340°

Xbox Kinect Does Not Play Well With Couch Potatoes

From Kotaku:

To those doubting Kinect, I can say that, after a week of playing more of its games, it works great. But after a week of noticing a lack of seated play — after a week of not getting a single developer or Microsoft person to clearly state that Kinect can track your body while you sit — I'm left to wonder if this impressive tech has a problem. Controller-free gaming is an axciting future. Couch-free gaming (and maybe movie-watching and video-chatting)? Say it ain't so.

M-Easy5081d ago

Valveteen was sitting down while talking to lolipop. Skittles come here skittles.

Jamie Foxx5081d ago (Edited 5081d ago )

'But, I asked the Microsoft people running the demo, could I drag a chair over and try this sitting down?

No.'

and that was when controlling the dashboard? WTF

this is going to BLOW UP if true,i hope for microsofts sake this isnt true because I can imagine now the copious amount of articles begging for hits well have to shovel through about this, well written article from kotaku...surprisingly

k-Lan5081d ago

NOBODY will get up from the couch to control the dash or play a racing game. Imagine getting up everytime you want to forward or replay a scene in a movie. LOL! IF they don't fix this before released, MS is in big trouble.

HDgamer5081d ago

No gameplay videos at all.

Blacktric5081d ago ShowReplies(1)
ShadowCK5081d ago (Edited 5081d ago )

Well you play Resistance. So what would you know about Natal seeing as you haven't touched a 360?

ShadowCK5081d ago (Edited 5081d ago )

@ Article

So because you can't sit down that automatically means it's going to fail?

If you think that, you are a failure.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 5081d ago
Mista T5081d ago

you know I want to actually have fun playing games, not do this
http://i48.tinypic.com/2dl9...

Pennywise5081d ago

That guy has probably lost many fights in his life.

Do they really consider this gaming? This is the fail of flail I have been talking about. No precision... just flap and flail and you win. No thank you.

R2D25081d ago

I have a 5 year old daughter, my question to you is would you laugh at her if you saw her playing Kinect?
Kinect is not meant for people like you or me who do not want to look like fools but for the Wiii crowld who actually play games and dont give a f@#k about what people on N4G think.

Pennywise5081d ago

NO Precision R2D2, just flap. That doesn't seem like fun... see what I like about gaming is the precision that gives you the ability to hone your skills.

People on N4G dont give a %$#%^ what people not on N4G think. If your 5yr old daughter plays this, fine... That is who it is made for.

feelintheflow5081d ago

I play wii games with my family and we look like idiots, who cares. Are you trying to hook up with someone your playing with? Since most gamers are fat ugly nerds, I would imagine that they don't have many people they are trying to impress with how they look while playing a video game. This thing might flop, but not because of how you look while playing it. I am sure you look really cool swing your arms around playing a sword game with move?? All motion games make you look like a dork, who cares. If you are a hardcore gamer, you are probably a dork anyways. Quit being so obsessed with how you look.

tplarkin75081d ago

But regarding sitting and gaming, it will happen. I think that MS said to focus on standing because that is more important for E3. It's a new SDK that developers are just learning.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5081d ago
Parapraxis5081d ago (Edited 5081d ago )

So do people think MS will get this fixed in 4 months?
Kinect has been in development for years, you'd think this issue would have been resolved if it is possible.

Gothdom5081d ago

of course. in 2009 it was "wait 'til you see NATAL! it will own"

this year was "wait for the NATAL conference, it'll own!"
then
"that was just prep stuff, wait for the MS conference"
then
"wait for it to be released..."

and those same people used to call the PS3 a delaystation....

midgard2295081d ago

the fact ms cant show their product live and have to script it is proof enough that it is fail

D4RkNIKON5081d ago

Gothdom, couldn't have said it better myself. Then it will be wait till it gets better support and devs start to take advantage of it. Followed by wait till the next xbox comes out.

