The Kinect Conundrum: What Exactly Is It Now?

Xbox Live Gamer Hub staff member Sean writes:

''Kinect has always confused me. It seems to be in a state of confusion, to be fair it's been in that state for a long time. It's yet to produce a true quality title that the masses will remember as a good game. Sure the Just Dance and Dance Central games showcase how to use the Kinect effectively, but bar them what else do we have? 2012 has seen some of the worst Kinect titles released to date. The likes of Steel Battalion and Dragon Ball Z Kinect could have been top titles, instead they turned out to be awful messes.''

[mandf]

The concept of Kinect and the Eyetoy are cool, but not essential for gamers needs. A controller or km is more accurate and faster for most games out there. Kinect is good for party or dance games but not pratical for fps, tps, or rpgs. While not a horrible product, gamers need fast controls for gaming.

[darthv72]

Maybe...
its more about "tradition". i mean since the days of pong we have been used to the feel of a physical controller in the hand. The traditional controls have evolved by adding more degrees of movement and number of buttons but the basic idea has remained the same.

So taking away that physical interactivity and replacing it with virtual interactivity can put many people (especially long time gamers) into a very defensive posture as they feel this sort of thing infringes on their way of play.

i can see that but at the same time there is some legit uses for it. the main issue is the number of really good uses are overshadowed by the quick and dirty way to capitalize on the trend.

In popular culture there are movies and tv shows that depict a future of more interactive entertainment and/or ways to control the various parts of our lives without the need for physical controls.

I can think back to a time when it seemed hard to believe that you could take your entire music library with you anywhere. We have phones that are replacing full size computers.

we may not be ready for a full on controller-less play but that doesnt mean we never will.

[mandf]

I agree with your insightful points, but I'm a traditionalist as you stated. In my mind saying shoot just seems silly, when I can control the rate of fire with a button. I don't know if it's crappy games or the fact innovation is taking a backseat for profits. Kinect should be creating new genres not tacking it on for the sake of having a kinect enabled feature.

I would think it be great for a good baseball simulator to improve hitting skills or say golfing mechanics. With kinect and the eyetoy innovation is not being used for new things. it seems forced into games with the same mechanics that have been used for years.

I think the industry as a whole lacks imagination into other avenues than just games. I would love to have a learning game with usb keyboard to learn how to play piano in a fun, intuitive way. There are so many options for new controls, controller types, instruments, etc etc.

edit was for spelling

[StrongMan]

Kinect was only good for dancing games and people are already tired of those. That fad has quickly passed.

2010 Dance Central- 2.95 million sales
2011 Dance Central 2- 1.89 million sales
2012 Dance Central 3- .48 million sales

The games that were supposed to bring the hardcore to Kinect all failed miserably.

The Gunstringer- 300k sales
Steel Battalion- 60k sales
Child of Eden- 40k sales
Fable: The Journey- 140k sales
Rise of Nightmares- 39k sales

The numbers don't lie folks and those numbers speak for themselves. This is a business and when games sell numbers like those the developers go out of business and people loss jobs. Devs can't afford to give a game a sequel when the first sold that poorly. Kinect games just don't sell and that says it all. Kinect has been demoted to a lowly microphone to yell out commands in a few games and when that novelty quickly wears off you won't use it again. Buttons are just the way to go. How good would you be in COD if shouted "THROW GRENADE" instead of just pressing the button?

[darthv72]

it goes both ways
a product can fail if the demographic it is geared towards fails it. The games are the ones that suffer at the hands of the gamers.

the concept of the games and the ideas that are the potential for a product are genuinely thought through. Given there are many who find change a troublesome thing to adjust to would rather fail to grasp the concept thus resulting in the products own demise.

we also have to understand that for the few that put in the time and effort to really make something work, there are dozens that would choose to cash in on the trend instead. thus spoiling the experience for everyone else.

There is a legitimate market for this type of interactivity just as there is a legitimate market for 3d in entertainment. You have to keep out the scrubs that really are only in it for the quick $$ and have no substance to offer the individual.

[Belking]

This is true. There are some crappy Kinect games out there. But then again, there are also crappy games for xbox and PS3 as well. I think the device is very useful and very innovative when used the right way. I think the hardware mostly holds it back. The device has it's place in gaming and the next version will improve on just about everything. One thing for sure is that it definitely gave MS that sales boost it needed when it launched. The device hasn't come through as something the core would chose but it overall it has been successful.

One thing for sure is that kinect isn't for everyone and Strongman is just trolling as usual.

Kinect sports---5 mil
Kinect sports 2---2 mil

Kinect disneyland----2mil
Kinect joyride----1.5 mil
Kinect Star Wars---1.2 Mil
Kinecttimals----1.4 Mil
Rise of Nighmares----350,000
Fable the journey----150,000
Steel battalion------600,000
Zumba fitness----1.7 Mil

[Godmars290]

So the VirtualBoy failed because its target audience failed it, and not because it was awkward to use and actively irritating after few minutes of use?

Kinect may not be as bad as that, but because the emphasis was more on promotion than making it functional, taking out a processor so it could be sold cheap, it may as well be.

[edonus]

Here is the reality.

When MS wants to really sell kinect games they will. All those games you mention had little to no promotion and push. Look at Start wars kinect they put it in a bundle and gave a little below decent marketing tv budget. Against terrible (mis informed bias) reviews it is now a million seller.

I didnt see one commercial for Fable the Journey or Steel Battalion. They had more for Rise of Nightmares and those were scarce at best. MS knows now all they have to do is open up the purse to get the software flowing. I feel right now they are choosing not to because we are about to go into an entire next gen with a newer kinect so their just going to wait.

Kinect makes enough money from casuals to just coast, and its still being used and experimented with by devs so there is no real need to push kinect.

I own all those games you list but none of the DC. I am a "core" gamer and can tell you from someone that plays everything once gamers get a hold of what kinect really does they will love it.

[aLucidMind]

"What exactly is Kinect?"

A failed concept; a good idea that resulted in a crappy product that barely works properly beyond dancing games.

[darthv72]

its like everything else
there have been many good ideas before their time. some have made a comeback at the right time to go on to be hugely popular in society.

It just takes the right time or maybe even the right name backing it to make it a success.

[Belking]

Yea, but move is pretty crappy too IMO, plus it doesn't hardly have any games built for it.

[DigitalRaptor]

Whilst that might be true, there are more success stories on PS Move than Kinect when all is said and done, and I'm not talking about sales. plus, when Move has never been pushed as anything other than an alternative control scheme for people who like motion control in the games they already like, it doesn't matter hugely that there aren't enough games built for it. Those ol showcase titles are smaller budget PSN titles that most people don't know about.

In 2013 alone, I will be playing BioShock Infinite, Portal 2 and Until Dawn in their entirety with Move, and that counts for more than the surplus of dance and fitness games that define the Kinect.

Not saying that it doesn't have potential with much more capable hardware, but it's had that "potential" since it was called Natal. I'm much more satisfied with the middle ground hardware that strikes the right balance, instead of a device that relies completely on kinetic motion of the body, which is neither comfortable nor that enjoyable to me, and I'm neither fat nor lazy.

[TheBrit]

Funny thing is, I really enjoyed Fable The Journey and I really like Tiger Woods golf. Both of these titles work extremely well with kinect, at lest they do in my house - surprised that people gave up on Fable so quickly.

[from the beach]

At this point it's sort of in limbo until the next Xbox and a new version, but I think it's served us well this gen - decent sales and lots of original, fun games.

[e-p-ayeaH]

People should already know what to expect from something like this.