Xbox 360: Microsoft’s Kinect review embargo is a ‘RED FLAG!’

Kinect is Microsoft’s biggest push for the Xbox gaming division to date. The Xbox division could sink or swim depending on the success of the device. However, in an unusual move the company has been hesitant to send out the device for review.

[wat634]

They want to make kinect the perfect experience, I can understand why their hesitant.

[Godmars290]

They've been promoting it for near onto two years now. At the very least its annoying that they've been so "open" yet now are doing an 11th hour news blackout. Lending argument that they're more interested in selling the ideal of Kinect rather then the actual product. That if they can shove them into enough homes quickly enough they can then use those sales numbers to convince people to buy more, nevermind that they're only making Wii-clone games.

Edit:
Can someone explain to me why people are saying "duplicate story" when that story failed to be passed? Honestly don't expect this one to go through, but at some point it has to be accepted that MS wants a Kinect blackout is news.

[ImpartialMan]

lol.

they are what you call Xbox fanboys..

[Bricks]

I dont understand what the big deal is. Many devs keep their cards close to their chest until close to launch. There are quite a few games (even recently) that had an embargo until the launch date. I cant grasp how this is a surprise or even a red flag to people.

[FlatulentGhost]

"I dont understand what the big deal is?"

Nintendo showed up at their first E3 with their Wiimote and real demos of games that were shipping quality. They then let everyone who was willing to stand in line play those very same games right there on the E3 show floor.

Complete and utter confidence in their product.

Microsoft?

Two straight E3s getting caught faking Kinetic demos by gamers and the press because they were trying to pass off pre-scripted sequences where the actors pretending to play Kinetic did a poor job of faking. You could easily see where the pre-canned reactions happened before the input that was supposed to trigger it occured.

Then there was disastrous showing after disastrous showing where people complained about lag problems or lighting problems or clothes causing problems.

Then the absolutely absurd technical problems started coming out: only 2 players, can't play games while seated, a huge completely clear are required to use it, only tracks very coarse movements, etc.

And now Microsoft is trying to keep the press from reviewing this stinking pile of fail.

This is easily the biggest fiasco in console history.

[JokesOnYou]

It reads word for word just like the below link, with same source. It's submitted by a member who joined 3days ago,(dup account) and of course approved again, lol but who's counting.

http://n4g.com/news/629458/...

lol, yesterday I posted plenty of links of kinect hands on preview and vids from many sites, "google is your friend" doesn't take long to see for yourself, that doesn't look like micro is trying to hide anything, nothing new for REviews to come only days before release.

JOY

edit: lol darkride thats the most bias BS I ever heard, this article cuts & pastes word for word from the article yesterday and offers no new info or source about kinect being withheld from journalists, if this was a negative duplicate article about ps3 you'd be jumping up and down asking why it was approved, but as the guy who just submitted this BS duplicate headline, your agenda is pretty clear, btw is "rrw" your latest dupe account?

"Xbox Kinect works perfectly well (if you live in a spotless mansion!)"
http://n4g.com/news/630390/...

[GreenRingOfLife]

Microsoft is doing all they can to finish up Kinect before releasing it

Microsoft isn't one to ship out a product too early, they want to wait until its perfect to release it

[hot4play]

Leave it to Microsoft to further degrade the video game industry.

(I wrote these things below, then I read your comment, I have the same sentiments:)

- Shoddy console hardware
- overpriced accessories
- limited DVD9 games
- pay to play online
- funding exclusive DLCs instead of exclusive games
- fishy Kinect marketing (Does it even work?? What is up with the review embargo???)

No, I do not have anything against XBOX FANS because I believe we as consumers have the right to choose and enjoy the games that we want to play BUT what I find annoying is the sheer length that fanboys will go to defend Microsoft's dubious business practices.

So yeah, if KINECT is PROVEN to work, I don't want it to fail because it will mean something for us gamers. But if the hardware does not work as advertised by MS, of course I would want it to fail.

[nveenio]

Honestly, I hope that everyone who dares to buy Kinect is 100% satisfied with their purchase. Beyond that, I'm not going to speculate any more. It's too late to keep speculating and too early to make a call.

[blumatt]

Damn, that was well said. Oh there's a bubble for that. haha One bubble up for you, sir.

[shroomz]

@GreenRingOfLife - Are you serious? What about the launch 360 consoles and every 360 for the next 3 years after launch? You know, THE most defective console in gaming history. Microsoft knew it was defective long before launch and even had techs involved in production request they fix the defects, so innocent consumers wouldn't get shafted. MS chose to continue production and launch a console they knew would breakdown. Even the repairs where done with defective parts.

It's a shame so many sheep got hooked on gamerscore and kept on buying the junk. A good strategy as it turned out for MS but at the expense of the consumer they pretend to care about.

[ComboBreaker]

And knowing Microsoft's history, this could be bad. Real bad.

[No Way]

Noooooo! This is a PS3Fanboy nesting ground.. Don't argueeeee!
Your bubbles will drop faster than a sack of bricks!

[DOMination]

Guys, unlike any of you I have actually used kinect albeit under Microsoft supervision in a big White room and the tech does work. If you're thinking it's going to fail due to it's restrictions then you'll end up disappointed because everyone entered that room skeptical and came out all thinking it was very cool. The one interesting thing though was the MS rep admitted they were aiming solely for the casual Market. Something MS really should come out and say publicly.

[RumbleFish]

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

Anything in this vid looks retarded and gay. Exactly the kind of stuff die hard M$ fanboys desire.

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

LOL @ Peter Molineux: really cool fake! He made a fool out of himself.

Most of the things shown in these vids are not possible. Anybody who buys M$'s crap again has my pity.

If you search YouTube, you can easily find out, what kinect was supposed to be and what it will be, so in fact there's no need for a review embargo!

EDIT: I forgot to post this one: http://www.youtube.com/watc... LOLOLOL!!!

[pixelsword]

Games have plotlines and features that may be ruined if released, Kinect as a device needs to highlight features so people will know what they're getting into; which it totally opposite of what they are doing.

Therefore, it sounds like they don't want people to know what they're getting into.

