As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
Options
Kinect is $149.99 (£129.99 / €149.99), includes Kinect Adventures - thoughts?
UncleSporky
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Because the game industry thread isn't the sole realm of gaming news...
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/20/kinect-priced-at-150-includes-kinect-adventures/
EDIT: You people and your crazy currencies.
What do you think of this? What has Microsoft done well with Kinect, and what could've been handled better? How successful do you think it will be, and will you be buying it personally?
I think the price is too high for what they're offering, but that's only because I know what they're offering. I don't know if parents will have the same knowledge, or if they'll buy into the marketing mentality of a holodeck for your home.
Part of my personal hangup is that I don't feel like I know how well it will work yet. Statements about standing vs. sitting are still vague and up-in-the-air; while I don't doubt that it's possible to take advantage of Kinect while sitting, I don't think it will allow for the full imagined capacity of replacing a standard controller, pulling a trigger on a virtual gun, etc.
And there is a steady stream of demo videos like these (skip to 4:40 to see the software you'll be getting with it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrRl0CWFv3M&feature=related
I just don't know.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/20/kinect-priced-at-150-includes-kinect-adventures/
The question of Kinect pricing is over ... insomuch as there was any question. As was widely assumed – and widely listed on retailers, from GameStop to Microsoft itself – the Xbox's newfangled motion-sensing camera will retail for $149.99 this fall.
There's also an answer regarding the pricing of Kinect retail software. While most stores have been listing Kinect software for the usual $60 Xbox asking price, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg told Joystiq, "All of our Kinect retail games, from a first-party standpoint – Kinectimals, Kinect Sports, Kinect Joy Ride – will all be retailing for $49." Microsoft later followed up, letting us know that Dance Central, Harmonix's Kinect-powered rhythm game (and arguably the most well-received title in Microsoft's Kinect launch lineup) will also match the $50 first-party pricing.
That $149.99 hardware price also comes with a copy of Kinect Adventures, the casual title from Microsoft's Good Science Studio, formerly known as SpawnPoint Studios. Microsoft promises that those who pre-order Kinect or the $300 Xbox 360 Kinect Console Bundle "today" will "receive a token to download three exclusive game levels for Kinect Adventures." Before you get to that, why not let us know where you stand in our highly scientific poll?
Update: @AceyBongos (think Major Nelson, but with an accent) just let Twitter know that the European prices are "149.99 Euro for the camera + Kinect Adventures, 299.99 Euro for the 4GB console bundle." Some quick Google math puts those prices at roughly $200 and $390, respectively.
EDIT: You people and your crazy currencies.
The standalone device will retail for £129.99 and will include a copy of Kinect Adventures in the box. In Europe it will cost €149.99 and in the US $149.99.
In addition, a bundle containing Kinect, the game and the new Xbox 360 4GB will retail for £249.99/€299.99/$299.99.
Microsoft has also confirmed that Kinect-only titles will carry an RRP of £39.99 – between £10 and £15 less than ‘proper’ Xbox 360 titles.
What do you think of this? What has Microsoft done well with Kinect, and what could've been handled better? How successful do you think it will be, and will you be buying it personally?
I think the price is too high for what they're offering, but that's only because I know what they're offering. I don't know if parents will have the same knowledge, or if they'll buy into the marketing mentality of a holodeck for your home.
Part of my personal hangup is that I don't feel like I know how well it will work yet. Statements about standing vs. sitting are still vague and up-in-the-air; while I don't doubt that it's possible to take advantage of Kinect while sitting, I don't think it will allow for the full imagined capacity of replacing a standard controller, pulling a trigger on a virtual gun, etc.
And there is a steady stream of demo videos like these (skip to 4:40 to see the software you'll be getting with it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrRl0CWFv3M&feature=related
I just don't know.
Switch Friend Code: SW - 5443 - 2358 - 9118 || 3DS Friend Code: 0989 - 1731 - 9504 || NNID: unclesporky
UncleSporky on
0
Posts
Everything else? I dunno.
I think the wii is about the extent of flailing around that most are willing to put up with.
I think Kinect would be good for kids or depending on the fidelity of it, disabled gamers; but the price puts it well outside the range at which most kids can get (you can buy a wii for the same price...), and well outside the price range of someone who has a 360 and is just curious.
Sad to say, I honestly think this is going to fail miserably, and it's going to be a thing that both Nintendo and Sony trumpet from the rooftops every chance they can get, when it does.
If it comes integrated into their next console, sure. go for it. As a standalone, for that price, this late in this generation?
Nope.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
That said, I would consider a purchase if enough third-party devs put minor Kinect support into their games, like head-tracking in a shooter game or using the 360 controller as a wheel so you have buttons as well as motion control. The Dance game from Harmonix also seems really promising.
