110°

The Failings of the Kinect Two Years Later

"The Kinect for the Microsoft Xbox 360 was one of those peripherals that at the time looked like it could have been a big deal. Motion control on the Wii was currently all the rage and even then, it was using a controller with some waggle to control games."

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explosion.com
sway_z4123d ago

Kinect is a big fail in terms of pushing boundaries...almost a novelty (same for PS Move), and it only sold well because MS marketed the hell out of it.

I lost interest when they abandoned that interactive 'Milo' concept (lie) demo MS showed the press to get everyone pumped!!

I really can't stand motion controls

StrongMan4123d ago (Edited 4123d ago )

Exactly. Kinect is a franchise killer. Fable used to be a 5 million seller but Kinect turned Fable the Journey into a 150k seller. Even Dance Central don't sell anymore.

Even the so called "better with Kinect" games sell less because of Kinect. Forza was also a 5 million seller without Kinect but now Forza sales have tanked with Kinect integration.

GalacticEmpire4123d ago

"Kinect is a franchise killer. Fable used to be a 5 million seller but Kinect turned Fable the Journey into a 150k seller."

To be fair the series was on a downward spiral before the Kinect version came out.

SilentNegotiator4123d ago

@Galactic

Fair enough. But a more traditional entry would have done better than 150K.

But like Strongman said, even Dance Central has tumbled quickly, and in terms of quality, that's like, the best thing to happen to Kinect.

AngelicIceDiamond4123d ago

Well if Kinect is a franchise Killer then thank god PS Move is hardly around anymore right.

darthv724123d ago

kinect didnt kill the franchise's the same way as the limited improvements did.

There have been many games made before that had rather quick turnarounds for a followup that didnt really impress on what people expect from a retail release.

Kinect is the scape goat here because of a genuine disinterest in what it had the potential of offering. There may be some legit efforts made but they are overshadowed by the quick cash in on the trend.

Much like 3d this and that for content that isnt deserving of the 3d effect. It tends to cloud the market from those who really want to see what it can offer and in turn gets a bad rap overall.

I have no doubts that real dedicated kinect or move designed games would have the ability to stand out as examples of how it should be done but the number of studios that have the talent to produce are few and far between.

Kinect/move didnt fail the gamers. the devs failed move/kinect by not adhering to a set of standards and settling for the easy way to cash in.

4123d ago
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Y_51504123d ago

I agree. Milo seemed incredible seeing something at the time. But the best game I've played so is Gunnstringer. It's an alright game but nothing special.

To conclude; Kinect is failed potential.

LackTrue4K4123d ago

I see the same thing happening with that new projector there showing off.
The same thing is being said, "it's got potential"
In my eyes, it's just another fail.

Angainor74123d ago

kinect is sh*t indeed but i see you haven't lost your interest when those ps3 e3 demos (killzone, motorstorm) proved bullsh*t.

Ron_Danger4123d ago

Oh comment section... This is why we can't have nice things...

dedicatedtogamers4123d ago

Microsoft is a software company. They've proved time and time again that they can't really push hardware in terms of innovation.

Microsoft should just leave the gaming tech advancements to Sony, Nintendo, Apple, etc and then they can swoop in 5 years later and claim they invented it all along, just like they always do.

EddieNX 4123d ago

Motion controlls are great. But they can't be your main controll method like on the wii.

Wii sports was an amazing game with some friends , it changed everything. The only way you wouldn't agree with that is if you never played wii sports with some friends. On that basis alone Motion controlls will be welcome as a secondary gaming input IMO.

And Skyward sword , Imagine playing thst game with buttons ? it would suck ass...

zebramocha4123d ago (Edited 4123d ago )

@sway What? Move only failing is people who can't grasp the idea of motion gaming because the tech is there just no one to use it.

Phoenix764123d ago

i agree with you there about the move being a novelty.... but my 6yr daughter still love it lol

Bigpappy4123d ago

Kinect did push boundaries. Kinect Sports and Dance Central are hugely successful and unique experiences. If you look at 360 sales during the holidays, you would notice that Kinect bundles were more than half of the units sold. There are close to 30 million Kinects out there. I you guys see that as a failure, I don't know what success is.

I would agree that they have not release anything to show major advancement in the last year, but it is by no means close to being dead.

What I have not seen any info on is "the Move". That seems to be dead at this point.

SilentNegotiator4123d ago (Edited 4123d ago )

"Kinect Sports and Dance Central are hugely successful and unique experiences"

1) Dance Central sales crashed and burned. It WAS a successful series.
2) Kinect Sports is about as unique as about a dozen Wii games.
3) Dance Central IS a Wii game and the average user doesn't care that Kinect tracks better; they're just playing to dance around.