[falviousuk]

yes a very shady practice indeed, except that MS are touring several countries with the hardware and games letting people go hands on with it themselves, so how exactly are they hiding anything when i can drop by the nearest event and play it for myself instead of reading someone else's review which is just their opinion in the end.

coming to Edinburgh on the 30th October. Ill decide for myself, not judge what the experience is like by the juvenile comments on here

[insomnium]

Great comments you guys (booch, godmars and others alike). Bubs up for all of you sane people.

Would you look at that. I have only 1 bubble. Thanks mods! I appreciate you wanting to silence me but there is nothing I can do when BS passes off as the truth. Noone can deny the s**t MS does and has already done in this gen.

I lost all my bubbles because I can't stand the bias towards MS (on the expense of gamers) on this site. It was fun for a while but ever since Halo Reach this site shuts every single user up who mentions something bad about MS and their partners. It doesn't matter if the arguments are VALID. Thou shalt not mock MS.

I'll say it takes about 1-5 minutes before this becomes offtopic or better yet a personal attack. OK mods do your magic.

[Blitzed]

Those games still send out a review copy, the embargo is on publishing the review. This article is claming the units are not being sent out for review. There's a big differnce.

[sikbeta]

Why MS does that, when they can bribe, pay to get scores, maybe cos it's difficult to hide all the problems of the add-on, who knows...

[frostypants]

"Lately, developer after developer have been claiming that Kinect works very well"

Show me a list of these developers and where they said this. It's the first I've heard of it.

People know a boondoggle when they see one. The frustration is the legion of non-true-gamer Microsoft buttlickers who refuse to believe that Bill Gates doesn't walk on water and poop rainbows.

Many of us do own 360s, you know. After many years of gaming, I just know crap when I see it. Explain the embargo. Embargo ALWAYS equals "hiding sh*t". Always.

[Oner]

There are some damned excellent comments/views/facts in here today. Bubs & Agrees to all those with sensibility and common sense.

[Longrod_Von_Hugendon]

They tried to bury this story but it didn't work. We don't need to speculate on the capabilities of Kinect we've all seen the live demos and in each and every one of those video this thing fails miserably.

Sony is drinking your milkshake. :D

[RageAgainstTheMShine]

Microsoft a lot of that $500,000,00.00 in cash get stuffed to gaming media mouths so they can shut up.

Because they can not control media in this situation.

Wow, look at what money can do.

And half of it will be spent for gaming sites to give Kinect a pleasant review after it gets to the hands of gaming media because the situation is more easy to control .

[skyblue14213]

I totally agree and well said. You have basically summed it up on what I have thought over the years about microsoft and their xbox 360 business. A company should not have to rely on "smoke and mirrors" in selling their products. Microsoft's products should speak for themselves not the other way around like it has been since they started selling the xbox 360. Besides me being in disgust at their company and business tactics this just tells me that their products are inferior to their competitors, and that for any company is not good at all. And the only reason why they are still competitive with their competitors is because of their brainwashed american xbot followers and the fact that they throw money around and bribe people instead of investing that wasted money in their products.

[InfectedDK]

Real talk:
Move PS3 > Wii Motion Plus > EyeToy PS2 > PSEye > Kinect

Some of the media:
Kinect/Justin Bieber AWWW you don't need controllers! Controller free.
Space technology here we come!

[skyblue14213]

You are right, not too long ago I gave a positive bubble to an n4g member's truthful comment that put microsoft and their xbox 360 business in a negative light, and not too long after I got a warning message from an n4g moderater to not give a positive bubble to comments like that, they gave me no explanation and just said to not do it anymore. Of course I am not going to be dictated by them and will continue doing what I have always done.

[Makidian]

If reviews don't drop in the next week or so then there is a serious problem and they are trying to keep the public from it. If it's as great as they claim they should be shipping truckloads of these things to journalists, bloggers, anybody that can give them good press.

[vsr]

about the quality and truth

[falviousuk]

@ Makidian exactly how are they keeping the public from it when they are showing it off by touring several countries and letting people go hands on with it themselves.

Stupid fanboy mentality abounds in here.

[nnotdead]

you're missing the point. MS is demoing Kinect using the most optimal conditions, and a lot of what i've seen from said conditions isn't great. what people really want to know is how it works in everyday real world situations. a lot of people here believe this is where the Kinect will fail, and the reviewers will stress these points.

i myself don't care how well Kinect does. same with the Move. both need to show games that appeal to me. neither have shown or brought out anything i truly care about as of right now.

[frostypants]

Yes, they've toured it in public places with optimal conditions, and people have been generally very underwhelmed. Your point?

[Kleptic]

There is absolutely no evidence of this being 'the next big thing' yet...but MS is king when it comes to ad money, and will stop at nothing to get kinect plastered all over everything...

what they seem to be trying is creating another wii...problem is, most of the hype and casual market place earned by the wii came from it being the first device of its kind widely available (many state the eyetoy was first, but that was a simple peripheral that never got much attention as a standalone device)...

so what are they doing?...trying to create a wii like phenomenon by having better graphics and online support, but with less overall functionality, and no 'tangible' device to hold...EVERYONE has been underwhelmed by it that has used it so far, but all of these people are not really the type of gamers that are looking for this type of experience...

its whether or not our grandparents like it...or Ellen...those are the crowds that could go nuts...not one hardcore gamer on earth will give a 1/4 of a shit about kinect if it ends up the way most people think it will (the single most casual gaming device ever created)...but MS doesn't care in the first place, as its not for their core audience, its for the wii audience...

there is no way to spin it though...just as the article states, embargos up till launch day, and media black outs and threats are NEVER a good sign...just look at FFXIV recently...same thing...SE tried to hold reviews back 'until its better bla bla bla', and it did nothing...it was a floater on arrival...kinect will be a floater to people that actually enjoy playing video games...but may not be to people that are looking for something else to do rather than online bingo...

My guess is that if Home and Garden magazine wanted to do a review for bored housewives...MS would be all about it, letting them print the review 6 months ago...but when its a review from people that enjoy and understand the fundamental fun in playing video games...MS pulls sheet over their eyes until the device is on shelves and impulse buying has already begun...

[tacosRcool]

Trying to overhype the averageness of it

[bustamove]

Well said hot4play, I agree.

