Kinect - Inital Impressions

[Spookie]

Thought this deserved a thread so we could post all the stupid gifs, huge copypastas quotes and comment on what was no about the weirdest experiences E3 has ever housed. Better than having one Mega-thread in GH.

PS. Who ever makes the MS Conference thread please make it separate from this to prevent confusion.

Gaming is already sort of a weird cult. But Microsoft took things to a distinctly creepy new place at the reveal of its new Kinect motion control system at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. The much-hyped event was conceptualized and produced by Cirque du Soleil, and the troupe's whimsical granola aesthetic was in heavy play.

Walking through the doors to the sounds of tribal drumming, attendees were sent first to a row of tables, where Microsoft representatives handed them white satin smocks, complete with ballooning shoulder pads. The unquestioning invitees donned them and were ushered two-by-two down a black-curtained hallway, where more oddness awaited.

At the end of the hall, a low, wide-screen television-shaped hole was cut into a wall. Behind it, a gleaming nuclear family sat in a perfect living room, inviting us inside. I acquiesced, but not without some hesitation. The whitebread parents were creepy enough, but it was the two children that set my teeth on edge. They waved at me, all smiles, beckoning me in. What must they be thinking? I stepped through, my cultist white robe catching on the wooden frame of the Fourth Wall as I did. And then things started to get really weird.

Imagine a giant, darkened basketball stadium with robed figures filling the floor and seats. It looks like a staging area for extras in a Star Trek episode. Now suspend a leopard-print couch from the ceiling, and perch a family of three on it. Opposite them, a shirtless man in a loincloth sits atop a faux boulder while elven wood nymph types frolic at the edges. Green gauze, piles of plants and giant (and I mean giant) media screens line the perimeter. It's as if the people who design Rainforest Cafes got incredibly high together and decided to spend $1 million.

Speaking of enormous sums of money, let me back up. Microsoft has been hyping its new controller-free gaming initiative since the last Electronic Entertainment Expo. Since then, it's gone under the name Project Natal. And it was supposed to stay that way until this evening's E3 2010 reveal, where we would learn the finished product's new lineup (and hopefully a bit more about it). But thanks to an early slip in USA Today's online version, the name Kinect and a list of games was released in advance. Not a huge deal in the overall scheme, but the leak did take some of the wind out of Microsoft's white satin sails. When the name 'Kinect' finally materialized on an enormous vertical projection screen in the middle of the event, it served more as a period than an exclamation point for the audience, most of whom had already read about the new name on the iPhones they were asked not to bring to the event.

To be clear, the Kinect unveiling was not designed for super-gamers, most of whom still greet the idea of controller-less gaming with a skeptical narrowing of the eyes. It was, in a way, the anti-console launch. With its purposeful lack of detail and obtuse artistic posturing, it pushed aside most expectations of an E3 product unveiling. There were no speeches, no executives, no price points, no release dates. There weren't even any developer names or game titles mentioned. Instead of retail porn, attendees were bathed in image and metaphor.

What if humans regained their rightful places at the center of the technology experience? What if interactive entertainment took an evolutionary leap past controllers and other handheld devices? What if a young boy rode a multimedia elephant and climbed inside of a rotating living room full of multiple fun-filled families? Excellent questions, all.

Kinect was, of course offered up as the answer to all of the above, and the latter half of the event featured lengthy demos of several upcoming games for the system. The usual suspects appeared – kart racer, family sports medley, fitness program, virtual pet, etc. Some, like the endearing Kinectimals and a clever looking Star Wars game, seemed fresh and interesting. Others fell squarely into the inoffensive family fare category. Safe and likely fun, but not extraordinary.

Unlike most gaming events, the Kinect reveal was distinctly calm and atmospheric. It was less about providing information and more about, you know, standing around and doing whatever. Living in Seattle, I frequently see shirtless, dreadlocked hippie guys hanging out in parks. I often wonder, what do these guys grow up and do for a living? There are only so many organic grocery store jobs, after all. But now I know. They move to Montreal, join Cirque Du Soleil, dance around in unitards, and eventually try to sell me gaming peripherals. Small world.