Doc Sony5081d ago (Edited 5081d ago )

Exactly, this is one of the first bugs I would have dealt with if I had come up with Kinect. You could win a lot of people over by just showing people playing while sitting down on a couch relaxing.

For real, not some scripted all american family ad.

tiamat55081d ago

Wow. Microsoft is really bombing big time with Kinect. Who would have predicted that the tide would have turned so fast

negative5081d ago

Why don't you wait until it gets released before making uneducated, ignorant responses. Oh wait you're a sony fanboy........

D4RkNIKON5081d ago

I like your avatar blueshirt because it looks like you are whining.

Sprudling5081d ago

Many technically inclined people predicted it. It's just insanely hard for a machine to accurately pinpoint the location of human limbs with just two cameras. The hardware itself probably does a very good job at capturing the 3D space. The challenge is translating that data into limb positions, in real time.

There's a reason why motion capture artists wear special skintight suits with LEDs everywhere. Motion capture also uses a ton more cameras.

Show all comments (51)
350°

Microsoft's quest for short-term $$$ is doing long-term damage to Windows, Surface, Xbox, and beyond

Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood's plans to increase every department's margins.

Read Full Story >>
windowscentral.com
Brazz19h ago

"The plan to move Xbox games to other platforms is codenamed "Latitude" internally, and I know there's debate and unease at Microsoft about whether or not this is a good idea. More upcoming Microsoft-owned games slated for PlayStation are already being developed. At least for now, they're potentially obvious games you'd most likely expect. And yes, while it's true Microsoft is a prolific publisher on PlayStation already, it has typically revolved around specific franchises like Minecraft. From what I've heard, Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood's mandate to increase every department's margins. "

Yeah, they are going to kill Xbox hardware.

Xeofate17h ago

"Yeah, they are going to kill Xbox hardware."

It's for the best.

Quit stringing along xbox fans and screwing over PlayStation owners.

crazyCoconuts12h ago

Take good care of those Xboxes if you have 'em ...

outsider162412h ago

An Xbox game on a Playstation. Never in my years of gaming did i ever thought this was gonna happen.

jznrpg7h ago

It is dying anyway so doesn’t make much of a difference

VersusDMC7h ago

No way can they get rid of the hardware as probably 90% of game pass subscribers are hardware users.

Highly doubtful those users will move to PC or Cloud to subscribe there and the competition (Sony and Nin) will never have gamepass on their system.

If they want to keep the current subscribers, they need to keep releasing new hardware.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 7h ago
gold_drake18h ago

i think it will kill off the xbox brand. windows will be fine.

but there is and would be a chance that xbox might be killed off in the future. if they fail to make the money they put in. imo.

S2Killinit16h ago

They wont kill it, but they will go fully PC while keeping xbox as a brand, and go multiplatform for the most part. They will also work tirelessly to diminish console gaming’s importance.

PRIMORDUS12h ago

It would be best if Xbox goes the way of Sega, just make and publish games. I know I myself will not support them at all with buying games from them, you all can. 🙃

ChasterMies11h ago

The Xbox brand will live for the games. I don’t expect Microsoft to entirely drop out of gaming hardware. They make Surface tablets and laptops. They’ll make Xbox branded hardware for those that want it.

shadowT18h ago

"Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation"

Forza and Starfield next?

Skuletor16h ago

Starfield would be no surprise and there's the rumor that it will come to Playstation after the Shattered Space DLC, Forza (along with Halo and Gears of War) I find less likely but I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually end up on PlayStation too, especially if Xbox give up on hardware and go the Sega route.

shinoff218316h ago

Not to worried about forza. I'd rather see others like what inxile and obsidian are working on. Starfield sounds like it needs more time in the oven so let it cook first imo. If starfield and it's a small if does release on ps it'll be in the fall around the time for dlc or right at the dlc and come packaged with it.

-Foxtrot17h ago

In the words of Phil Spencer when he was talking about Nintendo last year

“It's just taking a long time for Microsoft to see that their future exists off of their own hardware"

S2Killinit15h ago

Yup. MS are a cancer to console gaming.

