinect.

Nitrowolf24955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

"[With the Wii,] there's still this reliance on using the thumbstick and buttons, so it wasn't as big a step forward as something like Kinect," the British designer said. "With Kinect, there really is nothing in your hand. Think about that. There is no button."

i don't think he means just the wii with that statement, you are only limited to how much you can do with no buttons. Can you imagine playing COD or HALO with Kinect online, Kinect VS Controllers?, i mean with no joystick how will you move? What about shooting? what about the lag difference?
Buttons are needed
I mean you can say who would play a shooter with Kinect, well yeah i mean it could be tough. With buttons/motion controller you get the same thing at a more accurate and easier way.

ingiomar4955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

They would never do a kinect versus controller game that would be stupid...and if you go online with move you would probably get your ass kicked too

so for now Kinect and Move has no chance against the controller especially with shooters

@Otheros00 below

That is the normal(webcam) camera of kinect..remember it has 3 camera's

PS eye is basically a webcam and can't see you in 3D thats why its specs are higher cuz its designed to see you only in 2D or flat(or whatever you want to call it)
The PS eye wouldn't be able to see you in 3D with those specs thats why it needs the move which doesn't see you..it sees the lightbulbs so it can track you and know where you basically are

but kinect does that all on its own and is able to see your full body in 3D at 30FPS which is really good for an affordable 3D camera

hay4955d ago

@Nitrowolf2: As my modestly intellectual friend tried to explain to me how you will run in Kinect:

- "To run you must run in place."
- "And if I want to run backwards?"
- "Then you run in place but backwards!"
Then he demonstrates running "in place" and moving slowly backwards.
- "So if I want to run sideways I have to run in place but to right or left?"
- "Exactly!"

I hold no responsibility for accuracy of his statement.

moparful994955d ago

Umm I beg to differ.. In eye pet for example you can reach forward and make a "scratching" motion with your hand not the wand and the eye pet reacts as though you are scracthcing his fur... Eye pet can also chase your hand, if you quickly move your hand to the other side of the screen he looks confused and he begins searching and when he sees it he tries to pounce on it.. All of this is done without the move wand so dont sit here and tell me that move can't track your bodies movements... Also, as confirmed by polyphony, you can use the ps eye to track your head in gt5 allowing you to look around the cockpit and around turns... Mind retracting your erroneous statement?

rroded4955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

milo stole his time machine n ran away...

dont listen to wut this ms lap dog says guys a few bricks short of a load anyways...

http://n4g.com/news/611714/...

DORMIN4955d ago

Got to remember people...

Whatever Molyneux says, its the opposite of what it means!

Why o why4955d ago

trus me... Him talking it up is like a kiss of death

MrMccormo4955d ago

As if Molyneux is the person we should be listening to when it comes to step forwards in the gaming industry.

rockleex4955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

Towards on rails and "running in place" kind of games.

If you call that "moving forward", then I'd rather take a step back from all the flailing you're going to be doing.

"Even the Wii, he asserted, is still a button-based device at its core..."

So does that mean the Eyetoy was a step forward the from the Wii... FIVE YEARS before the Wii even came out? And TEN YEARS before Microsoft went that route?

bjornbear4955d ago

SERIOUSLY?! even though nintendo PASSED on the tech?

NecrumSlavery4954d ago

The Kinect can't track wrist or finger movements, everything is waving. Simple up and down movements. Nothing that has not been done before. But thanks Peter, since this technology was already on the PS2 years ago, I guess this means the PS2 is a bigger step forward than the Wii too.

ozps34954d ago

Even a gun has buttons and a trigger. Lol at micro soft. What a bunch of ret@rd$

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 4954d ago
RememberThe3574955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

Conceptually Kinect is a bigger step forward. But that doesn't seem to hold true when you bring it into reality. The tech behind Kinect isn't far enough along to be precises enough for the kinds of games hardcore gamers tend to play.

But, I think (hope) that will change in the next generation of the hardware. Because right now I have not been impressed by the precision of its input capabilities.

moparful994955d ago

Kinect isnt a step forward at all.. In fact the tech behind kinect was previewed and then turned down by both sony and nintendo seeing as it had serious flaws, which are on full display with kinect... In fact sony based the eye toy on the technology that powers kinect.. But they realized that without tangible buttons and tactile response the experience was "lacking" Microsoft bought out the company, known as 3dv tech, and in the course of the development of kinect bought up a couple of more software companies and the collaboration birthed kinect as we know it.. Microsoft could have dones some special stuff with kinect if they left the on board processing alone but seeing as the price was out of that mass market "sweet spot" they were forced to remove the processor and what we are left with is a casual fun fest... You will not see anything even remotely core oriented come out for the kinect.. I will put money on that statement.. You just can't deliver core experiences without buttons and tactile feedback period....

Why o why4955d ago

If they left that on board processor.....on board

blood for lube springs to mind anyway like moparful said...Its hyped to be a bigger step but its really in actual fact a step backwards. Nin and sony sidesteped the tech for a reason. Sony already tested the water with eyetoy so they knew what the implications and limitations would be.

morganfell4955d ago

I said it before and I will say it again. Putting a small electric motor in a device is asking for trouble. I mean absolutely begging to have something break. Of course maybe MS knows the motor will last just over a year...when the warranty has expired.

RememberThe3574955d ago

I said "conceptually". The ability to interact with a game without a controller is conceptually a bigger step forward than the basic Wii control scheme.

