Project Natal Renamed 'Kinect' 286
tekgoblin writes "Many people gathered for the opening of E3 to see Project Natal. When they entered they were told that the new name of Natal is Kinect. Kinect is going to be the new way to play. It is going to be completely controller-free. You can browse your dashboard with the wave of your hand."
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:1, Interesting)
Why don't you want to go back to PC gaming? It's better anyway. I have tried various consoles over the years and console gaming sucks.
Kinect? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:3, Interesting)
Because I chased that rabbit for too long in the 90's. When the Xbox 1 came along, I finally had a system that could deliver a comparable experience without having to constantly be upgrading (or worrying about the latest pain-in-the-ass DRM) to keep up. Ditto for the 360 and PS3. PC gaming is superior in many ways, no doubt. But it can also be a huge hassle.
And please don't give me that "You don't *have* to upgrade, you can just ramp down the settings on the latest games" argument. Yes that's true. But we all know that most self-respecting gamers *hate* to do that. No one likes to be the guy with an out-of-date system not getting the full experience of the game.
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:5, Interesting)
Accuracy (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hmm.. (Score:5, Interesting)
No, it has nothing to do with virtual reality. It has to do with reality. You physically swing your arm, not virtually. If you were to take that approach more steps, you'd eventually end up with real life. And the real life dangers too.
Yes, I look forward to virtual reality. Where I get freed from the limitations of my physiology, not subjected to them.
And no, it won't be the first time Microsoft has flopped with hand waving interfaces. Remember the three times touch screens were introduced (and re-introduced) as the best thing since sliced bread? And the gorilla arm syndrome?
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:3, Interesting)
agreed. my issue isnt the constant upgrades...but I sold my video card recently and bought a used PS3. im not as good at console games as at mouse./keyboard stuff on the pc but i can adjust, im *SICK* of the DRM restrictions on pc games. all i play on my pc now are old, old games i still have around, or titles under $10 from steam. Im not going to pay $50 and $60 a game anymore to get jerked around if my internet connection is acting up or get hassled in any other way.
I know several people with PS3s....none of them bitch about the thing.
Microsoft has outdone themselves (Score:5, Interesting)
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/9/2010/06/6db9eddafa5ee84849d020538f1008d5/original.gif [gawker.com]
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/9/2010/06/07757512fe01652a77d524cf51795baf/original.gif [gawker.com]
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:3, Interesting)
Only crazy people are "having to constantly be upgrading"
I take it you're not a grinder. I'm not either, but I do understand grinders. The same people that get a huge kick out of games designed around endless repetition, will be equally addicted to the game of "buy the top of the line graphics card the day its released". They don't have to do so for any reason, other than enjoying the grind itself. So trying to explain to them that they "DON'T REALLY HAVE TO GRIND VIDEO CARDS" is futile, because what they enjoy is the process of grinding itself.
In comparison, I'm mostly a wargamer/strategy gamer. Obviously I can't play games like that on consoles because they don't sell games like that for consoles. But my pusher matrixgames.com keeps me well supplied with new games, and we'll assume for the sake of argument that consoles sold strategic wargames... Much as I appreciate a good 3 dimensional perfectly timed combined arms attack, I enjoy timing my game PC upgrade purchases so optimum motherboard price decline occurs simultaneously with optimal CPU pricing at the same time as a video card price drop. I'd miss all that upgrade scheduling fun if I had a console instead of a PC. Also as a wargamer, I care a hell of a lot more about screen size and resolution than I do about frame rate, but video card marketing price segments solely on frame rate, so even if I because a "video card grinder" my optimum card is probably not the optimum (and expensive) card for a frame rate grinder.
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:3, Interesting)
Natal, or 'Kinect' is different though, unfortunately not many people seem to have the imagination capable of seeing why so far however and just dismiss it as a clone of the Wii's control system.
The fundamental difference with Kinect is it's controllerless nature. A lot of people seem to see this as some mutually exclusive thing, but that's simply not the case. There's no reason Kinect can't be used with existing control systems- this may for example mean observing the player as they play an FPS and allowing them to duck slightly to the left or right to avoid incoming projectiles, this may mean using the classic guitar hero guitar controllers whilst rocking out, or using the Lips microphones whilst dancing.
Not all of this is exactly groundbreaking but it's enough to add an extra layer of imersiveness to existing games that we just haven't had up until now- Wii games haven't been immersive because they've for the most party been outright crap, but where they haven't, simply haven't had the graphics capabilities to really draw you into the game world. Kinect means that the device can support even the existing hardcore crowd- they didn't like the Wii, but this system gives the option of going the full distance with brand new types of games on the Wii, or simply augmenting existing game types with features that can draw the player in a little more.
Move really is just a Wii clone, but even that has it's merits- it seems to be far more flexible and precise than the Wii, but importantly it's on a console that can simply do more than the Wii and which has a proven track record of developers actually making great games, whilst the Wii's game lineup still to this day leaves a lot to be desired with very little worth mentioning outside a few of Nintendo's first party titles. So even Sony's offering despite being much more a clone of the Wii's setup shows an awful lot of promise.
So all in all, I think these releases do in fact matter, which is not to say that I wouldn't like to see a new console iteration too, but I suspect people like you can me are in a minority- the 360/PS3 didn't really start selling until they came in at below £250, and I don't think that wave of purchases is over yet, I think people like us are probably a minority in being willing to splash £350 - £500 out on a new system just yet, and Microsoft and Sony having spent so much money investing in trying to outdo the other with their hardware this time round themselves probably want to soak up some profits before they start churning out that kind of system again. Besides, the PS3 and 360 still wow me with their graphical abilities to this day, and PCs still aren't really churning out anything more stunning despite them now being more powerful so there's not really a competition aspect for Sony and Microsoft there either.
On the upside, at least Move and Kinect will be well tuned and lessons will have been learnt by Microsoft, Sony, and 3rd party developers alike in time for them to be fully integrated components of the next gen consoles, the sort of thing that will then come as standard.
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:3, Interesting)
Natal, or 'Kinect' is different though, unfortunately not many people seem to have the imagination capable of seeing why
I've been playing "controller less" video games at various science&tech exhibits since the 80s, and they all had one thing in common: Suckage.
This over-hyped gadget WILL disappoint once it's out of marketing-controlled settings, and you only have to read the works of Douglas Noel Adams to have a very eloquent explanation of why (in brief: the system is too dumb to correctly interpret movements).
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:3, Interesting)
Look at a DVD. Resolution of 720x480, but they can look nicer than nearly any videogame. I think resolution is always talked about because it's such a simple quantifiable attribute to measure.
Re:EyeToy (Score:3, Interesting)
Like the Sega Activator [destructoid.com]?
Re:I'd rather hear about a next gen console (Score:3, Interesting)