My moment of zen came not as the burlapped elf men playfully dangled tin cans from sticks or when the show-closing music swelled as images of Xbox Live Avatars flew against a starry sky. For me, the highlight of the evening was watching Ninja Gaiden creator Tomonobu Itagaki walk into the event in his white robe, taking in the scene behind his traditional sunglasses. He looked around a few times, stood quietly for a few moments and then turned around and left.

IGN

HERP DERP DERP LET'S SPEND ALL THE MONEY THAT HAS EVER BEEN PRINTED IN AMERICA SO WE CAN USE GAME JOURNALISTS AS UNWITTING ACCOMPLICES IN A RIDICULOUS MTV COMMERCIAL FOR OUR EYETOY! ALSO, CIRQUE DU SOLEIL!

HERP DERP DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRP

Destructioid (Jim Sterling is still a ****ing moron.)

Dean: There has to be something about kicking off one of the most anticipated E3 shows in recent memory and the pressure it must have on a company such as Microsoft. When Project Natal was first unveiled, it was a thing of mystery—nay, wonder. It was something I wanted to try, and it made me think about what it was to play a video game. I can safely say that after tonight, all those hopes and wonders were nullified.

When I heard Microsoft was doing a dedicated event for Natal, I figured they had something worth showing. Instead we got an entirely scripted evening of families playing party games that have little to no appeal due to their extremely derivative nature. Nothing about Natal's offering seemed genuine or original, particularly when the scripting went so wrong. Absolutely nothing shown was in real-time, and when they attempted to mimic what was happening on screen, it had all the believability of twins trying to match each others' movements in a mirror.

Couple the above with canned applause put over the speaker system to make it seem like people were genuinely impressed by the creepy avatars playing a Wii Sports knock off, and you've got yourself a pretty decent picture of what happened tonight. Everyone seemed bummed about the entire thing, and I am too.

I have one thing to say to you, Microsoft: you had better hope you can turn this **** around; you've hyped this thing up so much and it fell horribly flat tonight. I can't imagine anyone was happy with what they saw, and I have a hard time believing you're truly happy too. Hopefully E3 can only go up from here.

Amber: After an hour and a half of standing in line followed by another hour of sitting and waiting, Natal needed to be hella impressive to make up for my aching feet and back. Starting the "Natal Experience" by dressing me in a white sheet so I could participate in their Xbox light show didn't sweeten my mood. You'll have to forgive me, I'm running short on sleep here so I may struggle to be coherent but I think I can sum up my experience in a single word: bull****.

The show lasted over an hour but honestly, I couldn't tell you much about Natal because everything we saw was scripted. It was around ninety minutes of window dressing and high concept demoing writ large in deafening music, giant screens, and performers whose movements were mimicked twitchily by their digital doppelgangers. At least that was the impression the performance was supposed to convey. The games we saw looked like Microsoft branded Wii Sports with a splash of Mario Kart, except instead of waggle you flail at the air. I wasn't exactly impressed. Well, at least I got a plush tiger out of it. Oh yeah, and the fake elephant was cool.

Matt: We were promised an experience, and we got one, all right. It seemed fairly promising when we were still waiting outside the Galen for our chance to file in, but when they filed us through a TV-shaped hole into a living room with actors playing a family and ordered us to put on the Cult of Kinect robes—robes whose significance really sank in when the giant Xbox logo lit up and the LEDs sewn into the shoulder pads glowed green in kind—I knew something was horribly wrong.

Eventually, though, I just had to laugh. Between the glitchy Avatar reels running before the show and the obvious sync problems with the scripted videos, there was just so much B-grade cheese going on that I found I was really enjoying myself. Every now and again I'd catch a glimpse of a little game or application on the reels that seemed kind of interesting, but then they'd turn around and smother it with overlong, overproduced presentations or something just plain weird. I expect that when I look at the little stuffed leopard cub they gave me on the way out, I'll have plenty memories of hilarity to look back on. Natal—excuse me, "KINECT"—may not fare nearly so well. I wonder how the public will react when they get to see this insanity tomorrow?

