Kinect Becomes the Fastest Selling Gizmo Ever
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Ladies and gentlemen, this all but confirms my suspicions that the next generation of video game consoles will be 100% motion control. If you're allergic to motion controls, please consider investing in a gaming PC.
The REAL question is wheather or not this is bringing Microsoft NEW customers. If this is just succedding with its install base, then the sales won't last. Wheather or not Microsoft can bring this to new customers, having them buy both an Xbox and a Kinect, is another thing we'll have to wait and see entirely.WayOutThere said:
It amuses me that you would express that sentiment while you have a Sega [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega-CD#Reception] userpic. (Kids these days... no sense of history at all...)robinkom said:
It doesn't surprise me that Kinect is selling well; the promotional campaign is huge, the price isn't out of reach in consumer electronics terms (especially if you compare with devices like the iPad), and the tech is (at least at the moment) unique and novel the way the Wii was when it launched.
I dont' see a lot of games for it that I'd buy just yet, but then again we're still in Kinect's "Night Trap Phase" of seeing what sorts of games work (and what doesn't) with the new hardware.
-- Steve
It is an impressive piece of technology, the sheer number of alternative uses people have found for it attests to that. It's a shame that the games aren't there to back it up yet as a great piece of gaming technology. In my mind it's still only a nice gimmick, but I suppose Microsoft are already counting it as a success.
The source is a press release from Microsoft.Raistlinhawke said:
"Following one of the biggest launches in consumer electronics history, Kinect for Xbox 360 continued its momentum in 2011 reaching 10 million Kinect sensors sold worldwide to date."
Yadda yadda.
Given the previous PR headaches with Move, I'm inclined to think that Microsoft would be careful to differentiate "sold" and "shipped." But at this point it's very clearly stating ten million units sold and there's no basis, aside from an irrational insistence that MICROSOFT LIES, to question that.
Why the hell is this thing successful? The technology is pretty cool and people who hack it and make their own stuff with it frequently produce some pretty cool stuff but it so, fucking, bad at it's official purpose. It's the worst gaming "controller" ever made, EVER, including that old ass thing with the number pad. Why are people buying this piece of shit? It's horrible.
Did anyone else read:
"Michael Jackson: The Experience, Child of Eden"
and then think: "wait, run that by me again?"
"Michael Jackson: The Experience, Child of Eden"
and then think: "wait, run that by me again?"
I don't like Kinect either but this argument is really ridiculous. How many games - or anything you like, really - have YOU bought recently, and how much of THAT money could have gone to starving orphans?FungiGamer said:
People work, and they like to spend the money they've earned on things they enjoy. Demonizing consumption via your internet connection simply because it's for something you personally don't like is hypocritical.
Looks like all the motion control nay-sayers are wrong. Again.
This is just another case of Wii Syndrome. People believe it's going to flop, and out comes the figures. Innovation is key in this industry, which is why the Move just didn't do so well. It didn't innovate, it replicated.
While i must congratulate Microsoft for their success, i worry about how this will continue to shape the industry further ahead. I'm not saying we'll be losing our 'hardcore' titles like Call of Duty or Demon's Souls, but the focus may be more on implementing this kind of product in future generations of home consoles.
This is just another case of Wii Syndrome. People believe it's going to flop, and out comes the figures. Innovation is key in this industry, which is why the Move just didn't do so well. It didn't innovate, it replicated.
While i must congratulate Microsoft for their success, i worry about how this will continue to shape the industry further ahead. I'm not saying we'll be losing our 'hardcore' titles like Call of Duty or Demon's Souls, but the focus may be more on implementing this kind of product in future generations of home consoles.
It's great to see an unbiased, completely non-judgmental opinion out here on the interwebz...FungiGamer said:
That's a very broad question you ask. Offhand, I don't know of any other technology in gaming that incorporates full body motion into gaming and combines it with voice integration, as well. Unlike the Wii, it's actually fun at parties, and it's a reasonable price point to me considering what you get with it.
But hey, you have a good point. 10 million people are wrong in the face of your "facts." All this time I've been housing junk in my living room! I'll be sure to put it out in the trashcan tonight for the garbage guy to collect.
...of course, by your logic, YOU should apologize to orphans, as well, because you're too busy watching There Will Be Brawl to help out in soup kitchens.
It's a peripheral. Compare it to, say, a mouse or a keyboard. Not other full systems, because that's one thing this certainly isn't.
And the pet rock sold a lot fairly fast...didn't mean it was worth it, ever.
What's gonna be real fun is when somebody hacks a Kinect to be used on a PS3. That will make heads explode, for certain.
And the pet rock sold a lot fairly fast...didn't mean it was worth it, ever.
What's gonna be real fun is when somebody hacks a Kinect to be used on a PS3. That will make heads explode, for certain.
Unless I am wrong, and I am NEVER wrong, you, sir, are headed for a trip to the Fire Swamp!robinkom said:
Seriously, though, Kinect is fun. I love it, you don't. You're entitled to your ridiculous opinions, but I would ask that you step down from your pompous soap box and take your Oscar the Grouch sourpuss down the street and chill with the other crankypants.
It blows my mind why people come to this conclusion that if THEY don't like something, it MUST be stupid, regardless of how many others disagree.
I hate the 3ds. I think it's the stupidest most overpriced POS ever. But if you like it, I don't feel a need to artificially attempt to inflate my ego by sticking your crankypants face in the mud.
... but if you ever want your face stuck in the mud, call me. I'm in, Crankypants! =)
This really boggles my mind. Not because I don't believe it could sell well, but because nobody I know has a Kinect or has ever mentioned one. I hang out will all sorts of people, most of which are not hardcore gamers whatsoever, but many of whom own a Wii or at least know/like Wii games.
I have no idea who is buying the Kinect. Plus, doesn't it only have like 4 really crappy games? Has word of mouth really helped it spread like with the Wii? Are people going over to eachother's places and saying "OMG I HAVE TO GET ONE OF THESE. KINECTIMALS IS DA BOMB DIZZLE!"
I think it has to be parents buying it for little kids. That would explain why I have never encountered people with one.
I have no idea who is buying the Kinect. Plus, doesn't it only have like 4 really crappy games? Has word of mouth really helped it spread like with the Wii? Are people going over to eachother's places and saying "OMG I HAVE TO GET ONE OF THESE. KINECTIMALS IS DA BOMB DIZZLE!"
I think it has to be parents buying it for little kids. That would explain why I have never encountered people with one.
I'm well versed in Sega's history from as far back as the Rosen Enterprises days so don't link Wikipedia articles at me, good sir. I'm perfectly aware of the Sega Mega CD's poor reception. Graham Stark here at the Escapist jokingly called Kinect the Sega CD. The difference is the Sega CD was part of early efforts by several companies of the day to push the CD storage medium as a standard. Kinect is part of what I will always see as a gimmick motion control fad that is not pushing anything beneficial for the long term. Kinect is easily the worst of the Motion Control gimmicks, at least with the other two you still have a controller to hold with actual buttons that can be assigned multiple functions. Regardless, flailing your arms around in a manner of what is vaguely imitating the actual act is no substitute for a normal controller.Anton P. Nym said:
The question I present to everyone whenever I have to engage in this debate is "Why the hell would I fling my wrist around with a controller to simulate bowling when I can just GO FUCKING BOWLING!?"