Are Both Move And Kinect Stumbling Out Of The Gate?
I don't necessarily mean in terms of sales; Sony has reported that they've shipped 1 million Move units in North America, and we've heard 1.5 million units have been sold in Europe. Plus, it seems pre-order sales for Kinect were high and in terms of technology and potential, both should - by all rights - have bright futures.
However, it appears both are encountering some definite issues during their first days. It seems to start off on a good note - Sports Champions for the Move and Kinect Sports for Kinect, which is dragging in decent review scores thus far - but then, games sort of go downhill. Take the competing fighting games- Fighters Uncaged for Kinect appears to be a mess, with a 2/10 from Eurogamer and a 4.5/10 from Game Informer, and Move's The Fight: Lights Out seems to be in the same unfortunate boat, with a 3/10 from IGN and a couple 5/10s from Eurogamer and VideoGamer. Then there's Time Crisis: Razing Storm for Move (trust me, other reviews are no better), which sort of implies that shooters with Sony's motion sensing technology could be terrible chores. On the good side, there are glimpses of cute goodness, like EyePet for Move and Kinectimals for Kinect.
But there are plenty of other downers. Kinect Joyride is mediocre with lots of 5s and 6s, Start the Party! for Move doesn't appear to be all that fantastic, and the less said about Racquet Sports (Move), the better. There are several decent games for both, coming in with average review scores of around 7, but it goes without saying that both applications require...well, a killer-app of some kind. Sony doesn't seem too concerned with sales numbers and Microsoft has already said that review scores for their Kinect titles won't matter so much. Indeed, the Wii is loaded with shovelware and never really did offer much in the way of top-notch software quality, and everyone loved it. So maybe the technology itself will be the ultimate selling point, and we have to wait for the AAA software.
Let's just hope it actually comes.
Tags: playstation move, microsoft kinect, move, kinect
11/4/2010 9:32:18 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (65 posts)
OPHIDIAN
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:14:13 PM
IrreducibleSUN
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:15:44 PM
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I have enough hope to see something amazing for the PS3 down the road, I mean all that horsepower will eventually be utilized properly into a motion based game. If anything something creative like another arcade(Flower) kind of game.
Last edited by IrreducibleSUN on 11/4/2010 10:17:07 PM
SirLoin of Beef
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:16:21 PM
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Temjin001
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:17:54 PM
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"I'm not giving it a score because I think scoring a game after a half hour sets a bad precedent, and I'd rather eat a rain-soaked box of poison buttholes than ever play Fighters Uncaged again."--Joystiq
hellish_devil
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:23:51 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:36:30 PM
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 12:02:55 AM
Kevadu
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 4:30:54 PM
Basically, Justin McElroy posted a kind of joke review in which he says he gave up on Nier and would give it a zero. Except the whole reason he gave up is because there is one point in the game where you are supposed to catch a fish (which introduces the whole fishing minigame that is otherwise completely optional) and he apparently spent several hours trying and failing to catch that fish because he was *fishing in the wrong spot*. This is despite the fact that the right spot, like every single other objective in the game, is marked on your map with a big red X. It didn't matter how many hours he fished where he was fishing, he was never going to catch the right fish.
By the way, you don't even have to learn how to fish in that game. If you fail more than a couple of times the game will automatically give you the necessary fish, but only if you're fishing in the right place.
The worst part isn't just that he did something dumb (it happens to the best of us sometimes), but rather that despite the fact that this has been pointed out many times by many different readers he completely refuses to even acknowledge his mistake. There have been no corrections or retractions made, and even talking about the Nier thing there is likely to get you downvoted or even banned. It's ridiculous.
Temjin001
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 8:37:04 PM
Maybe it's not poison butt-holes bad, but isn't there a line where things are bad enough that it's just not worth you time even at mediocrity.
Because of this, I tend to prefer game rating systems that are 5 star, or so. Just because I sort of view games like this:
1 star: broken and crappy all around. WARNING stay away, and don't play. --Fighters Uncaged.
2 star: functional, but has some serious misgivings that require a lot of tolerance. Proceed with CAUTION.
