Eurogamer grills Kinect's Kudo Tsunoda

EG: Kudo is asked to justify Kinect's relevance to core gamers, and explains how firmware updates may evolve the experience.

[aceitman]

that means that thr going to launch it before its ready and try to improve the sensorcam later just like ms to rush a product out the door before its ready hhhmmm like the 360 .

[Sony Fiend]

You'll probably have to pay for those firmwares as well.

[Redempteur]

"I think what core gamers really like is skill-based gameplay and depth."

ahahah ahahaha i'm still looking for skill-based gameplay !!!!

[karl]

funniest interview ever...

i wish it was a video interview so i could see the look on his face.. when they asked him

"What are examples of games in your line-up that have those skill-based elements that core gamers love?"

[rockleex]

Depth.

Lol.

[hay]

It pretty much means that most of the features advertised are either buggy or not complete as for now.
I'll wait with Kinect once it gains any momentum and some quality software.

[tudors]

Devs patch games all the time, you make it sound like somthing new.

[dericb11]

But they patch hardware if something is broken or working incorrectly. Like everyone said at first. They are releasing a unfinished product for the reason of getting it out the door to keep up with competitors.

[mcstorm]

Is this not the same for the PS3 PSP Wii ect not being finished as they have all had new features added to them so those devices were release without being finished.

If you read what was said in the interview he said that on launch Kinect will only track body movement but it can detect objects it has just not been added into the software yet and it is all because they want Kinect to be simple on release.

The point of kinect is to show users how simple it can be to play a game and then add more features to the device as more and more people get the hang of using it and also for the developers to use there mind on creating games to use the features.

I can wait to see what kinect will offer over the next 12 months and I think this well be the device to own in 2011.

I also like how MS are showing off Kinect with its simple approach this will get the none gamers interested in the 360 and once they Halo Reach and fable 3 hype has died down MS can show us some big and new IP's for Kinect.

MS have stated that they do not want to talk about what lies around the corner for kinect and this is not because the tech is not working it is because they are trying to cerate an image of the jump in and play to start off with and then start to show off the extra features of kinect one the none core have take it all in.

Yes as a gamer this my sound like MS are not keeping the hard core in there mind but MS of all the company's know the 360 is seen as the hard core machine but this is a move MS had to make to put the 360 into the wii market but MS Know they need to keep the Hard core happy too and I think they will show us some things next year than make the hard core say I want that just like they did with Halo Gears Forza ect.

[TotalPS3Fanboy]

Something like:

Kudo Claims "Joy Ride steering is super-precise and exact", Evidence Says Otherwise

[R2D2]

@deric

So the PS3 was an unfinished product? How many updates has the PS3 received since launch.

[aceitman]

and its games or apps or os that r patch to fix bugs and some games get pushed back cause its not good enough to be released . now hardware like the 360, and u know im right i went through 7 360s and im not going to buy kinect and fall in the same boat. the hardware is not ready. if done right it can be something good but being its rushed out it will fail. its ashame that people dont know what real gamers know because they will buy it because ms will advertise it on false pretence.and it will not work like they say it is . if u think it works the way it should then just look at all the demos gone wrong .

[Lifendz]

There are going to be so many Kinect related injuries and I can't wait for them.

Kinect for Street Fighter: Player does a dragon punch and ends up breaking his hand on his ceiling.

Kinect for Gears: Player does a curb stomp and accidentally steps on a pet or small child.

Kinect for Madden: Player gets carried away and throws his back out while attempting to perform a diving catch.

[moodymofo]

its only funny till someone gets hurt..........then its hilarious

unfortunatly i dont think kinect will be compatible with those types of games

[marinelife9]

Turning your hands in Joyride with no gas, brake, or shifting is skill based?

[TotalPS3Fanboy]

He meant it takes a whole lot of skills to overcome the lag and the inaccuracy of Kinect in order to win in any of the Kinect games.

[djevolve]

We will see just how important the casual market is.

On the hard core note, who gives a sh!t.

I just want the tech for party nights with my friends.

It's hard to find a game on xbox or ps3 that allows a couple of people to play with ease and take turns. Mortal kombat should solve this but not for the ladies.

Problem with gamer web-sites, you are about 1% of the market and really don't get what the tech is pushing for.

I think the promise for core gamers is when the 2nd wave of games with the tech incorperated with the controller. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

[Sarcasm]

"Eurogamer: What are examples of games in your line-up that have those skill-based elements that core gamers love?

