120°

Kinect 2: Do We Need It?

SPOnG: "Kinect. It’s a word that strikes horror into the hearts and minds of many hardcore gamers. The Kryptonite for Xbox fans that keeps each Microsoft conference from being 100 per cent awesome in their eyes, with every mention. But, Microsoft is clearly making a new one. The question is, do we need one?"

Gimmemorebubblez4025d ago

I don't but then again I do not speak for the whole gaming community.

yeahokchief4025d ago

Nope. Gamers don't.

It's a gimmick to appeal to families and non-gamers.

They take actual gamers for granted. Thinking that "they'll buy it anyways."

SatanSki4025d ago

I am a gamer for more then 20 years and i DO need something new and different. Im bored to death with games where all i can and have to do is mindless killing stuff. I need more immersion and i know technologies like Kinect and Oculus Rift, when properly designed and utilised will provide it. I dont give a shit anymore about so called core games as they became so stagnant i cant force myself to play the best of them.

zebramocha4025d ago

@Satan kinect and the rift are input devices and not games.

pompombrum4025d ago (Edited 4025d ago )

@SatanSki - I sort of agree with you.. too many games these days are just repeatedly killing things to the point where I'm bored of action games. So many fantastic games (supposedly) that I have no desire to play what so ever.. tomb raider comes to mind.

Still, Kinect isn't the answer imho. I owned kinect for three months and found the games to be boring and not engaging at all. Funny still, Microsoft used the slogan "better with kinect" a lot yet the truth is, you still want a controller on standby because navigating menus with kinect was a royal pain.

Do we need a new kinect? Probably not. If done right and they actually focus on making it something EVERYONE can enjoy not just families, then I'll give it a look but the first kinect was an abysmal failure from my gaming perspective.. I associate kinect with dancing sith lords.. that's just wrong.

malokevi4025d ago

Everything is a gimmick... until its not.

SatanSki4025d ago

@aiBreeze Sure, first Kinect is too unresponisve and not acurate enough for more then kids/party games. Thats why i said "properly designed". Is Kinect 2.0 good enough is to be seen. To be clear, i dont want Kinect to become the only controller in games (well, maybe excluding fighting and party games). What i would like to see is developers start using it as an extension for pad/mouse and keyboard or even introducing new, more immersive for given game controllers which uses Kinect features. It even could be used for better mini games. There is a potential and i hope one day it will be realised. Do wee need it? I dont know. I can only say i do becouse my love for games is dying and i need something fresh and new.

Perjoss4025d ago

"Im bored to death with games where all i can and have to do is mindless killing stuff."

truth

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4025d ago
slpknt6sic64025d ago

I dont "need" it but if done right I dont see why not. As long as it isnt the main focus of the new xbox.

PooEgg4025d ago

I think that the fear for many gamers is that it WILL be the main focus, followed by a secondary focus of making Xbox a cable box replacement.

slpknt6sic64025d ago

That is exactly what I fear. I know im getting a ps4 day 1, I just hope microsoft delivers a quality system to push sony since I dont think nintendo will.

malokevi4025d ago

I'm a gamer, and I want it.

lastofgen4025d ago

My kids love it, and it's nice to have options.

yeahokchief4025d ago ShowReplies(1)
Cherchez La Ghost4025d ago

Have a kid with energy?! Give'em a Kinect! They'll be done for the night when bedtime comes. LoL!!

yugovega4025d ago

yes because star wars Kinect needs a sequel

B1663r4025d ago

I realize this might be taken as trolling...

But Disney bought the Star Wars Franchise...

And they are making three more movies...

And a theme park...

yugovega4025d ago

I truly mean it. with new people in control there is a chance of making a fun and well done Kinect star wars game. one that feels the promise the first one made.

4025d ago
Supermax4025d ago

I would like it to switch my tv channel or navigate the ui or have it switch on when I enter the room.maybe use it to customize my load outs in halo or battlefield

Show all comments (47)
150°

10 Biggest Xbox Mistakes of All Time (So Far)

The Xbox brand has done a lot of good over the years, but their various blunders are pretty wild to look back on in their magnitude.

Read Full Story >>
culturedvultures.com
piroh4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Ironically number 9 can save them at this point (releasing games on multiple platforms)

ChasterMies2d ago

By “save them” you mean make more profit for Microsoft. Xbox will still be a dying hardware platform.

OtterX3d ago

You could add the naming scheme for the consoles, it just confuses customers. I know they wanted to avoid traditional numbering bc it would always be lower than their competitor, but this whole 360 then One then Series thing is confusing af. Imagine a Soccer Mom trying to figure this stuff out. I still mistakenly call the Series X the One from time to time on accident.

RNTody3d ago

Don't forget about the Xbox One, Xbox One X and Xbox Series X! Good luck to Soccer moms around the world.

S2Killinit2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

They did that on purpose to confuse and direct attention away from the generational numbering.

MS doesn’t like reminding people that they joined the industry after others had already been involved in gaming.

For instance, they called the xbox “360” to combat PlayStation “3” because they wanted to seem like “more” than “3”, so instead of xbox 2, they opted for xbox 360. Also this had the additional benefit of selling consoles to uninformed parents who might purchase a “360” instead of a “3” by mistake, or because they thought 360 was more than 3. Kind of a disingenuous move.

They have been continuing with their confusing naming patterns for pretty much the same reasons. Frankly, it fits with who and what they are as a brand.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago

I can understand their reasoning, but whoever came up with that naming scheme should be fired, bad naming schemes have killed consoles (I'm pretty sure it was the major reason for the downfall of the WiiU). They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo and Sega have had for their consoles, far less confusing for the consumer.