[jden28]

Look this guy is just a blogger that believes he's a journalist thus entitled to "FREE HARDWARE" he didn't get it now he's pissed...Thats it & if you think that embargo's on review's of major releases is anything but "NORMAL" you've been living on another planet.... Every major release x360 & ps3 has been embargo'd up until it's release... The only time any game or anything else get pre-release reviews is when the developer desires this because the item is heavily under funded in marketing.... Besides that Any respectable news site Did get review kits....m$ost is not trying to hide kinect it's on a freekin nationwide tour and on display in thousands of locations for you to try out yourself.....Greedy Fake Press make me sick...

[mantisimo]

......Just how each review site deals with Kinect.

It may be an eye opener as to just how honest reviewers actually are and which side they are biased towards.

Also so many depend on Microsofts (and others) revenue from advertising and good will for the next product to review, It will be interesting indeed to see what they do actually say.

[jden28]

Your right it will be interesting....Lots of so called web reviewers are nothing but fanboys for one system or ther other, But there are a couple of reviewers that I do respect because they are gamers and not fanboys people like Jeff Gershman on Giantbomb.com or Adam Sesler from X-play.

[Traylor4]

You have got to be kidding, what they have shown so far is nothing short of ridiculous. I think the Tech could be amazing, but sonething is wrong at this point. Microsoft is relying on it's marketing push to sell this product. This has disaster written all over it!!!

[hennessey86]

another kinect artical for the trolls to have a field day in

[gman_moose]

Microsoft = Communist China .... or so it would seem. The alarming thing to me was them making Destructoid take down criticisms of their commercials. What the hell happened to free speech?

[TVippy]

They know it's shitty... =)

[Scary69]

@ Wat634

Damn dude you are that delusional huh? I cannot wait to see the reviews on this when gaming journalist get to try it out..lmao

[Lykon]

Post natal depression because the baby turned out ugly

[skyblue14213]

Your avatar coupled with your comment says it all on who your biased towards, so your comment is taken with a grain of salt by me and any other unbiased person that knows who that person is in your avatar. Thanks for the laugh in combination with your avatar and your comment, lol. Typical xbot trying to put a reason or excuse on something that has no reason or excuse to begin with, lol.

[niceguywii60]

http://n4g.com/news/629458/...

PS3 fanboys are trying to be sneaky about using that same article that is recycled from other anti MSFT blogs. Trying to get revenge based on Sony's behavior(MOVE SALES DATA) is the only piece of mind they can get from this terrifying situation Sony and camp is in. There will be plenty of anti Kinect reviews attacking the device due to its game changing ability, you guys should wait to troll those real articles based on biased skewed hate.

[rrw]

i just post the SFW site instead NSFW

[zootang]

Move has sold 2m. Microsoft wanted 3m kinect sales by the end of the year.

[Ilikegames76]

reach that number if they start giving it out for free.

[aaron5829]

Oprah style.

[Graey]

I would give the kinect thing a shot. Personally I have both systems, last game I played...Reach.

Probably get Gears, because I liked the second one.
Fable always has been over hyped, and underwhelming in its promises. Not saying the game isn't good. Just that the guy peter whatever his name is, always over states what his game will do only to have it do less.

That out of the way, part of me wants the people to go in with skepticism when buying this thing, but I fear that won't happen.

We all know deep down that Kinect is not for the Hard Core...the Core gamer as it where. So that's something that we should def take note of. I think this whole war thing between consoles is stupid really. Its all an Ego based thing, but If you must have this war have it in a constructive way that doesn't shade the facts and what's really going on.

If Kinect succeeds(product wise not sales wise) then it should be given its proper respect. But don't pretend and don't assume. Just wait until it hits and then judge for yourself.

When does Kinect launch anyway?

[Scary69]

Well MS already gave 3M to Oprah who just gave them to her audience..lmao They had to have paid her a couple of millions though..haha

[Anon1974]

While that article you mentioned does have some overlap, this article offers much more discussion on the issue - which is what articles do. It's obviously not a duplicate but an article written discussing the same issue. Do you report every single review from different sources as duplicate if one review has already been posted? This is a different take.

And the issue is a relevant one. Like the article mentioned, when movie company's hold back movies for reviews or slap review embargos - you know there are serious issues. If Microsoft was solidly behind the product it would be in the hands of as many reviewers as possible this close to launch, but instead Microsoft won't let the people who know about games to review the item, instead choosing to get it into the hands of Oprah.

As gamers this should raise a red flag, and this is something that gamers should be talking about - not trying to bury the issue like Microsoft is. Microsoft has to know how this looks and yet they're doing it anyway. There's nothing good about this.

[boing]

Funny how some people are fishing anything negative on the net mostly concerning kinect

[diatom]

Its not hard to find....

[BARF]

look at all the disagrees people are getting for being pro xbox. god you ps3 kids are pathetic. all the droids say xbox users are the sheep, but ps3 idiots clammer together for any anti xbox article they can troll. people on this site are just scumbags.

[LarsoVanguard]

Read any PS3-related articles lately? The 360 kids do the same thing. Learn to separate real comments from fanboy ones and you might stop taking other people's opinions so personally.

[BARF]

the 360 kids are not the same thing. they arent even close on this site. just stop with that bs.

[Ivan Drago IV]

Stop making excuses for m$, Jesus.. Move was getting reviews almost 2 weeks before release, Sony knew they had the more superior product

[Motorola]

Yeah sony knew they had the better product hence them "welcoming comparisons" i think they got a good deal on hardware :D

[ingiomar]

It depends on what you mean with ''superior'' since they are completely different.

example

Dancing games are clearly superior on kinect.

Shooters,RPG(sorcery) sports games like Bowing an a lot more are superior with move.

So it really depends on what you mean with ''Superior''

for Hardcore Gamers that don't play party-games Move is the way to go.

For a lot of casuals and to some extent core gamers(refering to the 5 core titles announced at TGS) Kinect is the way to go.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

Stop the dancing games argument please.

Anyone with a brain could see that Dance Central is a action for animation kind of game, just like Guitar Hero, Rock Band and others in the like.

In most games what you see in the screen is an animation caused by your actions.

In this games the animation (or music if it is rock band or guitar hero) is already there, you input your action and if it's considered right the animation (or music) will go on and your score will go up, if the input is considered wrong a fail movement (or a dead note) will be introduced.