N-Sider

Having just returned from the Microsoft world premiere event showing off the newly named Kinect camera for Xbox 360 (formerly known as Project Natal), we're left with a burning question. The games demoed at the event ran the gamut from driving a car to driving a boat to driving a mine cart -- all with graphics that would make a Nintendo Wii blush -- and cool hardware aside, who's going to want to play these games?

... However, as impressive as the event itself was, the first round of Kinect games demoed seemed, well, exactly like first-generation games.

... But after all those game presentations, we're struck by how similar they are to games we've already seem for platforms including the PlayStation EyeToy (which originated on the PS2 in 2004) and Nintendo Wii. The EyeToy is a particularly apt comparison as it also used only hand and body movements, not a control stick like the Wii or upcoming PlayStation Move.

Like the software titles for the EyeToy (and actually a good deal of Wii software as well), these are all good proof-of-concept demonstrations, but they rarely translate into compelling gameplay, or the type of retail software you'd want to purchase and play. With the advanced nature of sophisticated games such as Heavy Rain, Red Dead Redemption, or even ModNation Racers, does adding a new hardware interface mean the games themselves have to take a five-year step back?

... At the very least, even if the initial run of Kinect games seem overly derivative and more like tech demos than anything else, Microsoft knows the golden rule of appealing to a room full of jaded 20 and 30-something gamers. When in doubt, cut to Darth Vader.

Cnet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOKCjFyDTq8

Thoughts? :p

[AbandonedTrolley]

Wow the human lag in that GIF is bad :p

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

Everytime I read about Project Natal/Kinect, I'm reminded of the "Well, bam! There it is." video:

:laugh:

[Spookie]

Everytime I read about Project Natal/Kinect, I'm reminded of the "Well, bam! There it is." video:

:laugh:

That was my initial thoughts. It seems after all the gaffs at the last E3 they made it separate this year, faked all the videos and prevented footage being filmed. Clearly did them a world of good. :p

Another photoshop attempt: Linkie

Wow the human lag in that GIF is bad :p

Kinect can read minds. Boom. :laugh:

[Bioran]

One thing which frustrates me is how MS can rarely do a good event launch. They'd make a product which seems fantastic, which gets lots of praise in private tests, get all the hype up, then totally kill it with an underwhelming launch event.

[BajiRav]

To be fair to them, no IR+camera based system is going to work in an event that big - especially something as complex as Natal Kinect.

[MR_Candyman]

Reading these is hilarious.

[Prince Charming]

Does this mean if I'm playing with Kinect and my girlfriend is chilling on the sofa, reading or something, I have to ask her to put on a white robe?

"hey babe, you know how you like dressing up in the bedroom, well, uh...'

[CentralDogma]

[Colin-uk Veteran]

Does this mean if I'm playing with Kinect and my girlfriend is chilling on the sofa, reading or something, I have to ask her to put on a white robe?

"hey babe, you know how you like dressing up in the bedroom, well, uh...'

Dont forget the wizard hat.

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

No matter how many videos or whatever i see i still dont believe its a accurate as they claim it is and developers will screw it up.

[MR_Candyman]

No matter how many videos or whatever i see i still dont believe its a accurate as they claim it is and developers will screw it up.

I feel the same. I just can't see how this could be a good user experience. Basically I'll believe it when I use it. Unfortunately nobody I know actually WANTS one of these, so I'll have a tough time trying it out

[Spookie]

E3 2010: The Top 20 Kinected Press Reactions

20. @oliviamunn: Walked in late to Microsoft Natal E3 event with every single person in white rob shirt thing.... No. No, I don't want any koolaid, thank u.

19. @jeffcannata: Yes, Kinect does nintendogs, too. But it is a tiger! Extreme!

18. @mattbertz: Somewhere in Los Angeles, Nintendo is laughing

17. @CheapyD: And the only thing better than playing motion control sports mini-games is watching video of other people playing them

16. @Vahn16: That Star Wars trailer was so obviously pre-rendered. I think this event is actually making me angry with it's underwhelming-ness.

15. @CheapyD: I'm in a marketing acid trip!