Kudo Tsunoda: In Kinect Adventures"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA

[Omega4]

"We have a good advantage at Microsoft because we have groups like our Microsoft Research department that not a lot of other companies have, and we’re able to solve some super-complicated technical problems in a short period of time."

Sounds like the real reason Nintendo and Sony passed on Kinect.

"Being able to digitise real-world objects and take them into the virtual world - we saw a little bit of that at E3 last year, but it's not stuff that we have in any of the launch games right now, and I think we're going to see a lot more games start using that as well as we go forward."

Looks like you are able to still scan real world objects into a game, another rumour debunked, again. So much for Sony's patent.

[iamnsuperman]

Sony realised the limitations of controller-less gaming when the tried it with the eyetoy.... The interface might be better with the Kinect but the core problems are the same.....Some games just need buttons....

[Shadow Flare]

"We have a good advantage at Microsoft because we have groups like our Microsoft Research department that not a lot of other companies have, and we’re able to solve some super-complicated technical problems in a short period of time."

Well they've had like 3 years or more to fix the body recognition issues with kinetc, and they still work just as badly as when we first saw them.

So like always, they're talking out of their butt, and like always omega, your listening to those words and believing them.

[yewles1]

Kool-Aid... XD

[ZombieAutopsy]

Omega you do know Sony has it's own R&D teams along with a crap load of first party studios who share tech and ideas.

I'm not gonna say Kinect can't offer the casual gamer a decent experience but for most of us who own Xbox 360's already and mainly play things like Gears, Halo, and CoD it doesn't really offer us anything. The only game i'm remotely interested in for Kinect is Children of Eden and that's coming out for the Ps3 as well (even though I doubt i'm getting Move).

@below
Well I assume most gamers are between the age of 13-25 and most of them don't have kids and if they do they prolly aren't that old, so I feel I am speaking for a good majority of gamers. Like I said it can offer the casual gamer a good experience but it's not a stretch to think that most xbox 360 gamers are into the game I mentioned and don't really care for the games that are being made for Kinect (that we know of).

[tudors]

Speak for yourself, I have kids and they will love it.

[dericb11]

Why do you want to piss your kids off like that. They Wii is a way better fit. The price of a:

Wii w/ Wii Sports $200
Kinect with a Game $200

Same price but one lets you keep your 360 free for yourself and one had way more games. Get a Wii for the little ones.

[Focker-420]

FYI

The average age for gamers is 35 years old.

[zootang]

Don't all companies have a Research and Development department? lmao.

[Jdoki]

Yeah, but MS are the only company with a Research Dept capable of solving "super complicated" problems.

Shame they didn't have the Research Dept available to fix the "Mega-complicated" problem of RRoD for years, or the Research Dept that could fix "uber-complicated" problems associated with making Kinect work properly

/s

[Non_sequitur]

MS spends a lot more money on advertising than R&D.

[Chris399]

Being an electronics HARDWARE giant. Ok, Omega. We'll add this one to the classic reel.

We can all selectively take snippets from the interview, see:

Eurogamer: Do you expect Kinect to get better at reading hand motions and small hands?

Kudo Tsunoda: Yes. As the technology evolves over time you're going to get more granular on what we can do. The closer you get to the sensor, you can actually get a pretty good reading on a hand motion. Even with my hands you can get a good read far away.

What does that even mean? Of course, if you're standing a foot away from the sensor, it SHOULD be able to see your hands. What is "far away" when he mentions that you should get closer to the sensor for a "pretty good reading". There is so much spin surrounding this device that it makes people dizzy.

The 360 is a decent piece of kit that has made a lot of gamers happy, but stop defending this - Kinect. Hell, I have a PSPGo and while I enjoy it, I recognize it's a turd and a complete pariah in gaming circles. Go cheer-lead Gears or Halo, those are positive aspects of the 360 experience. Kinect is a colossal waste of time and sense.

P.S. Sony's patent probably only applied to their system (PS3) btw. Just like MS doesn't own the WORLD-rights to in-game music, just for that feature for their specific machine. You can't make universal patents on certain technologies. Comprehension is a real chore for you isn't it?

[Bigpappy]

Omega is doing a great job at one against a thousand PS3 fanboys. If you really don't care for kinect, why put so much of you time into commenting in the articles. That is the problem with the folks here on N4G. They have started this cult campain against M$, and mostly Kinect (new, with the potential of pulling 360 sale out of reach of PS3).

If I had no interest in Kinect, I would just sit back and watch the supporters and haters go at it. As I see it, you only attack Omega because you are a PS3 lover and he struck a nerve. Funny how all the PS3 fanboy comments are all fine by you. But Omega defends what he likes and you want him to talk about Halo, which has more pre-orders than most PS3 games have in sales.

