Kinect for Xbox 360

Demiurge

Cirque du Soleil Experience Unveils Kinect for Xbox 360
Published June 13, 2010

On the eve of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Xbox made entertainment history through a stunning Cirque du Soleil production that brought controller-free gaming and entertainment to life and gave “Project Natal” its real name: Kinect for Xbox 360.




Thousands of Hollywood stars, VIPs, and media from around the world gathered at LA’s Galen Center to witness the future of entertainment on Sunday, June 13, 2010. This exclusive 45-minute experience, which Cirque du Soleil spent four months developing and producing, was presented Sunday night, with an encore performance set for Monday. Along with a 76-person strong cast of dancers, musicians, acrobats, and clowns, show goers were treated to a dazzling setup featuring 25-foot-high projection screens totaling more than a football field in length, a gigantic 9-foot-tall elephant puppet housing projection screens and two artists, and a 40-foot-diameter steel structure that rotates on its axis and weighs as much as 25 VW Beetles.

“Creating and producing this customized experience for
Microsoft took four months of preparation work for the
creation team and required 76 artists and no less than
200 technicians. The magnitude of the event is greater
than any other taken on by Cirque du Soleil Events.”
-- Martin Dignard, Production Director

A steady drumbeat emanated from a lush forest built inside Galen Center, featuring meteorite touch-downs, rotating living rooms, pulsating music, amazing puppetry, and stunning physical dexterity—all inspired by Kinect for Xbox 360. “The World Premiere Kinect for Xbox 360 Experience” surprised and delighted a global audience, featuring extraordinary entertainment experiences—no controller required.

"The Project Natal experience is designed to generate
emotional responses that echo the feelings Project Natal
itself evokes. Experiencing a sense of connection and
togetherness, members of the audience will be whisked
away on a journey that is intense, engrossing, human-
centered, interactive, imaginative and socially inclusive.”
-- Michel Laprise, Creative Director

If all this seems hard to picture, you can experience the event yourself in a 30-minute, commercial-free special broadcast on MTV on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 3:30 pm ET, and on Nick at Nite, mtvU, MTV Hits, and Logo at 9 pm ET.

Or, experience the exhilaration of Kinect for Xbox 360 yourself when roaring rapids, wild tigers, mountainous obstacle courses, and zooming racecars come to living rooms around the world this holiday.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/events/e3/kinect.htm

Demiurge

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kuntasensei

Yeah, having seen the demo clips they showed of the fake family playing with Kinect (which is at least a better name than Natal), I don't see me doing much actual gaming with it. I just have no interest in the Wii-like games they're showing... mostly 'cause I work all damn week, and gaming is my way to CHILL. But as an interface device, I'll probably snag one anyway. I'm hoping we see some sort of use for it in hardcore games in today's press conference.

Based on the clip where they show the guy control the video and how it tracks his hand, I'd love to see them do a RTS game with it. That'd be some crazy Minority Report coolness!

Sherardp

Cool beans man. I'd check it out.

Demiurge

I didn't look real hard, but has anyone heard a price point on this?

kuntasensei

They haven't announced a price point. Gamestop is assuming $149 for the Kinect by itself and $399 for the new 360 Pro + Kinect in a bundle. I find that hard to believe, since they're trying to compete with the Wii on the casual side. I'd be shocked if it's more than $100. We shall see though.

Demiurge

Pre-Order up at Amazon (and I'm sure elsewhere, but seems to be the go to on-line retailer for Polies):

$149.99 - Releases 11/4/10

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BSA298/ref=s9_pop_gw_ir02/180-9694188-6884208?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1ECK8Z8P1DAC6DTEF23H&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1263340922&pf_rd_i=507846

I think I'm going to wait a while until after release before I get this. That's subject of course.

Demiurge

kuntasensei wrote: »

They haven't announced a price point. Gamestop is assuming $149 for the Kinect by itself and $399 for the new 360 Pro + Kinect in a bundle. I find that hard to believe, since they're trying to compete with the Wii on the casual side. I'd be shocked if it's more than $100. We shall see though.

