Kinect

[soniklife]

As someone who own various current gen consoles/games and retro consoles/games and plays video games a few hours just about everyday in addition to reading up on industry news as well as posting from time to time in this fine forum, I can never really understand why gamers are so anti "casual" gaming. Whether you are entertained for 5 minutes or 5 hours by a game bottom line is you have still participated in the recreation of playing a video game. And considering that most people work jobs and have various responsibilities one would hope that recreation time wouldn't be anything but casual and relaxed.

I also think the definition of what casual games are is rather distorted. Yeah, Wii Sports is something most (and myself included) identify as casual because it can be picked up and put down again in a short period of time. But as I'd also identify games that are surely celebrated by "hardcore" gamers as well as pop and video game culture at large such as Pac Man, Tetris, and Super Mario Bros. Yes, those games can be really rewarding to gamers who invest lots of time into mastering it but you can't deny that those games had a casual allure that would entertain people in short bursts of time. Furthermore, especially with the Playstation 2 era and even now with games like Grand Theft Auto series, Modern Warfare (and its sequel). Games do NOT sell the amount of copies those games are to solely a niche market. That is a mass market and by large an audience that is playing games casually. I am also curious how many of these people that hate "casual" games own a Iphone or something like that and play games. There are folks like my brother who bought a PS2 to play solely Madden and GTA games not knowing of other games or video game media. Or co workers of mine who play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 just to play for a couple hours a month tops, something that is played in bursts of a few extra minutes and in some cases not even knowing of a multiplayer aspect. A gripe I have heard from folks on forums about casual gamers is that they buy a system (in this case a Wii) it collects dust, they don't buy games and don't "support the industry" which in turn hurts their hobby which is just a ludicrous thought. In a nutshell, game companies have ALWAYS been after the casual market because they are companies and they are in this to make money.

However, with all of that being said I do have to say this Xbox Kinect and Playstation Move do not interest me in the slightest. Perhaps, if there is some interesting software shown I'll be swayed in a different direction. At the current juncture I have to say that all I have seen is a lame attempt to capture a market with a rip off software. I think a main reason why Nintendo was so easily able to capture that market is because they already had it. For years they marketed their games as for being for everyone, (I can't be the only one who had a dad growing up that would hog the NES so he could play Super Mario Bros or Tetris) it just now that the technology is more inviting and seamless so it has expanded their share. And now on the other hand Xbox has been marketing itself since its inception as the hardcore gamer's box-online high definition gaming. One minute they are all Halo blast everything to oblivion mentality and then the next trying to also position itself as a cute and cuddly, soccer mom friendly family fun box. Nice try but I just don't buy it and I don't think most consumers will either. And Sony while I think has a bit more pull in the name brand category (yes, I know Microsoft is HUGE but Sony makes everyday electronic products that our parents have been using since before video games or computers) which can perhaps position themselves a bit better as casual family fun gaming device but their problem is still the price point. I guess points for trying Microsoft and Playstation but something tells me neither of you are going to be getting much of Nintendo's pie.

[CRTGAMER]

Shoulda seen that coming, keeping up with the Joneses er Nintendo. A fading fad eventually? At least it won't take up as much room as the treadmill coat rack.

[J T]

Kinect Konniption


Could this now viral video destroy the new XBox toy's chances?

[fastbilly1]

I like how the kid in the red shirt gives up and turns around to look at his crazy mother.

[CRTGAMER]

Kinect Konniption
Could this now viral video destroy the new XBox toy's chances?

My poor Retro iMac goes motionless when it sees that motion pic.

[ZeroAX]

why oh why do game companies keep repeating the same mistakes.

Haven't you learned anything from Sega? Or even Nintendo's add ons like the N64 disk drive?

People never buy add ons for their consoles.

Wii Fit was a success, cause it came bundled with the game it was made for, and developers support it only as an extra, not as the only way to play a game.

Likewise with the Motion Plus, which has only, what, 3 games that support it?

But the motion plus is a small investment for the consumer, compared to this.....thing.

This seams like a rip off of everything Nintendo did (wii sports/fit ect) and will probably not gather that much attention from the casual crowd MS wants so bad. For a new piece of tech that is supposed to make breakthroughs in game design, they sure aren't making anything new with it.


and one last thing. Kinect, really? Was Kinetic not available?

[MrPopo]

I think this will do better than we're expecting, but not as good as Microsoft is expecting.

[wip3outguy7]

Kinect Konniption


Could this now viral video destroy the new XBox toy's chances?

After watching that I initially though, "Gee they look stupid." Then I thought, "Murder rates between lower and upper level apartment tenants are going to skyrocket."

[Anayo]

Unless you live in a family of nerds, gaming just ain't meant to be shared with the whole family. That video is the most shmarmy, contrived tripe I've seen since that kid and his sister were playing Super Mario 3 in the movie "Beethoven."

How about eating together at the dinner table? That's a pretty cool, casual thing the whole family can enjoy.

[Jrecee]

Is kinect a game for natal or did they change the name of natal to kinect?