Just like in GH and RB you are not playing a music, what you press makes little to no sense, that's why you don't have a free play/compositor mode. We can expect Just Dance to not have a free dance mode too, since it don't understand your moves as dance and wouldn't know how to replicate it in screen, it can only judge your moves based on what it expects for a silhouette at a moment.

This isn't a dacing game, it's a dancing scorer, the game won't track your moves, you will be mimicking what you see in the screen and be judged. No more, no less.

[The Lazy One]

bishop. The dancer on screen isn't you. You are on the side.

http://www.whattheyplay.com...

you can see in the video there.

[NecrumSlavery]

I never noticed how much Dance Central is fake. Your the retarted blob of colors to the right! This int a dance game, just pose for each position. you dont have to dance at all...FAIL

[raztad]

You dont play Dance Central, Dance Central plays you

[aaron5829]

both "sytems" use cameras.. one gives an option to use a controller.

[CharlesDCI]

Keep in mind also that Sony held tons of Blog events for the Move well before it released. In other words, the public got a chance to "review" the Move too.

[NecrumSlavery]

Move equaled 1 year of awesome tech demos
Kinect was a year of prerendered vids, actors & elephants? why?

[frostypants]

To be fair, elephants are pretty cool.

What do you say when you want to distract someone from something unpleasant? "HEY LOOK, ELEPHANT!".

Microsoft simply took it all the way. :-)

[YellowLightofDeath]

Yes, its fairly easy to get out your hardware to reviewers when you've completely cloned a previous product. And cloning a proven motion control with stellar sales doesnt hurt either.

[jukins]

then why hasnt microsoft gotten there completey cloned kinect (eyetoy that had good sales) out to reviewers see how that works fanny fan fanboy

[YellowLightofDeath]

Eyetoy had stellar sales in the 70 million range? Wow, I didnt know that. Nice find by the SDF!

[ash_divine]

jukins never said that eyetoy sold 70 million. He said that sells were GOOD. Since Sony is still supporting the eyetoy, that's most likely true.

and don't act like you're not apart of the XDF, loser.

[DMason]

Defensive much? Why are people getting so riled up about this whole Kinect vs Move debacle? They're different products. Who cares if Kinect sucks, as long as you're not buying it (or an investor), it doesnt effect you in the endgame.

[ash_divine]

How was my comment defensive, and what exactly was I supposed to be defending? I didn't say anything about kinect or move. Simply pointing out how lame yellowlightofdeath is.

not trying to be a d!ck DMason, but did you even read my comment? It had NOTHING to do with this meaningless motion control war. I was simply responding to yellowlight's idiotic rebuttal.(and how lame it is for a user named "yellow light of death" to be making fun of fanboys, as if he isn't one himself.)

[frostypants]

Seeing as how Kinect is more of an EyeToy ripoff than Move is of Wii...and Move included EyeToy technology as part of its implementation...

...I guess we can agree that Kinect is just Move minus a bunch of features, and more expensive to boot.

[jneul]

not just that but sony has been letting people play on the move since early this year, that in my own opinion shows that sony knows they have a reliable and well built hardware, whereas with ms everything was always censored and closed off for kinect just to cut as much negative feedback as they can

[Graey]

It does pose the question is MS hiding something.

It does lead to speculation and in the eyes of the consumer what is speculated is what is right(perceived to be). So in all honesty it would be in MS best interest to have face time with Kinect.

The reason being it tends to send out a message, or rather mixed messages to consumers. We are in a slow economy at the moment, it would not be in "MS" best interest to keep this hidden. So if a guy like me would think this way, do you think MS has come to this same conclusion.

If you said yes to the above then ask yourself this, if MS has come to the above conclusion. Why then do they hold back on it. Ego aside...could it be that MS has something to hide or not?

You be the judge but judge fairly.

Also on the people saying that Move/Kinect are not the same. Yes they are.

Obviously they go in two different directions but they are the same in terms of motion control.
Also for those who bring up the updated Wii argument with the "Move" do not I repeat do not bring that up as stolen/copied tech, if you will not bring up the counter argument of Kinect being a PS eye copy as well.

[jack_burt0n]

they will buy a few im sure half a billion buys alot of blog space and banners on websites, actually they could just buy future publishing....

@niceguy
Do you really believe ppl are making this up? all the journalists and bloggers and ppl in the closed beta are saying the same thing.

[Kain81]

--
http://images.tweaktown.com...

[Kewl_Kat]

lmao

[aaron5829]

the log games are pretty hardcore..

you lose the game, you might drown.

[wissam]

The log wins hands down.lmao.

[Zeevious]

Log just doesn't have a chance with consumers . . .

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

[leonlion]

they should delay the launch

[btk]

Why do people need reviews for Kinect? Oprah and Bieber thinks the (free) Kinect is cool? Why would you want to listen to what gamers think about it?

[Ketchua]

My spider sense is tingling... Kinect is going to be awesum! /sarcasm

[Milky]

MS are just delaying the inevitable.

[Lamatios]

MS are afraid.

[Jerk120]

MS wants to give Sony a head start before they completely destroy them.

[KratosGod3]

Destroy Sony in what????
Most return add-on gadget of the year!!!

[Apone]

OL

[lex-1020]

Theres a reason you only have one bubble

[Omega Zues]

Didnt Adam Sessler just had a huge rant on about...

OOOHhhhh my.

[NecrumSlavery]

zing!!!!!!

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

There's nothing to say it is Microsoft, and he was speaking about publisher's cherry picking who they think will give a favorable review. Unless there's a pro-Microsoft list of sites getting Kinect....

Regardless of fanboy allegiances, I am reluctant to purchase any new product or technology until I am confident. You should wait until after launch. Let Oprah's ilk beta test it for you.

[blackburn5]

I can see why. Enough early bad or mediocre reviews from the right people and it's could mess up their launch .BTW not saying Kinect will have bad or mediocre reviews just saying that they they get any it could take some of the wind out of Microsoft's sales.But then again when reviews are red flagged that is usually a bad sign. Either you are not as confidant about your product as you say you are or it sucks a lot.

[killershadow117]

you ps3 fanboys are the biggest group of idiots I have ever seen. Every Microsoft game gets embargoes on their reviews, they do it so no one place can be biased against it or for it so you can get a good variety of reviews.