[bustamove]

You sound like a broken record. Please stop.

[young juice]

"Sounds like the real reason Nintendo and Sony passed on Kinect."

i know right. did you see how fast that 360 got fixed up?

[mrv321]

Clearly Microsoft R&D helped a lot, just look at the latest videos... and all the fail with in them.

[saint_john_paul_ii]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[cliffbo]

imo Omega4 is Bill Gates now he has left the company he ain't got anything to do so he goes on here and makes a fool of himself :)

[kaveti6616]

Yeah...no.

[Keltik82]

of Kinect Adventures looks so terrible. That is for core gamers? GTFO!

[badkolo]

this thing says fail all over it, now they are admitting this things is stripped and thats its coming out with basic functions.

such a horrible thing.

[Fishy Fingers]

This guy must literally be s***ing bricks over Kinect with MS investing so much in it. We may finally have found someone who cares more about it's success than Omega.

[jack_burt0n]

I dont actually think so, he seems chilled like he doesn't really care he has a fat salary and even if it bombs he could do something else.

Omega on the other hand will literally meltdown if it turns out to be a load or crap, for sure.

[Bigpappy]

He is not just a PR guy. Kinect is his main focus right now, but he works will all developers who develope on 360

[Montoya]

I think Omega IS one of those MS guys. I`m not joking whatsoever.

[bustamove]

....*facepalms*

I don't even...*sighs*

This thing is...garbage. I'm dead serious man.

[tudors]

we better all listen then right? guys listen up he's serious.

[harrisk954]

"Eurogamer: What are examples of games in your line-up that have those skill-based elements that core gamers love?

Kudo Tsunoda: In Kinect Adventures they have the River Rush game, and there's hundreds of different ways you can go down each of those levels. It's a lot like a platformer game, which in general is a genre core gamers love...

Those are all your normal kind of gameplay mechanics that you see in a lot of core games. When we talk about Kinect we say things are accessible, but that doesn't mean the games are shallow. We just take away the hour or two you usually take having to learn the controls."

Since when does it take 2 HOURS to learn controls on any game, let alone a platformer??? They are delusional.

[TotalPS3Fanboy]

No. There are not hundreds of different ways you can go down that river.

[DlocDaBudSmoka]

to do any level in a platformer? all i can think of it one, from point A to B.

[albel_nox]

With every interview I become more and more convinced that Kinect will be nothing more than a useless piece of crap. These guys just seem so clueless about what gamers want right now.

[tudors]

"@tudors
But the patch hardware if something is broken or working incorrectly. Like everyone said at first. They are releasing a unfinished product for the reason of getting it out the door to keep up with competitors."

No that's not correct, they will be evolving the software to make the hardware work better, there is nothing wrong with the hardware, the tec is all there it just needs tweaking.

[dericb11]

Funny you just admitted its a unfinished product lol.

"the tec is all there it just needs tweaking."

Stop please. Stop letting MS sale you stuff that doesn't work and make the company do better on launch day not 3-4 years later.

[Jdoki]

I hear what you are saying Tudors, but software can only go so far to improving hardware, and in many cases the software is more of a disguise than a fix.

For example... All cameras have an inherent lag - PS Eye, Kinect, consumer video cameras and so on - it's just part of how they capture and process an image. Just as controllers also have a degree of lag.

Software can be used to hide some of that lag, but ultimately its something that has to be lived with and taken in to account by developers.

That's just one example. Another could be how Kinect detects / processes hands. Sure the software algorithms can be improved to better detect individual hands and digits - but at some point camera resolution and room conditions will prove impossible for software to 'fix'.

Now, I'm not saying Kinect has fundamental flaws in the hardware - but it seems to be trying to push the envelope which is risky. And from current demo's it seems like it does have some problems. How many of them can be fixed with software, and how many are a result of say, the removal of the CPU, or natural issues with camera lag etc remains to be seen.

So at the moment it's impossible to say that the tech is all there and just needs tweaking.

[tudors]

I'm not playing your childish games, both the 360 and PS3 have had patches galore, it's nothing new, are you going to take this attitude if they have to patch move games? because they will, only I will not be turning it into a pointless debate because I already accepted patches years ago, were you like this when they patched the PS3 for the clock bug? or was that not a bug, maybe you viewed it as a perk.

