Kinect for Xbox 360: No commitment for traditional gamers

21 July, 2010 Gaming, Xbox 360 3:43 pm

We would assume that Xbox 360 gamers would be biting their fingernails in anticipation for the new Kinect motion-sensing device from Microsoft. Although most hardcore gamers will feel a little left out this year until Kinect finds its feet. Fans of games such as Fable, Gears of War and Halo will have support on the new system, but not until 2011.

Matt Peckham from PC World explains that Microsoft is only concentrating on Wii like games for now, and according to Chris Lewis from Microsoft EMEA, this is the genre that will benefit most from the Kinect system. The reason for this is because we are fast approaching the holiday season, and this is the biggest shopping season of the year.

While speaking to Gameindustry.biz, Lewis said that the upcoming batch of Kinect games would appeal to “young/older/female/family audiences.” He also explains that hardcore gamers would have to wait at least 18 moths before games that appeal to them will benefit from the motion sensor.

This is not a bad thing, as games such as Fable III Gears of War 3 and Halo Reach will keep them busy until then. Are you a hardcore gamer, would you use Kinect on any one of the above games?

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Vlatro

Does this surprise anyone, because it makes sense to me. Young children get games around Christmas, so that's when the children's games get released. The "Hard-core" gamer is generally male, between 17-25 years of age who has the most disposable income around the beginning of tax season when they get refunds (Late January – Mid April)

There's also a huge mis-characterization of what constitutes a hardcore gamer. Some consider fans of online FPS games to be the "hard-core", while others include MMO players. From a marketing standpoint (which is the real strength of the industry), a Hardcore gamer is one who spends X number of dollars a year on games of any variety. It makes sense that Wii-like games that emphasize the possibilities of Kinect would be released first, while more subtle implementations would be added later simply to drive the sales of hardware. Since major franchise games won't likely require optional hardware, the features of Kinect that can be implemented in them will be limited initially to ensure the game reaches the largest demographic. If MS can ship 70 million Kinect units, the major franchises that cater to the hard-core will be more willing to increase dependence on the new system.

Why is this news? It's following the same trend we saw with the Nintendo Power glove, Sega-CD, dance mats, the Wii-mote and balance board, the guitar hero guitar… Software that emphasizes and embellishes the potential of new hardware is released initially catering to a casual audience, and is expanded upon later if it succeeds and the optional hardware becomes an ubiquitous part of the console in the majority of homes.
Jondagoth

Both Sony and microsoft are rushing things again,I wish they would wait until the software was finished ,we would get so much more out of there stuff if they gave things time to be used properly…….