Cacabunga3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Phil Spencer is the worst that has happened to Xbox.
They built a respectable brand up to Xbox one. Then this guy took over and things became a joke

Reaper22_3d ago

He still has his job. Something you can't say about Jim Ryan.

Cacabunga3d ago

Both bad execs. One is on job and one thankfully retired.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I didn't like either person, both people damaged their respective brands and produced worse outcomes, but Phil did save the Xbox brand from being retired by Microsoft. Although in hindsight, he should have just let it die, rather than languish in limbo like it is now.

Rainbowcookie1d 13h ago

Yeah but the one that was "bad" didn't even affect sales.

bunt-custardly2d ago

Phil Spencer was also on the team back when 360 was around, alongside Shane Kim, Peter Moore etc. I think the damage that did the most harm was the Don Mattrick "Always Online" console (ahead of its time basically). They handed Sony and Nintendo a free-pass when that was revealed. It went downhill from there. Then the corporate machine went into full swing to try and recover. They have to a degree as a games company for the masses, and less so for the core gamer. Outside USA, the Xbox brand does not sell as well as Japanese based consoles (citation needed).

Cacabunga2d ago

Want a decision maker. The always online and TV plans was a disaster yes, but they caught up by announcing 1st party games that gamers actually kept the hype going.. until this moron took over and introduced the PC day one release.. e all know where that ended..

S2Killinit2d ago

I dont think they were ever a respectable brand, not since the beginning, when their goal was never to be involved and share in the gaming space. I think the OG xbox was an exception because MS as a brand was still getting its foot in and so the people behind that were people of the gaming industry.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago

The 360 was the brand in its prime though, everything went downhill towards the end of that generation. Its staple games like Halo, Forza and Gears are what kept the console relevant and afloat for so long.

MaximusPrime_3d ago

Really good video.

I remember the days with RRoD was big news on here, N4G.

Microsoft had it turbulence number of years.

Looking at the success of Sea of Thieves despite being 6 years old, time to release Halo, Forza horizon 4 & 5 on PS5. It'll help their revenue

shinoff21833d ago (Edited 3d ago )

2 of the 4 games they did already sold really well. So it's definitely going down. Idk about halo or forza but I feel those studios they've bought in the last 5 years, their coming

ChasterMies2d ago

I found this video painful to watch. Can someone list them out?

Top 10 for me from are:
1. 2013 reveal presentation
2. Bundling Kinect 2 with Xbox One
3. RRoD or why rushing to market with hardware is always a bad idea.
4. Buying studios only to close them.
5. Ads on the Home Screen
6. Letting Halo die.
7. Letting Geard of War die.
8. Every console name
9. Charging for Xbox Live on Xbox 360 when Sony let PS3 players play online for free.
10. Cancelling release of OG Xbox games after the Xbox 360 launched.

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150°

Microsoft to Add Copilot AI to Video Games

Microsoft recently revealed its plans to incorporate Copilot directly into video games, with Minecraft being the first showcased example.

Read Full Story >>
xpgained.co.uk
Fishy Fingers7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

F*** AI

"Hey Copilot, what's a good meme to prove I dislike AI".... https://giphy.com/clips/sou...

Einhander19727d ago

Two trillion dollar company that just can't wait to put as many people possible out of work as fast as possible.

It feels like every single thing they do is making gaming worse and destroying the industry.

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darthv726d ago

....you know it takes people to program the AI.... right? It isnt like it is sentient. We haven't reach skynet level of situation or anywhere close to the matrix just yet.

That's next Thursday.

Einhander19726d ago (Edited 6d ago )

It takes a people to program the AI then that AI is used for who knows how many games eliminating countless jobs which only grows as AI is used for more and more game creation functions.

What you're saying is so ridiculously short sighted and truly larking any kind of understanding and foresight.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6d ago
CaptainFaisal7d ago

Why all the hate? Im actually excited about this! Always wanted this kind of immersion, and an AI companion with me all the time helping me out knowing the status of my skills/inventory/progress and giving me tips on the best approach or how to craft something specific is game changing for the industry.

Hate all you want about AI, but this is just the start and I can see the potential already. You wont be complaining in the next 5-10 years about this, but rather complain if a game hasn’t implemented it.

MrDead7d ago

Yes we can't wait for the work of others to be used without the need to pay them so that MS can profit even more from the people they fire.

I_am_Batman7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

There is no chance I'd ever use something like this, especially if it's not part of the core game design, but a layer on top of it. It's way too much handholding. Many games already feel like busy work, because they don't let the player figure things out on their own. Having a real-time interactive guide defeats the purpose of playing the game in the first place in my opinion.

If this were to become the standard like you predict, we'll see more and more video games get away with bad design, because people will just be used to ask for help from the AI companion anyway.

Number1TailzFan7d ago

Well Nintendo don't need this with some of their games these days, with invincible characters, items, easy bosses etc.. they do the hand holding built in

helicoptergirl7d ago

Takes "hand holding" in games to a whole new level.

BlackDoomAx6d ago

Because human nature xD Almost every new technology had these kind of comments.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 6d ago
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70°

Activision team is opening a new game studio in Poland 'Elsewhere Entertainment' to build new AAA IP

Microsoft's Activision subsidiary announced today that it is opening a new game development studio to take advantage of the huge talent pool growing in Poland. It'll be the second Activision studio based in the region, joining Infinity Ward Krakow, although this studio is, in fact, not working on Call of Duty.

Read Full Story >>
windowscentral.com
Psychonaut8511d ago

They’re not working on Call of Duty? Give it time.