Xbox 360 Kinect: Are Microsoft Scared of Bad Reviews?

By
22 October, 2010 Gaming, Xbox 360 3:58 am

For those of you planning to pick up Kinect next month on the Xbox 360, we have a very interesting article for you to read now, one which tells the story of Kinect from a gaming journalist’s point of view.

You may think that the following report is controversial and a bit outrageous, but it does make you wonder at the same time. This report we’ve read over at Gamer Blorge question’s Microsoft’s hesitation to send out Kinect units for the gaming industry to review.

They believe that there might be an actual problem with the unit, or in purer terms, they suggest that Microsoft are worried about the type of feedback they may receive if negative Kinect reviews go up before the November 4th launch date.

They also mention that Sony had their Move units out 1 month before launch, and also mention a certain destructoid article which was served a take-down notice by Microsoft for poking fun at recent Kinect ads.

If you read their article in full, it does put an element of confusion in your mind and wonder if Microsoft are really holding back official reviews until release date because they know the press may not cast Kinect in a good light before release – a move which would obviously affect their launch sales.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe with the points raised in the article listed above, or do you think they have got it completely wrong?

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    • me123

      why speculate wait till nov 4 and stop posting more junk.
      That is what I think.

      • 12 fun

        i totaly agree with ya 100%

    • kcxbox

      Im an MS marketing rep for the Xbox Kinect. Next week I am flying up to MS headquarters for training on the device. There are over 200 reps for the release and living room setups will be in Best Buys throughout the nation starting on Nov. 4th. I work for a third party marketing firm, so I would doubt that they would be setting up these demo units in stores if it was not a usable product. I'll find out for myself next week how it performs and I am sure that the other 200 reps will have blogs out that state the facts about its performance..MS knows that they can do better with people getting out and trying the demos better than they would relying on bias reviews from "bought" game sites.

    • Urwell

      Talk is crap. I’ve both the Sony device and the kinect ( through there beta test) and even though the wand as I call it is good trust me it isn’t as good as the kinect sensor.

    • Das

      I agree with most other comments here that this anti MS rubbish is getting ridiculous.

      I remember MOVE was getting bad reviews by ordainry people that had won it before it's release and were using it in their own homes (the best testers) but because they were not giving it posotive reviews all of a sudden their opionion didn't count for anything ?.
      Fanatical fanboys such as "321em " are a good example of those people.

      The latest thing is the negative rubbish about that dihgy boat add on thing (Which is nothing to do with MS) and yet we noew see that Sony move addons are IDENTICAL to the WII ones (Golf club,tennis etc) even down to the rubber outer casings but I don't see many negative headlines about it.

      So stop the rubbish talk and let the product speak for itself. when MS decide the time is right and that won't be when smalltime sites like "Gamer Blorge " decide…

    • Abel

      ALTERNATIVE HEADLINE –

      Sony PS3 GRAN TURISMO 5 Are Sony Scared of Bad Reviews?

      As GT5 is due out around the same day as Kinect "WHERE ARE THE REVIEWS FOR GT5 ?"

      Gamer Blorge(slightly biased site) believe that there might be an actual problem with the game or in purer terms, they suggest that Sony are worried about the type of feedback they may receive if negative GT5 reviews go up before the November 4th -10th launch date.

      They also mention that most other games have their reviews out well before then ETC ETC…………………………………………

    • Tony

      Serious anti-ms bashing is getting so boring. They had Kinect all over the country for the the common joe to try out. I did too, and had a blast. What is there to hide? It was there in public for ANYONE to try out.

    • Jam

      Like most of Microsofts current activity they are simply looking at Apple to see what they can glean from them. Apple keep their products even the subject of their announcements under wraps until the last minute.

    • Tom

      Well all I can say is I have tried it and it was amazing.. It is about .5 of a second behind, but the games are designed to take this into acount. It really is the best thing I have played since the Wii 3 years ago. It is a big of a jump from the gamepad to the wii and now to Kinect… The future for this produce is limitless all the time you are playing it you think wouldn't this be good it they used it this way or did that with it, and you know if you have had them ideas them the people at microsoft have also started working on them too.. Can't wait till I get mine, Just listen to the poeple that play it and not silly Fanboys trying to put it down for some small minded reason.

    • Rich

      Nice to see MS staff posting on this story , TIP: post from home next time

    • Randall

      I'd be scared of bad reviews too if I was trying to sell a borderline broken piece of crap with no games to the gullible masses.

      Tried one at a trade show and it flat out did not function properly. Laggy, unresponsive… nothing like what has been promised. Microsoft have done nothing but offer smoke and mirrors with regard to this device, so of course they'll want to hide the facts for as long as possible, same as they did with the hardware problems the 360 itself had from day one that they knew about prior to launch.

      Zealots will, of course buy it because MS order them to, and fad following idiots may get suckered in initially, but I guarantee that over time, Kinect will stagnate once people spend real time with it and experience it's many many shortcomings themselves and bad word of mouth will spread and hey presto, one year from now it'll be "What's a Kinect?".

      • The Kinected Gamer

        Dude I seriously doubt you have played the Kinect, everyone that I have talked to that has played it, has loved it. Don't dis it unless you are actually spending a lot of time on it, like the beta testers, go back to your playstation and leave Microsoft alone, unless you personally own a kinect.

    • Zaen

      @ Randall

      You are the biggest fanboy I have ever seen on this site. and you have just made yourself look the biggest Zealot of them all.
      And you predicting the future is just laughable.

      You tried Kinect at the trade fair and Lo and BEHOLD the one "YOU" was on was laggy etc etc BUT I have tried Kinect at more than 2 places and it worked great and everyone else there enjoyed it to, isn't it strange that yours wasn't the same.

