SpentAllMyTokens

It doesn't surprise me either. I know 2 people who sold their Wiis for Kinect and Dance Central this year. Dance Central is hella fun too. For me, there's nothing else really interesting on the system though. They both spent a gajillion dollars on full Rock Band kits, so $200 total for a party game isn't out of the question for them.

Hopefully there will be some other good games out before we get sick of Dance Central, but Microsoft would do well to focus on games instead of adding more online features for a bit.

You could have a game that simulates you playing a videogame using a controller...WITHOUT A CONTROLLER! Imagine the possibilities.

Srsly tho, more accuracy is always a good thing.

Do you need to say "Xbox" for everything. That'd be a bit of a pain.

I used to swim competitively, and I think this will be boring (or make no sense).

It's not like you could prove Microsoft intentionally created shortages. You can't argue they could read the future and know how much they needed.

That being said, they probably did lowball the estimates hoping this would happen. Parents who promised their kids Kinect will probably buy an Xbox 360 standalone and/or a few games instead to have under the tree. Then they'll have to buy Kinect in January or February to make good on their original promise. Either way, people buy more Xbox stuff then they would have anyway -> more $$$ in Microsoft's pockets. They're not going to admit they're manipulating people into spending more money, of course, but all companies do this around the holiday season.

Very cool. The only problem is it wouldn't work with multiple players at the same time, which is important for a home console.

Definitely possible. Most people probably weren't looking to buy Kinects on Black Friday anyway, since they weren't on sale. Save that for a less crazy shopping day.

Looks like this is one game better left to the more traditional "d-pad plus two buttons" setup. I think you could do a platforming type game with Kinect, but it would be hard to create one with the precision Mario requires. Heck, even NSMB Wii relies on buttons, not motion control.

Duh. Companies do it at Christmas time and at launch to make products seem like it's in more demand they may be. Also, if a parent promises their kid a Kinect or Move, and they can't find it; they still need to find something to put under the X-mas tree (possible extra game purchase). PLUS they can't break their promise, so in January and February when stores are stocked again, they buy Kinect or Move. It all just translates into more sales for Sony/Microsoft.

Sweet videos! This could end up being a really budget way for people to do 3D rendering, which is totally cool!

Very funny! I totally want Kinect Arcade!

This is awesome, if for no other reason it opens the possibility of using some peripherals in games to make it easier/more realisitic to do the desired actions (like swinging a sword).

Very cool. It seems like Kinect's potential outside of gaming far outstrips it's potential in gaming at this point.

He's definitely right that there's really no place for a current FPS on Kinect. You'd pretty much have to completely reimagine how an FPS plays (or add some sort of peripheral/controller) in order to make one work well, I think.

Great advertising if they put these up at Chuck e Cheeses and Dave and Busters or even shopping mall common areas in the run up to xmas.

The other question would be does this game have difficulty levels and does this type of "auto steering" only happen in the easy level? Although, honestly, without anything to hold, it could be really difficult to get one's hands to move exactly in unison without a physical wheel to hold onto and difficult for the sensor to interpret what one wanted to do when they don't? Maybe something like this is necessary to make it reasonable to play at all. (of course, in that case, what's the point?)

This is really the one good thing about Microsoft. They don't try to lock absolutely everything out to the extent of Sony and Nintendo. I don't see how messing around with the sensor itself would allow you to bootleg games, so who cares! There's lots of fun stuff this sensor can do, so i'm looking forward to see what enterprising coders can figure out.

That reminds me of the Scottish voice activated elevator sketch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3JcHhA7M-Y

Very funny.

If things are sold out, they get tons of free publicity on evening news broadcasts as the "must have holiday gift for the year." Of course they're not going to make enough to fill the demand.

@James

Never mind putting a feminist spin on it. I'm actually just impressed the article made any sense at all, given the nonsensical source quote.

Why are there ads on the only system that makes you pay for online connectivity?

Features that work with many different types of games. That would be awesome.

These are the sort of games I'm interested in seeing with Kinect, because it's not so obvious how it will work, unlike Kinect Sports Fitness Dance Party.