Aloymetal15h ago

100%!!
I wonder what happened to that dude that was always here posting those court articles with cartoons about MS spending all those billions in studios. He suddenly disappeared, I guess he doesn't like bad news when the green brand is in trouble. No new articles from him as of late...

PRIMORDUS12h ago

Yup, and it's only going to keep spreading.

Outside_ofthe_Box13h ago

Phil Spencer's words always comes back to bite him lol

16h agoReplies(7)
Show all comments (64)
130°

Microsoft's Absurd Antics Have Me Scared For Dishonored And Arkane Lyon's Future

With Arkane Austin no more and Lyon living for who knows how long, the superb Dishonored is in serious danger; Microsoft cannot be trusted.

Relientk772d ago

I love the Dishonored series so much and really want Dishonored 3. Microsoft better not screw this up.

JEECE2d ago

I mean, I think the fans will probably kill Arkane Lyon by cooking up reasons to hate whatever they do next without playing it. I've never seen a game so artificially disliked as Deathloop.

thesoftware7302d ago

Lol, why don't we just say, we are worried about all studios owned by MS now. They will keep closing studios until they have none left ...🙄

Skuletor2d ago

Just merge them all into a single studio, have it churn out a single Call of Duty every year and call it a day, lol.

Barlos2d ago

Don't be scared, you'll be fine.

Skuletor2d ago

It's exputer, fine is one word I would not associate with them.

Profchaos2d ago

I think it's becoming clear based on matt bootys comments there's no future for any IP that can't sell above 10 million within the launch window. But is also a small game that gives them prestige

/S it's beyond a joke right now

Show all comments (10)
290°

More Job Losses At Xbox, “There’s More To Come”: Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott in a recent episode commented on the on-going Microsoft fiasco hinting at more job losses and that "there's more to come".

Read Full Story >>
spieltimes.com
Sonic18814d ago (Edited 4d ago )

There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future . Xbox has to pay Microsoft back. It might take two decades to do that.

sagapo4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I don’t understand what you’re saying. Xbox IS microsoft so there’s no “paying back “.
And MS gross profit in 2023 was over 140 billion dollars so forget your 2 decades.

Unless you mean the money MS invested in Xbox (acquisitions included) and the time it will take for xbox as a brand to gain that money back on it’s own, then yeah, that could take a while.

romulus234d ago

The better term to use might be return on investment, xbox is simply a division of Microsoft one that MS can easily do away with if profit margins are not met. So in that regard he's right, if xbox isn't showing the expected return on investment the higher ups are expecting than it's unlikely Microsoft will acquire any other studios any time soon, especially if they are spending billions buying developers just to shut them down in the end.

MrBaskerville3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Xbox is a division that they discussed shutting down but doubled down on after Gamepass was pitched.

It needs to make money at some point. Big money.

rokos3d ago

According to Statista the net income of Microsoft is about $72.4 billion dollars which is a bit lower than last year profit. That is almost as much as Activision's acquisition but I assume that would be a one off since it costs so much plus I see how their focus has been shifted to AI, thus any major future investments will probably be in that area.

Markusb333d ago

i think you are really missing the point

VariantAEC3d ago

@romulus23
That is not why MS buys studios. They might continue to buy because it's about taking that sweet sweet IP out of the corporate husks of their acquisitions.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
SonyStyled4d ago

“There won't be no more acquiring game publishers from Microsoft in the future”

No bro, there do be is for Microsoft not acquiring for what is now if not what it be is 😂

4d ago Replies(2)
ChasterMies3d ago

Xbox isn’t a separate company from Microsoft. It’s all Microsoft.

Abear213d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Let’s be real, this is the media spinning all the acquisitions and liquidations of said developers and spinning it to make M$ the villain.

This was bound to happen, a bigger slice of pie and cut costs, when the games come they stand to make more and that’s their agenda—it was the writing on the wall when the sales went through and legally all those who approved the sale and mergers knew this would happen.

