[E3] Hello casual! Xbox 360 "Kinect" confirmed

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2010-06-14-vidgame14_ST_N.htm

There's a growing movement in video games ? motion control. And Microsoft's latest twist: Its new system for the Xbox 360, dubbed Kinect and being unveiled this week, requires no controller at all.

"For lots of people, that controller is a barrier," says creative director Kudo Tsunoda. "We set out to make a new control paradigm where anybody can get in and play, without having to read the instructions or learn a complicated set of controls."

Kinect's built-in camera and microphone (due later this year, no price set) uses facial and voice recognition to let you, for instance, log onto Xbox Live, start games and pause movies. And a new menu lets you choose games or services such as Netflix by simply reaching out and pointing toward the screen selection. Video chat lets Xbox 360 homes connect; the smart camera widens when another person enters the room.


Among games in the works:

...

? Star Wars characters and iconic Disney favorites will be featured in separate new games being developed at Microsoft in conjunction with LucasArts and Disney.

I think I'll wait and see before passing judgment on this.

 

The confirmed titles sound like worse shovelware than the Wii puts out.

 

It better have Jaina Solo...

 

Some quotes I got from people at the event (from twitter)...

"Star Wars game being shown off. Guy swinging hands like a lightsaber. Looks cool, but maybe on rails?"

and

"Seriously, that looked awesome. Finished with lightsaber dual v Vader."

 

Meh, we'll see; I'm not a big fan of motion control and related stuff, but who knows...

 

Might be fun to swing my arms wildly while wielding an imaginary lightsaber, only to see clashing blades with Vader on the screen.

 

Oh, its for the 360? For some reason, I thought it was for the Wii.

 

I'm watching the Kinect LIVE demo on the E3 stream and it's easily one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. Not with gaming, but with video chat, movies, music, etc. I don't know how useful it will be, but it looks really great.

 

Please people on stage right now, go to a gym, play basketball, run, whatever. It defeats the purpose of a video game if you are going to play mundane things while playing imagination with the television.
EDIT: The Star Wars game looked cool and the new X-Box looks sleek. Lucky theater audience.

 

That's the thing, they're trying to appeal to the same audience of people who enjoyed Wii Sports; I know a bunch of people who were just fine, physically, but loved playing that game. Same will be so for this on Kinect.

On a side note, the Star Wars game was def. on rails and looks a little disappointing; after seeing the Forza I'm left to wonder why the Star Wars game looked so bland. We'll see, though.

 

Best comment on Kotaku regarding Kinect:

 

Kinect 2010 = Wii 2006

This thing is gonna fail so fast when it launches.
Wii shovelware looks better than the Kinect launch titles they've shown.

 

Looks fun to me. *shrugs*

 

Based on your lack of calling it 'the best game of the 21st century', 'lock for Game of the Year', 'most innovative technology ever', or some such superlative, I'm going to assume it's not going to be good.

 

I don't see how it can even be compared to the Wii. Sure, it's motion, but there's no controller. If anything is going to fail "so fast" it's the PSWii, aka the "Move". That thing was straight pathetic; the demos on the live feeds today looked horrible. HD Wii games, that's it.

Kinect is so much more than just a new way to play games, M$ went one further and integrated Entertainment into it. I love the idea of being able to say "Xbox: Pause. Play." and use my hands to navigate.

I'm not on M$'s payroll so I don't give a good damn if you like the thing or not, but I think to compare it to the Wii is unfair, since it looks much better.

 

It's also HD.

I don't think I'll be an early adopter, it looks kinda tame so far.

 

Since I'm in need of a bigger hard drive, I'll likely get the inevitable $400 bundle with Kinect and the new 360 when it launches. I'm gonna GameFly the **** out of Kinect.