Steam: CavilatRest
Yeah.
Well, I think when the technology is perfected and we can build a really good 3D skeleton of a person and account for baggy clothes, dresses, etc., if we can make it work demonstrably well under all conditions, then the world will be ready for it. Because we won't need to flail, we'll be able to flop on the couch and shoot people with subtle movements.
But even then, it's probably a mistake to completely remove hardware from the equation. We need hardware detecting hardware on both ends, primarily because we can disengage from physical controllers, set them down. If you scratch your butt, even with a perfect version of Kinect, what will your avatar decide to do with that movement? Pull a primed grenade from your pocket?
It also has the problem of not really having compelling software beyond (maybe) Dance Central that'll really convince people this is a different experience from the Wii.
Walmart is doing a special where if you buy the Kinect bundle & a Kinect launch title, you get a $30 gift card.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
Dance Central, Your Shape, and Kinectimals I think are legitimately very good games. The problem is I don't think those alone are worth a whole new multi-hundred dollar thing.
You still don't have a SEGA CD?
That being said, if developers are able to utilizes this a few months down the line, different story. Of course, that won't change a weak launch.
And this is my biggest concern.
In order to have it not be a flailing machine (which virtually all videos showing it being used seem to imply) it has to have a level of fidelity in its recognition of the user to make simple gestures good enough to do what you want.
And as you said, if you need to scratch your ass or pick your nose, what will the system make of that? If it is detailed enough to accept slight movements instead of flails, you would have to sit damn near perfectly still in order to have things not flip the fuck out (as we've also seen). And if they limit what it recognizes to very specific gestures that translate into specific actions on-screen then all we have is waggle 2.0.
I'm just not seeing the middle ground in what the system can accept between flailing and limited recognition.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
That is true, I bet a lot of people will want to get their hands on it just to experiment, even if it doesn't set the world on fire with sales.
Are you saying it will get a lot of support because you're going to be making those games?
Also that Just Dance, Wii Fit and Nintendogs exist.
Yeah, part of me wants to get my hands on it just to see if I can make a really cool non-casual game that could only be done with something like Kinect.
What I'm afraid is going to happen though is that Microsoft will add Kinect functionality to XNA and then the current glut of bad avatar games is going to turn into a glut of bad Kinect avatar games.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
I was just going to ask, what's the big difference between these two sets of games? I suppose as an informed gamer you could point at specific things, but how do those impact the nebulous "fun level," or how the public perceives them?
Just Dance only shows a video of someone dancing and tells you to make some arm movements, and grades you on how closely you matched them. Clearly that's not as exact as what Kinect can do, but does it really matter? People just want an excuse to dance at parties and be graded on their performance.
Do you have any ideas based on what you've seen it can do? I can understand if you'd want to keep them private, just wondering.
That's what I mean.
Even though those particular Kinect games are better than those particular Nintendo games, that's all that Kinect really has going for it, and I can't really see that being enough for it to catch on.
And that's the finished product huh?
Haha no.
But just look at how many Avatar games there are on XBLIG.
If Kinect is open to XBLIG, I guarantee you we'll see a great big flood of games that use it off the bat.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Hahahahahahaah.
Yeah,no,sorry. This thing is dead on arrival.
No
SCII: Sain.437
Consoles and their peripherals are just video game delivery devices to me. Until they make a compelling argument in the way of an awesome game that I absolutely need to play, its $150 of completely irrelevant.
No, not really. I mean, I thought some sort of 3D space strategy game might be cool, where you're moving menus and controlling ships with arm motions and shouted commands could be pretty neat, but I haven't actually put much serious thought into it. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I'll bother with Kinect development at all, but it might be fun to mess around with it.
Zeboyd Games Development Blog
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire, Facebook : Zeboyd Games
Yeah. Here's another one from 5 days ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txo6lTfDl-8
And here's a GAFer's impressions from a quick demo:
if it's costing me $150 I'll just navigate them with the controller thanks
That's....just embarrassing.
What the hell is Microsoft thinking here?
Between pricing it that high and seeing how poorly it currently works the only thing that comes to mind is that they realize they've got a flop on their hands so they're making the price so absurdly high so they can kill it asap and move on.
This shit is bizarre.
I mean, if setting it up and making it behave properly is outside the realm of possibility for your average kid, what you've got is totally worthless.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Even an idiot can see how many things are wrong with that.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
No.....
For what it's worth, I didn't notice any bugs when playing Dance Central, or when watching my brother play Adventures.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Yeah,that's how I see it too.
It's kinda like "if you want to do this,you only need Kinect,but on the Wii you need a balance board too."
But the Kinect can't weigh you.
Sure it can. If it doesn't work then you must be too tall or fat, and therefore weigh, like, a lot.
MICROSOFT made that comparison chart?
Oy.