Snowflakes need to realize business is ugly and you can cry all you want but this is how capitalism works. And it works.

That said, M$ needs to steer the narrative and grab hold of all this, make their plans known, hype the hell out of all those dead IP’s they plan to revive, and be honest about the timeline. This is likely to involve mobile and IP on other consoles, and most people realize that.

The problem is this company is incapable of being transparent and seems to often want to dissuade and confuse is customer base. The lack of E3 has hurt Microsoft and I don’t think they know how to properly or effectively market their brand anymore.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
jwillj2k44d ago

There really needs to be a class action lawsuit here. You buy these companies just to put people out of jobs. And it’s not like something happened to derail their plans this WAS the plan. Microsoft has no business in this space at all.

franwex4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Microsoft has been doing this for years. They simply want the IPs. Look at Nokia. Look at Skype. This time it simply expanded to games. Gaming is not as important to Microsoft’s executives as it was to the founders too. Bill Gates was willing to sell the og Xbox at a loss. Steve Balmer approved the red ring of death fiasco. This CEO isn’t really a gamer.

-Foxtrot4d ago

Maybe it's time though to put a stop to it and use a big giant like Microsoft as a huge example to the rest of these big companies.

There has to be a line drawn somewhere.

People like the FTC and the like went against Microsoft yet their Actvision deal was still allowed to go through yet look what's happened...it's not even Acitivisions studios aswell, it's Bethesdas.

VariantAEC3d ago

Years?

Try several decades, and in the gaming space 2.3 decades.

Jon615863d ago

You do realize this happens in ALL industries? Or are you just saying this because it is Microsoft? In any case I feel for those that are being let go but the trch industry is suffering right now.

jwillj2k43d ago (Edited 3d ago )

This absolutely does NOT happen all the time. Let me know the last time 1 company with a terrible product track record spent 100 billion onto acquire MULTIPLE successful companies in under a year only to shut them down and stop making their products regardless of how successful they were. Not merge them, completely shut them down.

And you can’t use Microsoft in your example.

Notellin3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Class action lawsuit? The law is on their side and protects them at all costs. There are no rules to protect the people at the bottom.

jwillj2k43d ago

Not true when it comes to mass layoff do your research.

RNTody4d ago

Ninja Theory, Perfect Dark, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Wolfenstein 3, Dishonored, Prey, Doom, Quake... something tells me that bad things are going to happen to these entities under Microsoft.

MrDead3d ago

ID software, the makers of Doom and Wolfenstein that have been with us since 1991 could be gone and MS will keep the IPs.

I hope some of these studios can buy their freedom from MS otherwise this is going to be even more devastating for the industry and gamers.

Yui_Suzumiya3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

That's exactly what I'm worried about. I've been a fan of id since Wolfenstein 3D and I'm honestly afraid.

lodossrage3d ago

Toys for Bob saw the writing on the wall and bought themselves out.

Wouldn't be the first time a company did that under MS either. Bungie and Twisted Pixel did the same. Considering what just happened, I can see some other devs trying to buy themselves out too.

anast4d ago

Good thing the bosses of all those small studios made their money.

glenn19794d ago

they cant do it right now they will get burned

XiNatsuDragnel3d ago

Phil and his team need to be gone

lodossrage3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Won't make a difference.

The whole structure needs to be overhauled. Anyone that replaces Phil will be no different than him, Mattrick, or anyone else.

Until the company changes how they go about business, nothing will change

glenn19793d ago

I just don't have any idea what they would do , they have done sooo much damage on their xbox brand, they have a show at July or June I think, but will it even matter even they show amazing games, idkn

lodossrage3d ago

True,

But they may as well get it over with. Whether it happens now or later, the burning is going to hit the same.

Reality is the ONE move that can alleviate a lot of this is the one move they can't make. Remove day 1 from gamepass.

Show all comments (68)