Kinect no longer required. Lol at all this backtracking

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57598228-235/microsoft-dumps-kinect-link-requirement-for-xbox-one/

8/12/2013 10:53:38 PM

As long as it's still required to be in the box then developers might still do something cool with it.

If they end up shipping a version without kinect it would be a disaster.

8/13/2013 12:27:16 AM

i dont know about disaster, but it certainly would be another unnecessary piece of hardware. i use my kinect mostly for yelling at netflix and the like, even if it would be nice if it did more.

8/13/2013 9:28:46 AM

Yes, innovation has been sacrificed at the altar of luddites. I can't wait to own my Playstation 3.2 and Xbox 360.2.

Fuck it, I'll just upgrade my PC.

8/13/2013 9:34:47 AM

What innovation has been hampered?

Every Xbox will still come with a Kinect and the ability to connect to the internet.

Innovation comes from the developers, not asinine requirements imposed by the console manufacturer.

8/13/2013 11:25:42 AM

The argument is that developers will be far less likely to develop for the kinect if it is not a required device. Why spend money on R&D for a device that only a fraction of all xbox owners have? It reduces the return on investment.

I can see the other side as well. A more expensive console for something someone would never use and if taken to extremes the devs can have people doing ridiculous full body things for something that could have been handled via a simple button press because "hey, motion controls."

Quote :

" I can't wait to own my Playstation 3.2 and Xbox 360.2."

Meh. I'll just stick with my Dreamcast 1.4. I hit the point of diminishing returns with each new gen console long ago.

[Edited on August 13, 2013 at 11:48 AM. Reason : -]

8/13/2013 11:45:55 AM

^

Quote :

"Every Xbox will still come with a Kinect"

Forcing the Kinect to be connected won't make people buy games for the device where they otherwise wouldn't. Best case scenario is that developers know that every system has a Kinect and can decide to develop for it or not.

I agree they should NOT provide bundles that don't include the Kinect.

[Edited on August 13, 2013 at 11:52 AM. Reason : *]

8/13/2013 11:50:24 AM

Oops, missed that one. I saw dump, requirement, and kinect and assumed they were coming out with cheaper bundles. Should read these articles more.

Of course with the way things are going it's likely just a matter of time.

[Edited on August 13, 2013 at 11:58 AM. Reason : -]

8/13/2013 11:56:38 AM

Quote :

"Fuck it, I'll just upgrade my PC."

I wish more people would take this stance.

Only thing I'm playing on consoles now is Fifa, and that's only because nobody plays it on PC.

8/13/2013 11:09:09 PM

I've tried PC gaming and other than a few RTS games I really just don't like it. Maybe I've gotten lazy with upgrading my PC or worrying about what game works better with what graphics card and if there's some screwy driver issue. With the console I don't have to worry about things like that.


With the Kinect. I've been a little more impressed with it this time around compared to what we have now. Devs seem to focus on using it as a tool instead of forcing it into the game to perform some weird movement. With that Ryse demo they showed the Kinect used as both hand gesture and controller for the same action (throwing the spear). That's what I would like is that choice to use it as a tool instead of forcing me to use it.

I could see myself using it to order AI around like they had in GRAW2 or Brothers in Arms. It would be easier to tell them to head left or move up to the rock on the right instead of trying to move some spotlight to that area with the controller while the enemy is shooting. Even another step further would be to issue orders like suppression fire, flank, attack, defend, or just to tell them they are fucking morons who make the stormtroopers from Star Wars look like expert marksmen.


The X1 is interesting. The game Titian Falls is a good example of what the whole X1 and cloud service has to offer. What they showed was pretty impressive and not possible on just a console. As far as I'm concerned the PS4 and X1 are just about the same thing. What is setting them apart is the whole cloud thing. I just hope it works like they say it will.