      As for the games Kinect has a far better line up than Move ever had and what's more Kinect is getting 5 NEW FRESH CORE titles from new IPs.and not just addons to rusty old titles and last minute boltons to the next title in an FPS game etc that is all that Move has to offer…

      • Jerry

        u SOUND LIKE a fan Boy…. What person uses the term ZEALOT?! go Back home and play your PlayStation with whack ass online server

    • The Kinected Gamer

      I get tired of hearing playstation fanboys rant how the Kinect is going to blow and everything else. I think they are jealous a little? They spend more time talking about how Kinect is going to suck, then they actually do talking about their Playstation Move. I firmly believe unless you have tried Kinect that no one needs to be complaining how this will suck or anything else, I know every person I have talked to that has played it, LOVES IT! I already have my Kinect pre-ordered, and can't wait to get it. I believe Microsoft is taking way too much heat from idiots that has never played it and just because they haven't released it to the press, doesn't mean that they haven't brought the Kinect to the press to play and try, just go to http://www.ign.com and see some of their playthroughs on it. And also on one last note, all you playstation fanboys, stop comparing Move & Kinect together, your Move can only be compared to a Wii.

      Check Me Out At: http://www.kinectedgamer.com

    • Ryan

      I do think it's bullpoo that oprah has play tested it, justin beiber has play tested it, yet no gaming press has. I agree with this article to be honest. It's strange. I hope it fails, microsoft don't care about making good games, just a lot of dollar. All i've seen so far are cringeworthy plastic adverts and lies. Scan your skateboard… No. Milo and kate… No. etc…

      • The Kinected Gamer

        Get over yourself, I would love to see you use your voice on your PS3 to control things, oh wait, that's right, you can't.

        Check Me Out At: http://www.kinectedgamer.com

    • marhorn

      HOW MUCH DO SONY PAY YOU?

    • Jimbo

      I've used Kinect and it was actually pretty fun. I was skeptical at first, but now I can't wait until my daughters are old enough to play!

    • dan

      I live in Seattle, and the word in the shadows is that Microsoft went with a cheaper camera for launch. The people who have worked hard on it got angry so microsoft is switching it back. Of course they Eventually made the right choice, but maybe they don't want to send the bad units to the press, who will in turn give it bad reviews. Based on that information, it's a smart move not to send it to them if you ask me, but they never should of skimped in the first place.

    • john

      To the author of this article, if you knew your english as much as you think you know about gaming, you would know the title should be "IS Microsoft scared of bad reviews". Besides, if they were scared, they wouldn't be touring the device across the country.

      • Cole

        If YOU knew the language, you would realize that different places say different things. In the UK, they view a company as plural.

        "Coca-Cola are meeting expectations."

        Before you try to be a dick, at least know what you're talking about. And, no, I'm not from the UK, but if you have been on the internet for at least a few weeks, you would have known this.

    • Bulldog

      It is amazing how many have played the kinect posting here.. I have not. I will not complain about it being bad technology, maybe it is great. But the best system or best hardware means very little to me if there is nothing I want to play with it. The kinect line-up is not interseting to me.
      Adrenalin Misfits, Dance Central, DanceMasters, Deca Sports Freedom, EA Sports Active 2, Fighters Uncaged, Game Party: In Motion, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Kinectimals, Kinect Adventures, Kinect Joy Ride, Kinect Sports, MotionSports, Sonic Free Riders, The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, and Zumba Fitness.
      If game developers put out a bunch of games that makes good use of this type of controller then I might want one. But I am not about to by the controller now .. hoping something good will come out for it in the future. I am sorry I don't want to dance, exercise, or jump in a raft. It is about the games, and I am disappointed that MS doesn't have a some signature games that makes you say, wow… I need to play them, with the release of Kinect.

      Give me games that make me want to use the Kinect… then I will want it.

    • Bulldog

      It is amazing how many have played the kinect posting here.. I have not. I will not complain about it being bad technology, maybe it is great. But the best system or best hardware means very little to me if there is nothing I want to play with it. The kinect line-up is not interesting to me.

    • KevinButler

      PEW PEW PEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Atari2600

      Please don't insult our intelligence by quoting 'gamerblorge' articles. That site is full of the worst, most fanatical ps fanboys. Mike Ferro writes there & everything he types, puts a negative spin on microsoft & positive on sony. The only way they can get readers is by bashing microsoft & feeding pbot idiots. If you want to read some of the most moronic comments online, just check it out. 100%, trash journalism.

      Please, no more garbage articles, wait until Nov 4.

    • ray

      All of you complaining about the MS "hate" are laughable. Sony fans had to put up with a legion MS trolls spouting all kinds of nonsense about the PS3 for 4 years.

      Keep on defending an unethical company zealots.

    • Kierra

      I havent used Kinect , but Im excited about trying it out. After the age of 16 the gamer inside me kinda died, but Kinect actually makes me want to buy an Xbox 360( I played on an XBOX..yeah I know). Kinect is new and interesting, and I want to give it a try, I think it would be good fun.

    • http://getafree360.com xkniect

      You’re probably thinking; yeah right, this is too good to be true, right? Most people do, and I probably would also, but this is the real deal! This offer is for an exclusive time only and can only be used once per house hold. You’re being offered this amazing deal because Microsoft needs your input about their brand new controller-free feature, Kinect. This amazing deal gets you an Xbox 360 and Kinect, both for FREE! Simply click the banner above and fill out the information forms and you will be sent a brand new Xbox 360 with Kinect, once again, FOR FREE! GET IT WHILE IT LASTS!

    • Dr Dissent

      why do they call it Kinect? when in fact you are disconnected from the game. I prefer a traditional controller, I like feeling connected to the game via a tangible controller and rumble feed back. Kinect is rubbish in my opinion.

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