Everything in your comment I already know. I was not commenting on how Kinect will work but its concept. Again, not hardware, but concept.

moparful994955d ago

Yea I know.. I wasn't trying to dispute or rebute your claim. I was complementing what you said, you know elaborating on what you had stated for those that don't comprehend too well..

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4955d ago
Theoneneo814955d ago

First of if its a big step forward how is it that NO Big Developers are making games for it the only game thats scheduled to work with Kinect is Harry Pottter last time I check. Sony on the other hand has atleast 5 AAA games that are out now that Support it and more to come with in the next two months.

vhero4955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

He needs to get his head out of MS a**e and start developing great games again. We haven't seen a great new title from him since Fable. Seriously though he's greenburgs little pet monkey what you expect? He was solely responsible for the Milo fraud at E3 2009. As for the irony of wrapping your heads around the new technology as it's easier to write for older tech I say PS3.

BLuKhaos4955d ago

That's funny of Molyneuz considering the Wii is a step foward from the Eyetoy while Kinect is a step sideways from the Eyetoy.

avengers19784955d ago

And we should all listen to Moly because he is not biased at all, and is totally being fair.

bustamove4954d ago

Lmfao, did he just say that?! Bwahahahha!

Seriously man, just wow.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4954d ago
gauntletpython4955d ago

I hope his kid makes a video demanding better Kinect games.

8-bit4955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

lol yeah. Kinect is a step backward in a way. The game types we see on it are all stationary and rail based and it is limited to that

Otheros004955d ago

Kinect is a step back from pseye.
Proof in picture.

Godmars2904955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

Where'd you get that from? And why haven't those tech specs more widely shown if true?

IRetrouk4955d ago

those specs have been known for ages, its in an old article.

RememberThe3574955d ago

Well it does track in 3D...

But why the hell does it cost so damn much if it less of a camera then the PSEye?

gamingdroid4955d ago

Because it tracks in 3D and does mocap. What other technology out there for $149 does that right now?

Heck, I see an iPad for $499, but there are plenty of other iPads that do the exact same thing (albeit less pleasing), for half the cost. Why aren't anyone complaining about that?

One can argue all day long about the value of Kinect, especially since it hasn't been release, but it is hard to argue with the fact that nobody right now has something like Kinect on the market at even close to the price point.

moparful994955d ago

This whole "kinect tracks in 3d" talk is just a defelection from the fact that kinect essentially does the same thing that the eye toy did on the ps2... How many games have you seen that takes advantage of 3d tracking? All 3d tracking does is track your movements through 3d space.. Which means the only thing you can do with kinect is move the 8 or so feet towards your tv before you run out of room.. 3d tracking has no other implementations.. Even move does 3d tracking thanks to the move wand and the ps eye.. You are trying to sell everyone on the lies that microsoft pushed as kinects features... Is there 3d object scanning? Nope. Can you interact with a character on screen ala milo? Yea milo was the biggest lie coming out of the natal proposition.. They had people believing that a truly sentient AI was possible with kinect and they sold the concept with a scripted video showing some woman interacting with milo... Kinect is not doing anything that hasnt been done on the eye toy.. Only reason eye toy flew under the radar is sony's hands off approach to advertising and hype..

fooltheman4955d ago

it works with infrared...or am I mistaken?
it makes a body a lineman with points...
isn't he interpreting how large the points are to see the movement...

Just like sony uses the glowing bulb?

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4955d ago
Godmars2904955d ago

Still only gotten words, not evidence.

Optical_Matrix4955d ago

This is ridiculous. Don't claim Kinect is a bigger step forward than Wii because it uses no buttons. Why are they acting as if controller free gaming is new. I don't care if its improved, the Move is an improved Wii controller, but you don't see Sony marketing it as some never before seen thing. MS and their employee's are fully gassed.

Otheros004955d ago (Edited 4955d ago )

And worst of all it's NOT NEW and HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE BEFORE.
I hate when someone makes a clone of something and claims that it's new, innovative, and has never been done before.

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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."

Read Full Story >>
culturedvultures.com
Knightofelemia817d 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.

Magog816d 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.

CaptainHenry916816d ago (Edited 816d ago )

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

816d ago
CrimsonWing69816d 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.

ThatsGaming816d 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.

Gamer79816d ago

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

septemberindecember816d 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.

Magog816d 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.

porkChop816d ago (Edited 816d 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).

Magog816d ago (Edited 816d 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.

porkChop816d 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.

Rhythmattic816d 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

porkChop815d 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.

Rhythmattic815d ago (Edited 815d 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.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 815d ago
Aloymetal816d ago (Edited 816d 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.

Rhythmattic816d ago (Edited 816d 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....

lonewolf10816d ago

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

SullysCigar816d ago

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

lonewolf10816d ago

Sad but true that was pretty much it.

Kurt Russell816d 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.

lonewolf10816d 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.

darthv72816d ago

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

LWOGaming816d 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.

Magog816d 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.

LWOGaming816d 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,

LWOGaming816d 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.

Read Full Story >>
techstomper.com
darthv72993d 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.

PrimeVinister993d ago

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

993d ago Replies(2)
Godmars290993d 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_finch993d 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.

PrimeVinister993d ago

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

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 993d ago
TheEnigma313993d ago

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

PrimeVinister993d ago (Edited 993d 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_finch993d 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.

kayoss993d 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.

PrimeVinister993d 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.

Thundercat77993d ago

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

PrimeVinister993d ago

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

Godmars290993d 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.

kayoss993d ago

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

Godmars290993d 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.

brewin992d 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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