3 star: functional, mostly balanced game design that may speak best to those who are really into the subject matter. there may be a handful of technical misgivings, but all around it's a worthwhile venture.
4 star: excellent in design and well presented. a quality product well worth the time of any interested.
5 star: a superb, redefining, if even evolved take on game design. It radiates in the cutting edge and sets the bar for most to aspire to overcome. --Uncharted 2
That's a generalized synopsis of it in a nutshell.
Anyway, from what I can tell, Nier appears to fall into the 2 or 3 star category.
I try to stay within 4 to 5 stars, and I'll rarely risk lower, only if there's a quirky appeal about it that speaks directly to an interest of mine.
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 8:47:46 PM
Temjin001
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 9:50:08 PM
hellish_devil
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:22:15 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:37:15 PM
Temjin001
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:27:01 PM
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But aside from that, I hope KINECT flops miserably. I know it sounds lame of me, but there's a reason. I know many here don't like MS, fine. They're not all sugar and rainbows, but even then, they can still manage to get a few solid games out every so often. I don't want too much of gaming to fall into the black hole of this foreboding casual market that seems to be gobbling up too many possible gamers. Keeping them locked into their casual world of crappy silly games that don't represent what gaming entertainment is capable of.
We have the whole iPad/iPhone/Apple wave upon us, we already have Nintendo and their Wii, and now here's MS jumping in head first(where's your hardcore games now MS? *crickets**** Gears 3**** more crickets*). I'm getting concerned that the market is splintering so much that some genres and game types are going to fall through the cracks. I want Kinect to fail because I want MS to stay glued to their laurels and keep the economy of gamer that fueled the PS2 and XBox generation turning.
Last edited by Temjin001 on 11/4/2010 10:28:03 PM
WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:35:34 PM
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I'm thinking that the killer apps will come for Move, but Kinect will always be mired in icky gooey shovelware that poor reviewers will have to muddle through for years.
While it isn't surprising that the launch titles suck balls, it shouldn't be surprising that in terms of sales neither of these will come close to the Wii. It grabbed that market, chewed it up and spit it out and they don't want back in no matter the tech.
I feel bad for Kinect preorderers though: "I'm gonna need a bigger living room."
StangMan80
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:48:53 PM
Underdog15
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 9:40:27 AM
Hense why a 7 or 8 on a PSP or Wii, would in PS3 or 360 standards, be like a 5 or 6.
Jawknee
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 11:41:02 AM
StangMan80
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:42:46 PM
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MyWorstNightmar
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 10:29:40 AM
StangMan80
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:46:35 PM
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Highlander
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 12:07:04 AM
johnld
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 2:16:41 AM
BTNwarrior
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 11:06:35 PM
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Hezzron
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 11:45:16 PM
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The three horsemen of the gaming apocalypse: Wii, Kinect and Move.
Oh, and did anyone else hear about the fiasco over Kinect not recognizing certain, um, facial colors?
Last edited by Hezzron on 11/4/2010 11:51:54 PM
Highlander
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 11:55:29 PM
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 12:02:26 AM
Orvisman
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 8:13:15 AM
Gone
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 8:15:12 AM
Highlander
Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 11:54:51 PM
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Last edited by Highlander on 11/4/2010 11:55:04 PM
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 12:01:56 AM
For instance, I just can't see anyone playing Killzone 3 with Move, nor do I see how Move capability does anything for a game like R.U.S.E.
But you make a good point. It just didn't fit with the article. ;)
Highlander
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 12:09:41 AM
I'm just very weary of the constant smoke and mirrors game that Microsoft are playing with Kinect. If ever there was a candidate for the Video game equivalent of the Emperor's New Clothes award, Kinect is it.
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 1:09:20 AM
BikerSaint
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 2:04:08 AM
Mornelithe
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 6:03:56 AM
I guess, though, that I'm still looking for a viable alternative to mouse, for consoles. So that kind of has me looking at it from a different angle, as well.
Gone
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 8:09:10 AM
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 10:22:10 AM
bigrailer19
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 5:18:53 PM
Works great, have a lot of fun with it!