[TotalPS3Fanboy]

What Microsoft is doing is the same as a car manufacturer releasing a car without brakes, and patching in the brakes later. Totally different from what Sony is doing, releasing a car with brakes, but patching in an an MP3 player later.

In other words, Microsoft release a broken unfinished products and patch it later. Sony release a finished product and patch in bonus stuff later.

[AstroZombie1]

C'mon admit it who didn't read it that way when you first read it.

[Jdoki]

No kudos for Kudo! Frustrating interview - the guy can not give a straight answer!!

I'm on the fence about Kinect and Move. And what will sway me is two things...

1. Games
2. Working technology

The amount of doubt and negativity that is swirling around the internet about Kinect may be a lot of FUD - but this was Kudo's chance to set the record straight on point #2, and give some indication of what's in development to answer #1. But he didn't, at all.

[TotalPS3Fanboy]

if it was all just CGI, and he evaded it and answered, "That game is definately in development" but never directly answer if the trailer was just CGI or not.

PS: Someone need to write an article: Microsoft Claims "Joy Ride steering is super-precise and exact" Despite Evidence Proving Otherwise

[Christopher]

1. Only Microsoft has R&D teams now? Let alone in comparison to Sony's R&D teams just for video and camera technologies, one of the leaders in the field?

2. They say because it involves skill it's fun? So does how fast someone plays 52 Card Pick Up, doesn't make it fun.

3. No one else has been able to use this technology? Those Sony demos where they do body tracking must have been faked. And, shoot, that upcoming Kung Fu game for the PSEye must be fake as well.

4. Human recognition? It's called facial recognition and is software openly available to use with any camera that can plug into a PC. It also requires a lot of upkeep as faces change based on lighting and various other factors. Disabled the dang thing on my PC because it required me to rescan so often based on my facial hair and position of my glasses.

5. Your current technology _cannot_ read hand gestures well at all at this time. You say it's pretty accurate, I say it looks like your hands have a mind of their own and oftentimes make your avatar look like they've broken the bones in your wrist and your hands just move on their own accord. It takes very expensive cameras to properly track hands at a short distance and movies still use mocap technology to track hands, and even then it's not precise.

***I think just like when you first saw people were trying to port PC shooters to console and didn't do a good job of it, then Halo came along and did an amazing job from the ground up specifically for a console - I think that's all the kind of stuff you're going to see going on with Kinect in the future as well.***

Halo: Combat Evolved - 11/2001
GoldenEye 007 - 8/1997
Perfect Dark - 5/2000
Medal of Honor - 1999
Doom - 1995
Quake - 1996

[Lazy_Gamer]

They're clearly aiming for the casual market with kinect as well as that, they make these BS statements to get some extra bonus from the hardcore. Pathetic.

[DlocDaBudSmoka]

in this little snippet- Eurogamer: Some would say there are still issues with the technology - for example, quite a lot of time elapses between your instinct to make an action and its occurring on a screen. Is that just a case of developers finding the right rhythm with the hardware and not just trying to put the same experiences on it again?

Kudo Tsunoda: If you play the games out there today, they've all got what you're talking about.

So much for no lag huh omega.

[harrisk954]

It's even more ridiculous than that if you read the next part of the quote about Joy Ride:

"If you play the games out there today, they've all got what you're talking about, but the games react really well. In Joy Ride the steering is super-precise and exact"

How can there be admitted lag and yet have Joy Ride be "super-precise and exact"?? (which, by the way, seems to go against the opinion of every preview that I've read about this game in particular). They are so full of garbage.

[DlocDaBudSmoka]

i read the whole thing, i just didnt put it here. i know how some ppl skip over wall o' text.

[Denethor_II]

" were you like this when they patched the PS3 for the clock bug? or was that not a bug, maybe you viewed it as a perk."

There was no patch for the internall clock problem. It reseted itself after 24 hours. And stop using your kids as a reason to defend Kinect on your precious 360, that's just low.

[Trroy]

He should dump the dark sunglasses, and go with rose.

This guy seems like an... unusual choice for a project director. Maybe they wanted someone who was already thinking "outside the box", as it were. I guess he does seem awful open to interpreting gaming fun differently from the majority. Not so sure that's a good thing.

[p_bateman]

This guy is delusional he thinks he is cyclops of the Xmen.

[earbus]

Wow ps3 fans love talking about kinnect thanks for the interest guys but dont be concerned im sure it will sell fine pre order after f1 and reach arrives seems to be alot of people on here play more n4g than games same chappers on the same rant different day i think i play more ps3 than the suspect hardcore ps3 fans here unless they have three arms.