Xbox Gets Slim, Natal Becomes Kinect

[Xantar]

Originally Posted by Typhoid

Jesus you guys are so negative towards the idea of motion control.

So do you think a peripheral launched in the fourth year of a console's life cycle priced at over $100 is going to sell anywhere near enough that developers are going to feel justified spending any resources on it?

Because if you do, let me see if I can interest you in this bridge I'm building in Phoenix, Arizona.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Xantar

So do you think a peripheral launched in the fourth year of a console's life cycle priced at over $100 is going to sell anywhere near enough that developers are going to feel justified spending any resources on it?

Because if you do, let me see if I can interest you in this bridge I'm building in Phoenix, Arizona.

I agree with Xantar. These are all quality ideas, especially Kinect, but they needed to be shelved until the next gen launch (however far away that might be). That would give time to perfect the product (Kinect needs it), get developers and publishers on board AND establish the brand and product value in the minds of the consumers. Without the peripheral being integral to the concept of the platform itself, I don't see how MS or Sony can pull this off with any real success. But then again, Nintendo proved me wrong with the Wii, so who knows. I have a blind spot when it comes to the public's thirst motion controls and family oriented gaming.

Right now it seems Sony and MS are caught up in a race to see who can release the first irrelevant loss leader.

[BreakABone]

Originally Posted by Typhoid

Jesus you guys are so negative towards the idea of motion control.

I don't think them being negative about the price and them wanting it to fail is the same as being negative about motion controls. (Except for maybe Moogle and Dylflon, who pretty much want motion controls to die in a fire)

I'm not negative towards motion controls, and while I want neither device to fail, we both know how its gonna work out.

Originally Posted by Professor S

I agree with Xantar. These are all quality ideas, especially Kinect, but they needed to be shelved until the next gen launch (however far away that might be). That would give time to perfect the product (Kinect needs it), get developers and publishers on board AND establish the brand and product value in the minds of the consumers. Without the peripheral being integral to the concept of the platform itself, I don't see how MS or Sony can pull this off with any real success. But then again, Nintendo proved me wrong with the Wii, so who knows. I have a blind spot when it comes to the public's thirst motion controls and family oriented gaming.

Right now it seems Sony and MS are caught up in a race to see who can release the first irrelevant loss leader.

I think this was kind of needed, I hope and suspect that for both MS and Sony this was a trial run for their tech to kind of get their feet wet. It also takes away Nintendo's mindshare going into the next generation.

And I hope that it cures developers growing pains with motion controls when we head into next-gen

[Typhoid]

These are all quality ideas, especially Kinect, but they needed to be shelved until the next gen launch (however far away that might be).

I do agree on the fact they need time to perfect it, but from a business standpoint it makes 100% sense. Entirely. In no way does it not make any sense for either company to do this.

The Wii is popular with children, and adults. This is a known fact. The 360 and PS3 aren't really aimed towards children or adults directly, not to mention neither system has any type of motion control as it is.

Before you dive straight into anything [Unless you're Nintendo], you typically want to see how a new type of anything will sell, especially if it pushes boundaries on a market that has relied on controllers for 20+ years. If they were to make the Kinect the next gen console, and hold off for 3 years to release it to a giant gasping yawn of a market because nobody wants full-body motion gaming, they'd fail utterly. This way they get to test the waters. Not only will it show them how many people that own 360's will buy Kinect, but how many 360 units a Kinect will sell just by existing.

If these numbers are deeply underwhelming, I can see Sony and Microsoft making motion control take a back seat to controller gaming. While if they take off like wildfire, they will most likely make 'body gaming' the main focus of the next system over 'controller gaming'.