My Wife, Her Friends, and Xbox Kinect

[AcacianLeaves]

I'm almost as fascinated as the guys over at Penny Arcade at the success of the Microsoft Kinect, though I really shouldn't be. I knew it would appeal to a certain demographic of gamers, but I never could have guessed the extent that this product's tendrils have reached, specifically into the female and completely non-gamer demographic. Allow me to provide my own anecdotal example.

Last year around September my wife mentioned that maybe we should plan on buying a Kinect. She did this of her own volition, with no provocation from me, with me never even mentioned what a Kinect was. She found this information out for herself and decided she wanted to try it. Part of my Christmas gift was a Kinect, and we both (despite my best efforts to be a curmudgeon) have been having a blast with it. Dance Central is just plain fun, and Fitness Evolved is the only thing that has got me to exercise willingly in the past 5 years.

Now to the real point of my story. Eventually my sister wanted to try it, and after her first round at Dance Central she's been over to my house 4 times to play. She now owns her own 360 and Kinect with Dance Central. My wife had a group of girlfriends over the other night, and somehow they got around to playing Dance Central on the Kinect. Three of them are now buying brand new Xbox 360s, Kinects, and their own copies of Dance Central.

I'm telling you guys, this shit is uncanny. It's contagious. I feel like I'm patient zero. But this is 100% a good thing. Video Games are becoming mainstream, and that will lead to their legitimacy as an art form. I don't mean 'mainstream' like Halo is mainstream, I mean mainstream like the majority of households in the United States will have a video game console in them very soon.

What do you think about the success of the Kinect?

 

[migo]

If you've got the money to spend, then Dance Central probably is the killer title for Kinect. I just can't justify it for $150, but my GF bought a 360 at $130 just for Feeding Frenzy so...

 

[Fenring]

I don't think it's going to lead to gaming being a legitimized art form, but yeah, this is rad. I can't wait until my backlog is small enough I can justify buying some new hardware so I can dance to my heart's content.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

It's good to see people are playing over priced music discs and excercise tapes so they can watch themselves dance and excercise to a camera strapped onto a game console for some reason.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

If you've got the money to spend, then Dance Central probably is the killer title for Kinect. I just can't justify it for $150, but my GF bought a 360 at $130 just for Feeding Frenzy so...

Just like me. Every month I look at it and then say, "screw it".

The only thing it's got going for it is Dance Centeral, so it's basically spending 210$ for a game and peripheral.

And since I can just dance for free... it's not winning me over.

 

[jackpipsam]

More people like means more money for Microsoft

 

[CoL0sS]

Wheeehw, I always wondered how Microsoft got those large sales numbers every month.....Now I know

 

[flim.geek.chic]

Being a gamer who just happens to be female. Games Like Dance Central make it easier for my friends to understand how additvie gaming can be, and if I want to stay home instead of going out to the club to play Fallout that dosen't make me a loser.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

Being a gamer who just happens to be female. Games Like Dance Central make it easier for my friends to understand how additvie gaming can be, and if I want to stay home instead of going out to the club to play Fallout that dosen't make me a loser.

I usually still feel like a loser, which is why I never play Fallout without blasting horrible music and slamming mixed drinks.

Wait.

 

[Elemorea]

same thing happened to me. My girlfriend who is not a gamer at all wanted one, we got it and she plays all the time. My friend is now trading in his ps3 for an x box and kinect after having played ours. Its an epidemic.

 

[Elemorea]

same thing happened to me. My girlfriend who is not a gamer at all wanted one, we got it and she plays all the time. My friend is now trading in his ps3 for an x box and kinect after having played ours. Its an epidemic.

 

[AK47Marine]

Eh I don't like motion controls but whatever floats your boat, and if it gets more people gaming I'm all for it!

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Not ashamed to say my mind went to a dirty place for a moment and had an internet fist bump readied.

Now to actually contribute, I've noticed that my female friends liking stuff like kinect and rock hero doesn't really lead into the 'real' video games. But maybe I'm just unlucky

 

[Mr Pantomime]

My friends said I was mad. But I knew Dance Central was going to be awesome.

Havent actually played it though

 

[migo]

Eh I don't like motion controls but whatever floats your boat, and if it gets more people gaming I'm all for it!

Whatever else you think about motion controls, a dance game with Kinect works brilliantly.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

It's a fad, like the Wii it'll soon blow over and we'll be left with just a couple of good games and many many MANY video-toys.

 

[aPod]

Woman fuckin love dancing, you didnt know that?

This is true.

Fun fact: Dancing, or someone who can dance, is on of the first thing woman say they find attractive and desirable in a man.

So, bust your groove thing fella's

 

[warm slurm]

It's a fad, like the Wii it'll soon blow over and we'll be left with just a couple of good games and many many MANY video-toys.

lol @ you if you think the Wii has "blown over."

 

[Sixcess]

Amen, it already started with the new consoles and kind of games that you can basically "play" without even needing to pay any attention to what you are doing (or doing anything at all): http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/11/16/codblops-first-mission-without-firing/

That video is hilarious, not to mention a great example of why I dislike heavily scripted linear game sequences. It makes me think more kindly on my useless AI allies in Crysis, who would run around and shoot a lot, but accomplish absolutely nothing without me.

I can see why developers do it - it's really just a more subtle and in-game variation on the old 'now you do something awesome, but in a cut scene' routine that games like Devil May Cry are infamous for. It makes spectacular scenes accessible to anyone, regardless of skill level, but robs you of the possibility of doing something unexpected that turns out to be more awesome than any scripted sequence.

 

[Thunderhorse31]

I'm with you bro, my wife loves Dance Central, and when I got my sisters and in-laws over to play, they were all very interested to know how they could get a copy for themselves. Even when I told them they needed an Xbox, Kinect, and game which would cost around $350 minimum (4G Kinect bundle + game), they didn't seem dissuaded in the least. I'm just waiting to see which one will buckle first and pay $400 to dance in their living room.