Do we still like the Move more?
The lack of buttons with the Kinect is a big, big problem. There are very basic things that none of these games do. Controlling a character in a third- or first-person game? There is no easy way to do that, so no one does. The racing game takes control of the gas and braking away from you, because there is no way for the player to control it. Bowling doesn't allow you to control when you let go of the ball. There were multiple times when I wished for a button or two so the software didn't have to hold my hand quite as much.
Also, many of these games are fun and the experience really is impressive, but where do we go from here? I get the uneasy feeling that we've already seen most of what the hardware can do in terms of games, at least until Microsoft admits defeat with the lack of buttons and creates games that use both the Kinect hardware and a physical controller. Notice how many games mirror each other, in a thin selection of genres. How many times are we hitting balls coming at us with our hands and body? How many fitness and dancing games do we need? The demos for the upcoming Star Wars and Harry Potter games also seem too similar: you stand there, defeat all the enemies, move forward on rails, and repeat.
The Move side-steps all these issues by having you hold one or two controllers. Sony's solution also allows for more precision in movement, as we saw when we compared the Table Tennis games on the two pieces of hardware.
You can twist the Move controller in your hand and your on-screen counterpart rotates its wrist in the same way. With the Kinect, your hands are more like static blocks; there is no fine control.
Sony attacks the Kinect
We've played a variety of games on both pieces of hardware, and there are very few things the Kinect does that the Move cannot—at least so far—but there are many things that the Move does that the Kinect is simply unable to replicate. Some of them are as simple as moving a character in a game, or deciding when to apply brakes in a racing game. These are very basic things that developers are going to have to get very creative to work around.
There is also the issue of space: you need a lot of it to play multiplayer games, or to be comfortable playing single-player games. Take a peek at that sample living room image again—if your room doesn't look like a wide open gymnasium with a ton of clearance, you're going to have problems. The Move doesn't have these limitations, and most games will work just as well if you're sitting on your couch or standing in front of your screen. The Move will work in nearly any environment, where the Kinect helpfully suggests you move your couch out of the way and may chide you for having a playing space that's too small. There are going to be many potential customers who simply don't have the space near their systems to play Kinect games. That seems terribly limiting for a product that Microsoft hopes will have wide appeal.
Which isn't to say the picture is bleak. These games are fun, and they make you sweat, and when it all works well the experience draws you into the game in a way that's absolutely amazing. Every now and again I did get the feeling I was playing something very special, and nearly magical. For casual gamers, and those with a family, this is very cool stuff. The question, at least when it comes to games, is where things go from here.Ik weet het niet hoor. Voor een Wii eigenaar zijn bewegings games niet echt 'iets nieuws'. Bovendien mist de Kinect op dit moment nog de 3rd person shooter en lightgun genres die ook deel uitmaken van de Wii experience...
Wat ars technica schrijft is echt een hele goed conclusie voor Kinect, het systeem levert soms magische ervaringen maar daar blijft het bij want een blik in de toekomst aan games durft niemand te geven want niemand heeft het antwoord op het ontbreken van knoppen.
Maar ik denk dat al deze technische problemen er niet voor gaan zorgen dat Kinect niet hard gaat verkopen, ook al blijven de games herhalend dit maakt niet uit. Kinect richt zich op de doelgroep die ook massaal de Wii hebben gekocht ondankt het uitblijven van de games. De meeste mensen die een Wii hebben zitten niet te wachten op donkey kong of mario. die waren al blij dat za Wii sports konden spelen en so will be the story met Kinect adventures.
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