[Ilikegames76]

is when the reviewers already have the product but cannot print out the result of the review until the embargo is lifted on a set date. The problem is that here, the reviewers were not even sent a product for review.

[Graey]

@ Killershadow117.

You...shut up and make me a sandwich!

lol joking. But seriously you calling someone a fan boy I want to say makes you a fanboy...isn't that the general census on the term. But I'm not going to repeat what Likegames 76 has stated. Just read that and you should be informed.

Have a nice day.

[killershadow117]

The fact they don't have a product could be any number of reasons though, they might just want to gather up all of the kinect games that are launching for it and sending them all at once and one game isn't ready yet or something. That is just one reason I can think of. It's not because they are hesitant or scared to release Kinect through, I can give you that much.

[0oAngeluso0]

Can't wait to see some of the people on these boards eat a little after Kinect launches and launches quite successfully. I guess I'll never understand why people care so much about seeing something fail. I mean I prefer the 360, but I don't say "Death to PS3" "Death to Move" that's foolish and would really only make myself look bad. Were all gamers here, let people like what they want. From everything I've seen Kinect looks solid, I got to try it out in Orlando a few weeks ago and was impressed. It looks like pre orders are doing well and they aren't taking anymore here. So soon, everyone will have to get their ya ya's somewhere else.

[Pennywise]

I'm not Miss Cleo, but Kinect will not score over a 6/10 for Hardware. It's games will be worse off.

This commercial will sell Kinects... no doubt. People will buy it.... But I don't think MS is doing the buyers any justice with their quirky advertisements. If I didn't know better, I would think this is a great party add on.

Just because it sells doesn't mean its good. Just because it has successful commercial sales because of a half billion dollar ad campaign, doesn't make Kinect good.

I would like to see some reviews. It doesn't make sense for MS not to be sending out review packages unless they are scared the consumer will hear how bad it is.

[Graey]

I'm not Miss Cleo, but Kinect will not score over a 6/10 for Hardware. It's games will be worse off.

- I'm not sure on this but again you did say your not Miss Cleo so I'll take that into consideration. That aside I'll wager it will hit around the 7.5-8/10 mark.

This commercial will sell Kinects... no doubt. People will buy it.... But I don't think MS is doing the buyers any justice with their quirky advertisements. If I didn't know better, I would think this is a great party add on.

- I agree that your right on this. The commercial will sell Kinect.

Just because it sells doesn't mean its good. Just because it has successful commercial sales because of a half billion dollar ad campaign, doesn't make Kinect good.

- Also I think your right on this as well. It will sell a crap load of these things. More than likely it will surpass the Move. However I'm curious to see how this stacks up in say February/March time frame.

[blackburn5]

killershadow117 why do all of you assume we are all PS3 fanboys? I ask this question over and over again. I know many 360 fanboys who wish Kinect would die and go away too. Why do you assume that everyone on you side supports this? @ 0oAngeluso0. You won't see me crying if Kinect sells. I really don't care. You all assume we go and weep when ever we hear these things about Kinect. Just giving my opinion. Kinect's success or failure doesn't bother me in the least.

[killershadow117]

I have mixed feelings for it but that doesn't mean just because there is an embargo on reviews means that Microsoft thinks its bad. Plus I know this place is a breading ground for PS3 fanboys so that's why I put that.

[strickers]

What has the baking of dough based goods got to do with anything?Most places are filled with 360 fanboys so it makes a change to find a place where PS3 dominates but to be honest I see plenty of reasoned argument on here and a few terrible fanboys.Some of the most vocal are actually 360 ones but as much as fanboyism is a problem so is the fact that calling someone a fanboy seems to remove the need to present a fair,balanced counter argument.

[acere]

You don't need to know anything you don't already know.
That's how to breed fucking morons... F U MS!

[patterson]

That's just MS playing to their market lol.

[Obama]

MS knows well that games like kinectimals and kinect adventures will get murdered by critics. Are there launch games on kinect that don't suck honestly?

[0oAngeluso0]

Didn't mean people didn't buy it, people saw the possibilities. Kinect has a lot of possibilities. It might not be for you, just like I don't really enjoy PS3, but I don't bash it all day every day. None of us works for these companies, so why argue about it? If it's your thing, then get it, if not, don't. Just don't judge people on their likes and dislikes. Were all entitled to our own opinions.

[RetroReborn]

u bash all day every day on the ps3, in almost all ps3 articles, what was so special about the launch line up of any console? as for kinect, what i have seen dosnt look good, i will be waiting for those reviews to see wether i should buy the "kids" one.

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

Saying you don't enjoy a console marks you as a 360 fanboy...

I enjoy games...and I enjoy games on any console I get the opportunity to play, which often includes the 360 even if I don't own one.

Still Microsoft's handling of Natal/Kinect has always been suspect.

[RetroReborn]

i own a three consoles and a gaming pc, i call it as it is though, if something looks good, then it looks good, if something looks bad i call it but wait untill i try it myself, take the wrc game for instence, it got slated across the board, but once you get past the bad graphics, the actua; game, is good, it plays well, and the handeling is very good.

[DuneBuggy]

I dont think i need to read a review by a 20 somthing on Kinectimals.What little Timmy and Sue think of that game is all that matters IMO.After all its a game for little kids like my 6 year old daughter. Just like that Eyepet thats never discussed here in any fashion good or bad.....Funny aint it? ;)
As for early games that likely wont "suck" for Kinect....Dance central and Child of Eden are two that come to mind.

[ngecenk]

simple: because they dont want the audience to hear the review, they just want the audience to hear the advertisement on the tv like oprah saying it really works, or ellen, or justin.

pls note i didnt say anything about kinect quality.

[gypsygib]

I hate it, small children will love it.

[0oAngeluso0]

I have yet to see a day when Kinect wasn't bashed, especially here. None of that has hurt the pre orders or anything. All I heard was Lag this, space that, wont recognize this, bad games that. I also remember hearing that if it released at $150 it would flop and not sell at all, well I tend to think it'll sell well. I'm a gamer, consider myself core. Male, in my 20's and I pre ordered Kinect right after E3. I saw the possibilities. I know a lot of people like me. So let's move on to hate the next flavor of the month.

