You can’t play Natal, er, Kinect while sitting down. Sorry people in wheelchairs! This revolution is not for you.
You’re sitting me
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Monthly Archives: June 2010
Irony, revisited
One of the funniest things to come out of E3 this year is not the Microsoft Cirque de Soleil boondoggle, it’s the hilarious irony one experiences when two hardcore douchebags argue about which new motion control accessory is better.
To think, mere days ago these two idiots were no doubt both telling anyone who would listen how stupid the Wii’s motion controls were.
Tough pill
I’m going to be open and very honest and swallow a tough pill here: Kinect looks like it could very well be a runaway success for certain types of games. Coupled with a controller, it could redefine shooters or similar genres in a complementary way.
But. BUT! If Microsoft thinks it’s going to be “revolutionary” with a $150 price tag, plus an Xbox 360 ($200-300) and games ($40-50 each), they’re being just as disingenuous as they were with Surface and that’s unfair to gamers AND to the cool technology.
And, in the end, it’s still an accessory. Accessories never, ever see the kind of success that their company’s launch day press releases will have you believe.
Game gods
The discussion below about developers becoming “game gods” is an important one, I think. I really haven’t weighed in one side or the other because I’ve never really followed a developer in that way, save Shigeru Miyamoto.
If I were to say one thing though, it’s that game gods aren’t so bad as long as there’s a range of them out there representing a variety of tastes, and whose games are truly advancing the medium forward.
As it stands now we have people like CliffyB, Itagaki and Kojima. Unfortunately, each of these fine fellows create games that aren’t really all that original or imaginative, and their personalities and followings have, ironically, had more of an impact on gaming (in this case negatively) than their creations ever will. That’s the bad thing about so-called “gaming gods” in this era.
In any event, Jade Raymond should call me. I guess that’s two things.
The big reveal
Microsoft has chosen Cologne-based gamescom as the site where it will reveal Kinect’s revolutionary new price point. Makes perfect sense? I mean, why on earth would you reveal it during your mechanical elephant Cirque de Soleil E3 circle jerk? That wouldn’t make any sense at all.
Best in show
The 3DS. The lines speak for themselves.
Things I am not even remotely interested in
“Taking Metroid down new emotional corridors.” I agree with pretty much everything in this snap reaction to the Nintendo keynote, over at Game Informer.
Playing with power
I wonder if Sony has a PSP2 lined up for their E3 keynote. I also wonder if, when they saw Nintendo’s 3DS, they just scrapped it altogether.
$150
No, that’s not the price of Kinect, although it actually is if you don’t also include the cost of buying the console and some “Kinect priced” games.
No, what the headline alludes to, dear reader, is what Nintendo will charge for its Wii/MotionPlus/Wii Sports/Wii Sports Resort bundle in November, when Kinect goes on sale.
Worst ever
Star Wars, the most “core” of the Kinect titles demo’d last night, was an absolutely, utterly faked horrorshow failure.