And of course you brought up the Move; you're simply bitter and need to pretend like Kinect's failings are actually the fault of TEH SONI FANBOISS!! to salve the pain.

AD7054123d ago (Edited 4123d ago )

No one is denying that it sells well. It's just the simple fact that it's not as "revolutionary" as it was led to believe. The only reason why dance central and kinect sports sold at all was the fact that they're the only 2 games on kinect that you can play and will work most of the time. Every other kinect game is glitchy, unresponsive, and generic at best. Do you see any shooters, rts, adventure, action/hacknslash, platformer, rpg, racing games coming out for kinect? No, and theres a good reason why. It's because kinect can't work for crap with these genres and when it attempts to it fails epically. I don't like the wii mote much at all but atleast it works most of the time with everything while kinect can't even have a game off rails.

BTW how are those games innovative? kinect sports is just a cheap knock off of wii sports, and dance central is just another dancing game.

4123d ago
+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 4123d ago
whatswithjeff4123d ago

If VR games became a reality, Kinect will definitely die.

sprinterboy4123d ago

I dont own kinect but I was always interested in it, but everytime I went to purchase it I had second thoughts when having a go in the store with it, it just seemed alittle laggy same when I tried angry birds on the samsung tv`s just not worth it imo. Having said that I will look closely on the unveil of kinect 2 when the nxt gen of consoles come round, maybe the tech was alittle too early for microsoft with xbox360, but they had to prolong the console some how i guess at the time.

XXXL4123d ago

I agree. Can't stand kinect. Tried PS move too and it sucks. I just hate motion controls in general

kma2k4123d ago

Sadly enough i have both Kinect & PS Move i actually have to admit they are fun if & only if you are having a party with a bunch of people. Kinect is very fun if you are a parent with a group of children wanting to play. But as a gamer i hate them, i mean serisouly loath them.

My biggest suggestion for kinect is make ALL games controller & kinect accesable. Especially the kids games, my 3 year old loves the dance games & kinectamals but since he is small it has a hard time with the menu's & selecting stuff but playing the game is fine. Let me choose everything with the controller but the actual gameplay being motion controll!

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120°

Microsoft’s Surface and Xbox hardware revenues take a big hit in Q3

Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.

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theverge.com
darthv7212h ago

Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.

purple1011h ago

Xbox hardware revenue tanks to lowest point of Xbox Series generation

Profchaos1h ago

I'm not surprised surface is struggling they aren't relevant anymore

XBManiac37m ago

Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.

SimpleDad22m ago(Edited 21m ago)

"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."

That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.

purple1012m ago

Activision: "we gonna need a bigger rucksack/backpack please"

Microsoft: "why's that"

Activision: "to carry yo' weak ass'

300°

Microsoft Seemingly Closes Bethesda France

As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people

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insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere1d 9h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN1d 6h ago

If they are let go, they can be whatever they want. They ARE 3rd party now... 🤦

Barlos1d 3h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN21h ago

They can form a company if they want, they are just as jobless as if "Microsoft had left them as 3rd party".

peppeaccardo22h ago

"MIcrosoft leaves Bethesda do what they know how to do best" ... close! Oh the irony ....
(Citation from a week old article)

ChasterMies18h ago

I think Microsoft and other game publishers are letting people go because they think ai will replace them. Doesn’t matter how much profit they make. They were always going to be let go.

PassNextquestion1d 8h ago (Edited 1d 8h ago )

Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much

Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region

blacktiger1d 6h ago

that's a shame for you to say that, i'm sure Elite loves hearing what you just said.

Mr Logic16h ago

What a stupid thing to say. The elites give 0 fucks what we say on an obscure website in the comments section.

Crows9016h ago

You can always reach out and give them jobs at your company man. Don't wait

Profchaos1d 8h ago (Edited 1d 8h ago )

Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.

I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games

Tacoboto1d 8h ago

It's France too, there's a high likelihood only 1-2 people on the team even had an Xbox.

Profchaos1d 7h ago

Possibly guven all the leaks we know the Xbox brand is really struggling in the region.

Yi-Long1d 4h ago

Well, if your consoles and games are barely found in any stores any more, of course you're gonna struggle finding consumers ...

XiNatsuDragnel1d 7h ago

Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo

Profchaos1d 5h ago (Edited 1d 5h ago )

I think it would have been better for all parties really especially gamers

TheColbertinator1d 6h ago

The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.

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280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple10112d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref11d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde11d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander197211d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville11d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff218311d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos11d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

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isarai12d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref11d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan11d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis00711d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander197212d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

12d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197212d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

12d ago
12d ago
Zeref11d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde11d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander197211d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander197211d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier11d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto11d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff218311d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto11d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
Hofstaderman11d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts11d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts10d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic11d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

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