[patterson]

Out of curiosity, what game(s) for Kinect are you most excited for?

[Pennywise]

Good question. I think he is most looking forward to the initial sales results so he can crown MS's camera king. I think he is waiting for the return on the company stocks he owns.

[aaron5829]

stuffed animals..

i'd say, he'll love kinectimals.

[commodore64]

This article is choc-full of anti kinect trollers and nothing is done.

Kinect hasn't even been released.
It hasn't even been reviewed.
99% of the negative posters in this thread have NO intention of getting kinect.
All I am seeing is a bunch of low life, bottom feeding hateful trolls that are doing their best to express their geek rage.

Why is this being tolerated?
How very sad.

[acky1]

how boring would this site be if the mods took down every negative comment?

answer: extremely boring.

Do you not want people to express their opinions? bad or good.

[cereal_killa]

"Deary me... where ARE the moderators?
This article is choc-full of anti kinect trollers and nothing is done."

Funny at the irony because if the Mod were to do that every one of your comments would be deleted in every thread...

I dont care what anyone says Kinect is not worth it for the average and hardcore gamer its aimed at children (almost every 360 fanboy here) and casuals and that market is dominated and owned by the Wii and DSi. Once again M$ wastes money on useless trash when they could be providing better Exclusives and hell how about a few 1st party studios $500 million would put a few of those in there pocket for sure but you Muppets could care less you let them get away with charging for online, RROD/E74, timed exclusive trash instead of real exclusive game that are not on the PC and you will continue to do so until M$ decides to throw in the towel enjoy the fantasy Muppets.

[bustamove]

Hey Commodore, people have a right to express their opinions whether *you* or anyone else like them or not.

[jjmustoe]

why so scared of reviews ms

[blackburn5]

that is just some thing 360 fanboys say. N4G doesn't love or hate Kinect anymore than any other site. In fact was on Joystiq recently and many people were talking about being Kinect's disappointing line up. People here have been saying bad things about PS3, Bluray and Move since the day they were introduced. You people really have to learn to take it as well as dish it out.

[0oAngeluso0]

If you want to see fanboyism at it's worst, look at any Kinect article. It's really a bit sad to see. I've personally never seen anything like it. You'd seriously think most of the people worked for Sony and were paid to attack Kinect articles.
As for Kinect working, they have demo's all over, I went to the one in Orlando a few week's ago as I said earlier. It worked fine, no lag, no issues. It was quite fun and I remember being in line with people who were against Kinect, then after trying it, went and put pre orders on it. It's really a lot of fun. Also as I said, if it's your thing, then great, if not then that is fine too, but the bashing is childish.

[RetroReborn]

go look at late o7 and 08 articles, it was all teh ps3 iz deadz, or the ps3 haz no gamez, but then again you wernt here then were you?

[visualb]

*reads your comments*

yep....=|

both sides are pretty bad. both people trash talking Kinect, and the people defending it (you)

[IHateYouFanboys]

embargos dont reflect confidence in the product.

Reach had a review embargo until i think it was 2 days before release. does this mean that Microsoft/Bungie werent confident in Reach?

every big game these days has a review embargo of at LEAST the weeks its released. if they didnt, youd have sites posting reviews months before release before the games even finished, and before theyve even played it.

just wait, Gran Turismo 5 will have a review embargo of 2-3 days before release too.

and i love the way some idiots on here are still acting like noones actually been able to play Kinect games lol. here in Australia just last week Microsoft were touring around the shopping centres with their little setup letting people play Kinect for themselves. we KNOW it works, reviewers know it works, everyone thats played it knows it works - yet you still try and kid yourselves that people will buy it only for it to be a big fake that doesnt actually work.

get over your irrational and illogical hate for a COMPANY.

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

Embargo - having a game reviewed, but review is not published until day of launch.

Here - no product, no review...?

No matter, smart money's waiting until after Kinect launches.

[Trroy]

Just fyi for anyone who thinks this is "like" a game review embargo...

Game review embargos are for the posted review date. The game is still sent out, to be played and reviewed, several weeks before it hits the shelves. The reviewer plays it, writes the review, and then, when the embargo lifts, they post it.

In this case, Microsoft hasn't given the reviewers the hardware/software to even start reviewing yet. Its not a review embargo -- its an intentional delay, which will force reviews to be published after release, even if any actual review embargo lifts on the release date itself. You can't review a product you don't possess.

A review embargo is pointless, if there's nothing to review to begin with. MS can cover themselves by simply stating "oops, so sorry you got the hardware too late to review it by the time the embargo lifted", and that's that.

[BlazerManZQ8]

It probably sucks lol

[lordkemp007]

You spelled probably wrong my friend.

It should be changed to - does.

[etownone]

Def RED FLAG !!

[kagon01]

The wrath of Kinetimals soon at the store near you...

[Galaxia]

Microsoft is behaving really shady over this product. After some extensive reading I am not purchasing this.

[SkyCrawler]

I've tried Kinect myself and I have to say I was really disappointed.

[HeartDisease]

microsoft keeping their casual device from the bloodthirsty hardcore reviewers? whoda thought? people who work in the video gaming industry are the most hardcore there are. how do you think they will review kinect and kinectimals? not to favorably. that would be like asking them to review a new line of diapers. its a product that is not meant for them at all in the slightest. get their kids to review kinectimals and see what happens. of course kids(casuals) do not care about graphics, lag, or any other thing that anyone reading this would consider important in gaming. you hardcore gamers need to figure out that for everyone of you, there is a casual out there. game makers now make products for them as well. kinect is one of those products. deal with it.

if your saying that kinect will have hardcore games, name 1. name 1 game that uses a control and kinect at the same time. i bet microsoft will not allow a developer to make one since this is their "you are the controller, no control needed" device. has their even been a game announced that will uses kinect and a control? thought fable 3 was going to use it but that has been scraped for launch last i heard with no date set for it. simply put, this is a device for casual players to take a chunk of the newly created demographic the wii has created. more people gaming is not a bad thing either as its more money into the wallets of the people who create games. that money will eventually come back to the games/products you are interested in.

[Xi]

I thought the review embargo is being lifted 4 days prior to the launch.