I agree it seems steep for an add-on, especially for a console that is nearly 5 years old.

zombie boy 2000

All the initial reports from E3 indicate that the presentation went over like a lead balloon. It doesn't seem like "inovation", so much as "imitation".

kuntasensei

Yeah, the Cirque Du Soleil presentation was really retarded. But Microsoft's showing of it at their keynote was actually pretty well received. Mostly, because we got to see that it actually WORKS. Still, I think the problem remains: It's very cool technology... but the games they're showing don't set it apart from the Wii enough to matter. The people who want that experience already have a Wii and are already doing those things.

I want to see it used in conjunction with my controller... like, give me a first person shooter where I can use my hand to access keypads... or a RTS where I can move units around in space with my hand and voice (like Endwar, but controller-free)... or a driving game that tracks my head to control my viewpoint (which they kinda' showed with Forza, but driving with your hands in mid-air is still unnatural and stupid). I'm fine with them trying to push this for the casual gamer... but unless they can find value for the hardcore audience that already has their console, it's going to die on the vine just like the Vision Cam did.

jflail2

I'm all for this, even though I don't really game anymore. It'd be nice to see the fatty youngsters of America get off the couch and move their tubby rear ends for something.

And I'm kind of with kunta on this. I'd actually WANT a gun or a steering wheel or something along those lines versus mimicking holding those objects...

Demiurge

jflail2 wrote: »

I'm all for this, even though I don't really game anymore. It'd be nice to see the fatty youngsters of America get off the couch and move their tubby rear ends for something.

And I'm kind of with kunta on this. I'd actually WANT a gun or a steering wheel or something along those lines versus mimicking holding those objects...

Then put a gun in your hand.

jflail2

hah, too true! be a lot less expensive than buying actual rounds...

Demiurge

I know, right! The way ammo costs are these days.

I'll be surprised if Microsoft isn't selling all sorts of little handheld controller/devices for these Kinect games.

kuntasensei

My issue is this: They're trying to sell this thing to the casual audience. You know what? TOO LATE! The casual audience all bought the Wii! And most of them are now sitting unplayed because of it! They need to find some reason for the 360's existing audience of hardcore gamers to want this thing... otherwise, all these dance games and crap are going to make this thing about as relevant as the Vision Cam is now.

I sincerely hope a developer comes up with a killer app that makes Kinect a must buy. Maybe we'll see it by Gamescom when they announce the pricing. That said, I'll be buying Kinect just to play around with it... despite the fact that my 36 year old **** games mostly to relax after work, with my buttcheeks firmly planted on the couch.

tommyboy

jflail2 wrote: »

I'm all for this, even though I don't really game anymore. It'd be nice to see the fatty youngsters of America get off the couch and move their tubby rear ends for something.

I'm not here to start a big debate, but i can guarantee you this will not affect america's problem with obesity;)

Demiurge

kuntasensei wrote: »

My issue is this: They're trying to sell this thing to the casual audience. You know what? TOO LATE! The casual audience all bought the Wii! And most of them are now sitting unplayed because of it! They need to find some reason for the 360's existing audience of hardcore gamers to want this thing... otherwise, all these dance games and crap are going to make this thing about as relevant as the Vision Cam is now.

I sincerely hope a developer comes up with a killer app that makes Kinect a must buy. Maybe we'll see it by Gamescom when they announce the pricing. That said, I'll be buying Kinect just to play around with it... despite the fact that my 36 year old **** games mostly to relax after work, with my buttcheeks firmly planted on the couch.

I have a Nintendo Wii, but I honestly never play it unless I have people over that want to. Content will determine if I buy and play Kinect. I think it can capture your full range of motions over your entire body, right? Not to mention you don't need to hold anything in your hand. That concept is cool.

I can see it taking off, but it also seems a tad late. I keep coming back to the age of the console being 5 years at release. This seems like something that would have gone over better had it been available at launch or a year or two after.

It has the feeling of a gimmick to suck market share away from Nintendo. More power to them if that's the case because Nintendo has been neglecting a larger marker for some time. Microsoft is trying to cater to all with its console.