Too bad if you have a fairly newish macbook, you already have a more accurate multitouch system with your touchpad.

/fangirl rant over.

Sweet, just make your own!

I think it needs to be said:

This article is sexist. 2/5

Thank goodness! Milo was like "Child of the Corn" creepy.

^^As long as they don't remove features like PS3 did with Linux. Remember the whole Air Force debacle?

If we're going for immersive-ness, that controller would really make you feel like you are working a tank.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I can imagine one stomping around the house like a mech, and that would be pretty fun too.

I don't really understand why these games NEED sequels with the possibility of unlimited new songs as DLC.

It's really just how you manipulate the numbers. Are you going to compare it to all the Moves sold between Kinect's launch and Xmas or all the Moves sold since its launch? Comparing it to the Wii is silly, because it's been out for like 4 or 5 years now. Plus, people getting a Wii are investing in an entire console while Microsoft has 4-5 years of creating an install base that only need to invest in a peripheral (an expensive peripheral, mind you, but still cheaper than a console).

Plus, it's Microsoft, so there's a good chance you'll have to factor in around 25% of the sales will be people rebuying Kinect, because their first one broke in the 2 months between launch and Xmas.

Oh Xbox.

I can't think of anyone who this would affect though. Who would have a copy of an unreleased game and not the controller?

I'm guessing they're somewhat artificially limiting the stock to make it seem like it's super popular, because it's sold out everywhere (not saying Nintendo didn't do that). It's a pretty popular sales technique around the holiday season especially. When parents can't find something they promised their kids for Xmas, they have to buy 2 things - one to have under the tree immediately, and the thing that was promised eventually.

I don't see it happening, but either way, it's still not a fair comparison. The Wii was a whole new console. The Xbox currently has had 4 years to build up a fairly large install base that only needs to get a peripheral that's CHEAPER than the Wii is (makes sense, because again, the Wii was a console, not a peripheral). When the Wii came out, most people didn't even know they wanted motion gaming. If Kinect sells that well, it's because the Wii paved the way and made people want that experience.

Actually looks like a neat little spin on Mario Kart type games.

Most six year olds could probably work their way around an Xbox controller better than I could. I never mastered using 2 sticks AND buttons. That being said, if Kinect's "revolutionary interface" was a D-pad and 2-3 buttons, I'd be lined up for it day 1 probably.

It's a good cause, but boy, those truth ads are annoying. I think sometimes counter productive too:

"What would you do instead of smoking a cigarrette?"
"I'd lick a dumpster."

No, I think one cigarette is less gross and also will have less ill effect on you than licking a dumpster, but go right ahead. That's probably not the message you want kids taking away from your commercials.

What? I have to SIT to play video games. I don't do anything as strenuous as that, unless I'm doing something important. Like eating.

j/k.

While I understand the need to convince users to go online (I own a Wii afterall), one of the things I DO like about the Wii is it harkens back to a simpler time. One where you bought the game on a cart/disc, and you had the entire game. No bonus levels, no waiting half an hour to download updates if you haven't played the game in months, no pay-to-play DLC. The whole game was there. Simple.

I guess I'm getting old. Get off my lawn.

Hopefully Kinect will be awesome enough that all that money was worth it.

Is it just me, or is 90% of this the crap everyone's already played on Wii?

Dance games are really the only genre up here that are probably significantly improved without a controller. Sony's near launch lineup (including patches) was much more interesting.

It's a really interesting time in gaming now. Sort of like the very early days when people weren't really sure what (motion) gaming was supposed to be, so you saw a lot of experimental stuff. I think we'll look back, 5-10 years from now, and there will be some sort of standard in motion gaming, and things will be stale again (until the next game-changer comes along).

I personally have my money on the Wii/Move setup winning out in the end (if you think about it, there's no reason the Eyetoy couldn't be enhanced to provide controller free experiences in the future too).

The real issue will be, since this doesn't seem to have the "core" support move does, is will Kinect see huge hardware sales, with the only software selling being the three titles of Kinectimals, Just Dance, and Kinect Sports, and/or being flooded with shovelware.