[bviperz]

The sad thing is that I'm sure Kinect will be successful commercially and that is all the rabid fanboys will need to sing it's praises. It doesn't even have to work properly or have any good games, if it sells than the fanboys will be ecstatic. Just reading some of the comments above makes me frown. Is that what we are turning into, gamers who only care if the game sells and has a high Metacritic review score? Damn you Microsoft, first the major journalists and now the gamers. Damn you!

[Xi]

do people really needed to be reminded of how last gen rumble was, and how much people were eating into that BS?

Hell we could go so far back as to bring up blast processing. Fanboys will always sing praise of garbage as long as that garbage has their favorite company backing it.

[strickers]

The argument about if Kinect will be good seems to be decided on if it works or not.I've seen it and it works sometimes BUT this for me is not why I dislike Kinect.My question is(outside of dance)how will it be a good games controller?In what way will it be better than rivals or a pad?I just can't see it.Move(or even Wii)or a normal pad will be better for almost every game eg Child of Eden is apparently better with a pad and that's apparently a great advert for Kinect.I can tell you already that Move will be better for that game too.

[JonnyBigBoss]

You shouldn't need the embargo to tell you there's a red flag on Kinect. All you need is 5 minutes of playing it to realize how limited it really is.

[snipes101]

This thread is so full of sony fanboys its repulsive. I own all three consoles and love them all. I love games, end of story, and it should be the end of everyone elses as well. Arguing over shit like this is the lowest form of mental retardation the internet has spawned. I really wish you peole who are arguing about this would put down the controller, pick up a gun and kill yourselves because you have made these message boards neigh innavicable due to your incessant shit tossing. There isn't any actual discussion on the product or intelligent speculating on why this embargo was put in place, it just sensationalistic crap. Stop it. End rant.

[STiRacer]

They should delay it. And keep on delaying it for five years.

[No Way]

I don't believe I've seen so many PS3 fanboys in one article.
You'd think people would get tired of spending all day hating..
I hope it succeeds just for the fact, you all will look like idiots.

Ridiculous.

[ApocalypseShadow]

never seen so many 360 fans crying over ps3 fans who have common sense.either defend the product because it WORKS with video and links or shut it.

"it's not for us core gamers yet..."

"it's not for reviewers yet..."

who the F#CK is it for then?if it's not for REAL GAMERS and is just for oprah audiences,then that's just an EPIC FAIL.....backed by failing fanboys with no common sense....

[Thoreau]

that comment made me laugh, bubs 2 u

[The Wood]

Elephants And Oprah, performed by J Bieber written by avatars shoe and produced by 'the man behind the curtain' go get

I'll truly wait until it's released before my judgement is made but MS's methods have shown an absolute lack of confidence. This is marketing at it's best/worst depending on your stance

[mcstorm]

I love the hate for kinect I never bother with reviews any way as they only give games like mw2 gta ect 10 out of 10 and I've not liked any of them. I'm looking forward to kinect and what makes kinect different to the wii and move is it is software based so from this I can see ms will be putting the final tweaks together right up until the 4th november when the usa gets its hands on the device this will be the reason for no reviews. But as usual everyone comes on here and starts saying fail ect. Wait until the device is out before you make your mind up.

[yakuzakazuya]

MS is definitely hiding something. Compare the humble confidence of Dr. Marks and Anton Mikhailov with their Move demos with Molyneux and Kudo Tsunoda's bombastic yet proofless claims about Kinect. Something is wrong in Kinect's camp.

[jneul]

it's just a fail waiting to happen and ms knows it hence no reviews for it !!

[PastyBomb]

GOOD! i don't blame them, all the review sites are fockt up!

[digimau]

Dear MS, a Question: remember you the AAA Exclusives for your Hardcore Gamers?

A 360 Elite Gamer..... -_-

[BabyTownFrolics]

i'm starting to hate it here, its just bash bash bash.

oh look something i dont like and would never buy, let me write about that in every comment section I can find.

heres an idea spend more time writing about the things you enjoy, instead of explaining why you hate something for the hundredth time.

[atlys]

if it weren't for the fact that gaming news breaks faster on this site than anywhere else, i'd totally abandon it. hate hate hate, that's all you see on N4G anymore. this site is becoming more of a joke everyday.

[BabyTownFrolics]

that is true

i got a few free things off xbox live and psn all due to N4G

[PirateThom]

It's not even fun to troll it any more, because you just get de-bubbled and your comment hidden or a ton of disagrees.

The craic is most definitely lacking.

[Apone]

into my eye.

[Thoreau]

going to get funny. kinect is not in my list of must have items.

[artsaber]

Kinect's reviews SHOULD benefit from a WOW factor from a new tech toy if it is decent. A review embargo makes things seem fishy. But then again, all Microsoft would have to do to "encourage" favorable Kinect reviews is give generous "goody bags" with free games and Kinect units to a decent amount of the gaming staff. Hell, it would even benefit Microsoft to pay each gaming site exec $10,000 cash in exchange for 9s and 10s. (If Kinect was lacking, thats what I'd do) The money returned from the sales driven by influenced review scores would be insane. Business 1st, self 2nd, customers 3rd.

[WLPowell]

it's not for reviewers, it's not even for children, because even they want games that work. It's for NPD sales charts fanboys, that's it.

[Orange Juice]

I hope Kinetic is a massive success so that MGS focuses 100% of their resources on developing camera games. That would probably be best for their fanbase since this is the biggest launch in xboxs history and all. Who needs core games when you have countless kinetic adventures spinoffs to look forward to?

Seriously x-children, dont be afraid to criticise MS and the funny decisions they like to make, Nobody from there will hold it against you.

[SpinalRemains138]

ZSUNK!

[TVippy]

"All Points Bulletin is a recent example, where the studio didn’t want the review of the game released before its launch. Publishers also had an embargo for Too Human and Haze up until launch day.

Typically its a very bad sign when publishers do this as it means that there is something wrong and the company wants to rely on ignorance and marketing rather than letting the public find out early. I am not saying this is the case for the Kinect, but it is very concerning nevertheless." © this article.

[SpinalRemains138]

LMAO @ Kinect. Seriously guys; who's gonna play that gay fuckin thing? It's like a tool for retards. It would have been cool in 1984.