Crabba
Sunday, November 07, 2010 @ 4:42:12 PM
I guess we'll have to wait and see how well they can make it work, but I think if anyone can do it, it's Guerrilla...
Mornelithe
Monday, November 08, 2010 @ 9:20:51 AM
The video of KZ3 w/ Move I saw, showed me a playable FPS experience imo. Response didn't appear to be an issue there. And the jabbing action to induce a melee kill was pretty sweet. Thus far, I'm pretty excited to play Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet 2 and Sorcery with Move. I think those games are definitely being made with Move in mind, maybe not as the focus, but definitely aware of it's presence.
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 12:53:32 AM
WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 1:31:51 AM
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___________
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 2:23:58 AM
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Clamedeus
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 7:21:59 AM
___________
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 7:50:39 AM
motion controls do have there advantage, for instance its much easier to aim with the motion controller than it is with a normal controller.
sword fighting, and fighting games is kinda a 2 edged blade.
on one side you have the realism of swinging something around and your character matching your moves, but on the other side you get tired from swinging your arms around for 2 hours.
it has its uses, there are some areas its better than normal controllers but to be honest i cant see it being anything more than a side arm, a alternative.
Clamedeus
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 8:27:29 AM
Xombito
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 3:32:08 AM
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Lawless SXE
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 4:39:22 AM
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But then, the software is abysmal to average from what I've heard, and there really seems to be very little coming down the pipeline to change that. At least in terms of the peripheral-exclusive games. I think it will take at least a year for things to really start picking up, and I'll gladly wait it out.
And I was just wondering, with games that are played with both Move and the DS3, will you be doing separate reviews for each control scheme, or splitting the reviews, or will you just give it a passing mention as to how the game plays with the Move?
Peace.
Mornelithe
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 5:20:43 AM
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Microsoft on the other hand, is well, throwing money at this from every angle....except from the angle of their core. Every game released has been a throwback to the casual or party market. And while that's all fine and good, Microsoft has built their entire base out of hardcore FPSers, and this product really doesn't cater to them at all. This isn't simply impression, Microsoft initially stated that very thing about how they'd be pushing Kinect.
I think the real problem is, is both devices show potential. The games that really explore that potential aren't anywhere near to launch yet, so it's hard to muster any 'immediate' urge to rush out and get either of them. This may work in Sony's favor though, I think, as they've got a wider variety of games launched (maybe not as many, but definitely have them in more Genre's), and they spent vastly vastly less on promotion.
JackC8
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 7:52:17 AM
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As far as the Move, it certainly seems to have the technical stuff covered, now we just need to wait for developers to start making some good games for it.
DjEezzy
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 1:44:44 PM
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Robochic
Friday, November 05, 2010 @ 6:37:05 PM
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BikerSaint
Saturday, November 06, 2010 @ 12:38:52 AM
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BikerSaint
Saturday, November 06, 2010 @ 12:43:27 AM
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BikerSaint
Saturday, November 06, 2010 @ 1:07:12 AM
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swapnilgyani
Saturday, November 06, 2010 @ 6:53:49 AM
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It does not matter what tech it is - gaming consoles, smartphones, televisions, computers or whatever. Give them time, they will evolve.
At least, in case of the Move, it has got a great headstart in the fact that the hardware itself, along with its integration with the basic software is near perfect. As for the Kinect, I've read some troubling reviews, but have not tried it out first hand, so cannot comment.
On a side note, apart from Sports Champions, I love playing Tumble for the Move - it is a perfect showcase of what the controller can do, while being super fun at the same time. Hustle Kings and High Velocity Bowling are also solid experiences.
Joltmar
Sunday, November 07, 2010 @ 1:37:10 PM
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But I really want dance central and EA sports 2 for it .. Besides that I hope something good comes out .. or it will be setting like my wii. Only time that gets touched is when people wanna play a party game with me, which isn't often ;.;

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Thursday, November 04, 2010 @ 10:09:54 PM
Then again, this is casual gaming stuff. They just hope clueless people buy these peripherals, not the serious video gamer.