Microsoft

Is Microsoft Holding Back Kinect?

By Peter Ha | June 22, 2010 | +

An interesting thing happened when I got back from E3 and sat down to talk with Lev about what’s been going on while he was out on book leave. I told him my initial impressions of Kinect and Move and more or less pooh-poohed Kinect for its piss-poor showing at E3. I specifically mentioned the Forza demo I stood through where I simply put my hands at the 10 and 2 o’clock positions. What Lev told me after I was finished ranting blew me away.

Lev saw Project Natal in its early stages and one of the demos he was privy to last year was a Kinect-able Burnout that wasn’t even optimized. It was basically thrown together as a proof of concept. The thing is, Lev says that it worked really well and that he did more than just steer the car. To accelerate and brake, he just slid his right foot forward and backwards. For a quick boost, you’d gesture with your right hand as if you were grabbing something a few inches in front of you, making a fist and pulling back.

So why didn’t Microsoft show this off at E310? Why are they holding back? Are they holding back or did they realize that it impossible to do outside of a tech demo? These are the questions I want answers to and I’m sure you do too.

Related Topics: burnout, kinect, WTF, xbox 360, Gaming & Culture, Microsoft

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  • http://djmaroto.wordpress.com djmaroto

    I hope Lev is right, I really do, I did not expect the dissapointment Kinect was at the e3. I really thought some minority report-like stuff was actually coming to life.

  • jetsol

    I was also completely unimpressed with Kinect. The only demos that looked halfway interesting involved “players” that were obviously hired to execute pre-trained moves. Almost every instance I observed of an audience member attempting to use it was flawed; some couldn’t even get a game started. Made me think Microsoft is chasing a wet dream more than executing on a game-changing peripheral.

  • jetsol

    The other thing that occurred to me is that the version Lev got to try out might have been an EXPENSIVE prototype. Perhaps in trying to get this thing to an acceptable consumer price point something magical was lost?

  • cydonos

    That’s just Microsoft’s business model. Create awesome wonderful things and then see to it that they never see the light of day.

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