[ReBurn]

Oh, look. It's this article again. Let the FUD begin, I guess. Next we'll be hearing about how Microsoft is holding people at gunpoint and forcing them to buy 10 of them at once.

And it's not like this is the first time a company has asked for an embargo. I remember some other company released a game not too long ago and asked reviewers to wait two weeks before publishing reviews to make sure that the game was reviewed fairly. It happens.

[danielle007]

The casuals aren't going to search for reviews, they aren't skeptical. Only the core are..

And Kinect was never intended for us anyways, honestly. Oh sure, M$ said to be on the look out for some core games that are coming to Kinect.. Riiight. Those kinds of games need some buttons.

Oh well.

[Smootherkuzz]

Kinect always in the crosshairs of web sites and people who give the Kinect and MS bad way to go.Kinect still have not been released, it has been on TV shows, Malls around the country etc and has got great reviews along with the bad, this page have Kinect crossed out is sending the message that Kinect has already failed,not right and unfail to the people that do want Kinect. and if MS is doing what you are said, I don't blame them too many ass holes out here that try to destory just for fun and in some cases for profit.This is how great things get shot down before they had a change to show what they really can do. Yes, it may not be for some but that do not make it a failed or bad product for others who find joy with the product. If you do not like it, move on and stop leaving a trial of BS behind you.

[Xander756]

In addition to all the games named in the article, Square-Enix also said they didn't want reviews of Final Fantasy XIV until a month later...and look how that game scored!

[Pika-pie]

They should just delay the thing until next year so they gave chance to iron out all the bugs

[ssj2gohan83]

With all the funding MS is going with Kinect. They can market Sh** in a Bag and it will still sell. And all the fanboys will rave on how Sh** in a Bag is the greatest thing since slice bread.

That is how MS's marketing works.

[StitchJones]

DON'T BUY IT. MAKE M$ SUFFER FOR ONCE DURING THIS XBOX360 era. Sorry about the all caps. I'm just a big M$ 360 hater due to RROD's and sub-par graphic display output.

[Livin_in_a_box]

I really do feel sorry for the people that are really believing that it is going to be amazing and already have it pre-ordered. Though they'll deny any crappiness in 'their' product and claim it's amazing...well, who wouldn't when you've just paid £125 for something?

Give me PlayStation Move any day- it may be a Wii rip off, but at least its got games to back itself up. Look at Kinect's launch line up: Kinectimans, Joy Ride, The Biggest Loser...a bit familiar, no?

[anaviel]

Why people argue over things like this on N4G will never make sense to me. All these points about MS this and RROD that, fact is until Kinect hits the stores no one and I mean no one on this board knows how the device will perform.

When I think about MS releasing a faulty tech at this stage in this generation cycle I question the logic that anyone would believe that to be true. First of all MS does not need Kinect to move systems this holiday season. They actually don't even need exclusives. When COD Black Ops drops the game will sell more on the 360 than PS3. It's been like that since the beginning of this generation..multi-platform games mostly (not always) sell better on the 360.

This is not a shot at the PS3 either. I'm speaking numbers here. So year over year the 360 has done very well over the holiday season so releasing faulty tech right at the beginning of the holiday season and have to deal with all those returns is not a smart move. They made that mistake before and lost billions. I'm sure MS won't do it again. Of course it won't be 100% at launch. Move or the Wii-mote did not perform 100% at launch. It took updates and tweaks to get the tech working properly.

It takes a real "special" human being to pray failure to something that perhaps millions of people will spend their hard earned money on just because you pledged allegiance to another corporation. Sony and MS are both corporations that deal for profit. Both have been known to release great and faulty products (how many revisions did the PS2 have?). But what they have in common with all fan boys of either system is.....THEY ARE NOT CUTTING ANY OF YOU BUFFOONS A CHECK FOR YOUR LOYALTY NO TIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE. Unless you have stock in the company it's just best to remain a consumer and not a loyal subject.

[gcolley]

you are wasting your time. people this dumb are a lost cause. it is almost like the PS3 creates haters and douchebags. i just don't understand the hostility, the trolling and overall immaturity. why does every article about PS3 get 100 worship comments and every 360 article gets 100 hate comments. what has this console done to your minds that you feel this way??? or is it all those violent PS3 games altering your tiny little brains??? haha, can just imagine the headlines now...

what an amazing anthropological study PS3 fanboys would make.

[lex-1020]

I have a couple things to say about Kinect. Before I start let me say that in no way is this comment meant to fan-boyish. I like the IDEA of Kinect (not to say that I like Kinect) The IDEA of Kinect is great, not needing a controller, that's a great idea. BUT I do not think Kinect will do well at first. Kinect needs someone who really understands the hardware and really understands how to be precise with it. Until someone truly understands how to work with it I think that it is going to fail

[GiantJedi]

wow this site is full of ps3 fanboys, every comment that says anything positive about kinect or microsoft or even negative about sony gets 100 thumbs down.

[KonigXero]

Hypocrites..
And they say SONY is shady for not revealing sales numbers.

[gcolley]

good morning PS3 fanboys, you guys lost again?

[RubMyTaco]

Just got back from a retailer test night for Kinect. I left feeling really disappointed! For some reason Kinect had a lot of problems keeping track of my body and my arms in particular. While playing Joyride I was almost unable to steer and during the onrail part of Kinect Adventures (where you have to duck, move left and right to grab coins) the avatars arms were flailing all over the place.

The Microsoft rep there couldn't tell me what was wrong and assured us that this was all a work in progress deal. This struck me as strange considering these games will be released in about 4 weeks. Thanks to this event I've decided not to buy Kinect and also not recommend it to anyone who values $150.

- Taco

[lukewind]

You are all the biggest fanboy morons in the world. You should all realize how much of a joke articles like this are to the real gaming community.

[KurdGamer]

Well let's w8 and see how this more advanced clone of the old PS2 eye technology will do. In the mean time will enjoy my PS3 Move, killzone 3 beta and BLACK OPS.. and yes caps was necessary. :)

[nerm2k]

If you ever want to use Microsoft word again you better buy kinect because bill gates personally put his family's lives on the line. Well that sounds dumb. Just as dumb as saying the Microsoft gaming division will get axed if kinect doesn't....move. The first paragraph threw me off of the whole article.