14. @jwhdavison: At Microsoft thing. Wearing a white sheet, having stepped through a hole in the wall to be greeted by a family in multiple languages.

13. @Vahn16: If any creepy dancing people touch me, I will fight them.

12. @BenKuchera: Guys, you can take the ponchos off, it's called kinect and it has Wii Sports. We know already.

11. @jeffcannata: You know what wod make this event better, Microsoft? Anything.

10. @DanRyckert: According to tweets I've seen, the Kinect event seems to involve: KKK members, magic smocks, floating couches, and people dancing on flowers

9. @GI_AndyMc: In any other place this many people in white sheets would be hit with tear gas. I hate myself right now.

8. @louiethecat: I don't know WTF to think about this but I am scurred and wanna go home.

7. @Andrew_Reiner: I don't even know what to say...

6. @jeffcannata: Microsoft now has a standing army.

5. @jeffgerstmann: So does Sony rename their thing to Müv or Mooove or something now to complete in the misspelled motion controller wars?

4. @Vahn16: From now on, when I'm embarassed, I'm going to imagine everyone in these ponchos.

3. @andrew pfister: Can't wait to see what E3's closing ceremony is like.

2. @Vahn16: The only way this could have been worse was if James Cameron came out and talked for two hours

1. @GI_AndyMc: Now I know why Robbie Bach quit.

edit: Now updated with cnets rather brutal thoughts on the events.

[George P Global Moderator]

Riiiiight. And I remember all the bashing the wii got, we saw how that turned out.

[Guest xiphi]

Riiiiight. And I remember all the bashing the wii got, we saw how that turned out.

I don't remember any bashing, TBH. :blink: I just remember it being a hit from the start.

[Spookie]

Riiiiight. And I remember all the bashing the wii got, we saw how that turned out.

Ninty weren't playing catch up with anyone though. Or launching right next to a competitor with a similar product.

[spenser.d]

I don't remember any bashing, TBH. :blink: I just remember it being a hit from the start.

Are you kidding? The thing was torn apart by a great deal of people all the way up until release and then for a great while after.

I'm still looking forward to Kinect, mainly from a technological standpoint.

[Corris Veteran]

I don't like the name, why they went for something that isn't quite spelt correctly I don't know, using Kinetic would have been perfectly fine without trying to be silly with the name.

Riiiiight. And I remember all the bashing the wii got, we saw how that turned out.

Most core games made fun of the name and the controls and to this day still don't like the Wii much? lol.

No doubt the casual crowd will like this and might be fun for parties, but besides wanting to move the NXE UI around, I don't think I will want one till something less casual is shown.

[George P Global Moderator]

Ninty weren't playing catch up with anyone though. Or launching right next to a competitor with a similar product.

The similar one is Sony's move, if you think about it, in regards to the Wii. Natal/Kinect while the same idea is a few steps ahead. Price and games that use it right is all it needs.

[Guest xiphi]

Are you kidding? The thing was torn apart by a great deal of people all the way up until release and then for a great while after.

I'm still looking forward to Kinect, mainly from a technological standpoint.

No, I'm not kidding. I never saw any bashing of the Wii, apart from Sony and MS. I just didn't see it, and loved it since the day it was revealed. Didn't get one till this year, though.

You're probably thinking of people making fun of the name, Wii.

[spenser.d]

You're probably thinking of people making fun of the name, Wii.

No, I'm not. There weren't a lot of people that thought motion control was a good idea or was going to sell well at all.

[Guest xiphi]

No, I'm not. There weren't a lot of people that thought motion control was a good idea or was going to sell well at all.

And, who were these people? Consumers, developers, etc?

[Ironman273]

I don't remember any bashing, TBH. :blink: I just remember it being a hit from the start.

It was a sales hit but EVERYONE was making fun of it and saying how the arm waving was stupid, etc.

[MR_Candyman]

I don't know. I don't remember anything but speculation and interest in the Wii before it came out. There was a lot of mocking the name though.

[strotee]

From what I'm gathering online, the technology is so advanced it can read your thoughts and move before you do.