Core Audience Will Love Kinect, Predicts Microsoft Exec

[Logan Westbrook]

Core Audience Will Love Kinect, Predicts Microsoft Exec

Kinect may make the Xbox 360 more appealing to a more casual demographic, but Microsoft VP Chris Lewis believes that plenty of the console's core community will embrace it too.

Motion controls have some pretty vocal critics among hardcore gamers, but Microsoft's Chris Lewis doesn't think that that attitude is as widespread as it might appear. In fact, he believes that a "large slug" of the 360's core audience will find plenty to like about Kinect when it's released later this year.

Lewis thinks that the core audience will enjoy navigating around Xbox Live with gestures, and that games like Joy Ride will be very popular. He said that Microsoft remained committed to the core audience, and that it would still make and publish games like Fable 3 and Gears of War. He agreed with Peter Molyneux's point that the second wave of Kinect titles would be very exciting to core gamers, and said that hybrid games, where Kinect was used to enhance a controller-based game, were likely.

Some gamers will scoff at the idea that a hardcore gamer would even want to be in the room as Kinect, let alone enjoy playing it, but just because those people are loud, it doesn't mean they're necessarily right. It's probably premature to say that Lewis is definitely right with his prediction, but it's equally premature to say that he's definitely wrong.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-08-18-core-community-will-love-kinect-lewis]






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[Delusibeta]

but it's equally premature to say that he's definitely wrong.

That won't stop the rest of this thread being one flame fest about how motion controls and 3D are a fad and yadda yadda.

 

[Shale_Dirk]

Only reason the hardcore gamer is interested is because of voice commands, and video chat between matches of w/e game they happen to be playing.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, $150 is fairly steep for voice commands and video chat.

 

[mjc0961]

They'll have to get some of those games from the "second wave" out first before I'd think about getting one. I'm not really interested in petting tigers or moving around like an idiot and calling it dancing.

 

[SaintWaldo]

Wrong or right, he definitely has to say this to keep his job.

 

[Jack and Calumon]

I thought the Microsoft Core Audience was drunken fratboys playing Call of Duty, and 10 year olds wanting to be a fratboy online? How are they going to like Kinect? The Fratboys might at Parties, maybe when the Kegs run dry and everyone is off their tits, they might break out the camera and pretend to go Canoeing, but I still can't see it selling that much.

Calumon: Same goes with Move!

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Hahahaahahahhahhahahahahaahah

No.

Look at your core audience Micro$oft, do you REALLY think that they'll enjoy a wand over a trigger?

 

[Worgen]

its got some cool tech and everything but ultimately it is doomed, for one its too expensive, for two its not included in every game unit, if the wii didnt ship with motion controls then probably no dev would use them for it

 

[tlozoot]

Microsoft VIP Chris Lewis says that Kinect is aimed at casuals and core gamers likely aren't going to find anything of substance with the device.

Nah, not likely is it.

I wont buy Kinect, but if one of my housemates does I'll give it a go and probably enjoy it. I enjoyed the Wii games aimed at the casual market afterall. It's just I can't see this as the future of gaming. It's just a side-show and a distraction.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

I think core gamers will buy the game and have kinect, but just wish that the games didn't have all that kinect bullshit.

 

[Nightfalke]

Wrong or right, he definitely has to say this to keep his job.

This. Of course he said that! If this fails, he is probably out of a job.

 

[Jumplion]

BUT YOU GUYS JUST FRIGGIN SAID;

Kinect not for Core Gamers. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.204178-Microsoft-Kinect-Not-For-Core-Gamers]

And then you said;

Core gamers will buy it first. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.205366-Hardcore-Will-Adopt-Kinect-First-Says-Microsoft]

Make up your mind already, who are you trying to win over with Kinect? The "casual" audience? You guys seem to think that the hardcore will buy it first anyway, and the thing is priced at $150, hardly a "casual" prie. The "core" audience? You just said that it's "not for core gamers", what, do you think we're idiots? That "core" gamers will just buy whateverthehell you toss at us? Because that's the vibe I'm getting at from this.

Note: I'm not bashing the peripheral here, it may be genuinely awesome, but Microsoft's marketing department with the damn thing is head-over-heels and backwards-sdrawkcab. I get this feeling that Microsoft has no idea how to promote Kinect or who they should promote it to, and that's very dangerous considering they're launching with barely anything for the thing and with a $150 price tag out of the box.

I know I'm going to sound like a huge fanboy here (and I probably am) but at least Sony are primarily directing it towards the "core" audience with the Move. It's going to support games like Heavy Rain, Killzone 3, SOCOM, LittleBigPlanet 2, and some others (there's a list somewhere with some "hardcore-y" titles). Whether it'll be a good peripheral or not, I will not comment on, I'm just talking about the damn marketing.

I'm sorry if I'm coming off as overly negative with Kinect, I really want it to succeed and I mean no ill-harm to the device. It looks genuinely interesting and it has a lot of possibilities. It's the damn marketing for the device that's getting me to rant and it's leading me to believe that Microsoft have no idea what they're doing with Kinect.

 

[JustStewart]

I think I have to agree with Lewis actually. I consider myself "core audience" to the 360 (I'm 28), and although I probably won't be buying the novelty party games that they're initially releasing; I will be using for the ability to use the 360 without the controller, such as dashboard navigation etc. Also, I know that the following waves of games are more likely to have a title or two that will appeal to me.

 

[Midniqht]

I consider myself slightly on the "hardcore" side, if you have to generalize people, but I'm still looking forward to the Kinect. It's got potential

 

[Proteus214]

It ENTIRELY depends on the games. Aside from Child of Eden, I have seen absolutely nothing that interests me. And that's all that one game does, it has me interested. Show me something that isn't just a ripoff of Nintendo's Wii and DS products and I MIGHT become interested.

 

[Timbydude]

Show me a game I'm interested in other than Child of Eden, and maybe we'll talk.

 

[Crimson_Dragoon]

Really, you think we would like Joy Ride? What about that game (which is seems that no journalist that has played it likes) do you actually think appeals to the "core" audience?

 

[QueenWren]

I think the kinect looks awesome! But I'm not going to buy one, not right away anyway. If they want they're "core audience to get involve then let's see some decent "core" games with it attatched

I know I'm going to sound like a huge fanboy here (and I probably am) but at least Sony are primarily directing it towards the "core" audience with the Move. It's going to support games like Heavy Rain, Killzone 3, SOCOM, LittleBigPlanet 2, and some others (there's a list somewhere with some "hardcore-y" titles).

I totally agree with you and I don't think you're being too fanboy. I think all this stuff and I've never owned a PS3. Atleast Sony have they're heads on straight with the marketing but then that's never exactly been Microsoft's strong point. Give me something I can actually play on Kinect then I might just buy it.

 

[Loonerinoes]

Microsoft's marketing department seriously needs to get a review after the fiasco surrounding this product.

This isn't even about me doubting that Kinect will make any big impact technology or entertainment-wise. This is about me noticing just how utterly schizophrenic Microsoft has been about this whole thing, plus the fact that they're pushing this thing as hard as hell into whatever direction the wind might blow, whereas the product itself will remain the same as it has been since the start.