8/14/2013 1:26:35 AM

http://stickskills.com/2013/09/26/xbox-fitness-leaked-features-insanity-p90x-famous-trainers/

Quote :

"For Kinect on the Xbox 360, a large amount of the successful games that we saw were based around fitness. While we haven’t really seen a “killer app” of sorts for the Xbox One and Kinect 2.0, it appears that Microsoft does have one last trick up its sleeves: Xbox Fitness. A page that leaked on the official Xbox website shows the very first details for what looks to be an impressive service. Trainers such as Tracy Anderson, Tony Horton, Jillian Michaels, and Shaun T are all listed on the Xbox Fitness landing page. P90X and Insanity were also name dropped, and appear to be included in what seems to be a year long trial of the service. We’ve included a snippet of information from the Xbox Fitness landing page below: Introducing the future of fitness. Experience the world’s best workouts with instant, personalized feedback, right in your home on Xbox Fitness. Train with Jillian Michaels, Tracy Anderson, P90X, Insanity and more. Optimize every workout with immediate feedback on your form, power and heart rate with the all new Kinect, featuring Muscle Mapping, Power Gauge, and Pulse. Plus, feed your motivation with social challenges. Unlimited access is yours with an Xbox Live Gold membership through November 2014. Only on Xbox One.* The information does appear subject to change, but it would be an incredibly impressive move for Microsoft to announce this app for Kinect 2.0 on the Xbox One. There seems to be a portion of consumers that highly enjoy the fitness apps on the Xbox platform, and a partnership with trainers of this caliber will certainly help sell the Xbox One. With this appearing to be a year long trial of the service, you have to wonder what the price will be for all of this content when it’s no longer free. What do you think about Xbox Fitness? Would you be willing to give it a shot if it is in fact included for free with Xbox Live Gold? Be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a comment below, or continue the discussion on Facebook and Twitter."

Looks interesting. Would be a great showcase for improvements in the Kinect.

9/26/2013 11:59:47 PM

I could fap to that.

9/30/2013 8:32:16 PM

best buy has some more day one editions available for preorder

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/microsoft-xbox-one-day-one-edition/9008207.p?id=1219013502536&skuId=9008207

10/14/2013 10:29:06 PM

Do they have any PS4s for preorder?

10/14/2013 10:36:17 PM

^ You should probably check the ***Official PS4 thread*** for that kind of info...

10/16/2013 2:29:28 AM

10/25/2013 4:55:54 PM

dashboard demo:

http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/10/27/xbox-one-dashboard-demo

i wonder how precise the voice recognition will be. for an example:

if i wanted to play call of duty ghosts could i say, "play call of duty, ghosts, C-O-D, call of duty ghosts, game etc."

10/28/2013 11:30:36 PM

You know how I know this launch is going to suck? They keep hyping the only good game (Titanfall) and it isn't even a launch title.

The console wars are over. The consumers lost.

10/29/2013 10:00:29 AM

The really good games only come after about 2 years after launch



"Xbox, Mount."

10/29/2013 12:38:09 PM

^ would be an automatic selling point

really wish we could get native 1080p games... they keep raising console prices and still can't do what PCs have done for a long long time, and i'm not even a PC gaming snob

10/29/2013 12:44:06 PM

I am interested if I could tell any difference from 720p upconverted to 1080p vs Native 1080p.

I doubt I could.

10/29/2013 1:02:17 PM

you'd have to be overly picky with good equipment for -most- things IMO... i was just disappointed that they couldn't make it happen with this gen, because you know it's gonna be around a while

10/29/2013 1:12:49 PM

They may not make it happen at launch, but most of what I've read alludes to the idea that they could release a future update to optimize the hardware and make it native 1080p. I am taking that as the most likely scenario


Edit:
Actually the Xbone does has native 1080p and 60fps standard, but the developers appear to have a tough time developing their games to meet that standard for the XBone. Developer tooling issue?

Also, look how far we've come on the Xbox 360. CoD2 was the launch title:



1-2 years from now the graphics will take a large leap from the launch games.

10/29/2013 1:46:40 PM

Launch issues aside, XBO games will never achieve total parity to the PS4 version. It's literally impossible. The difference in power between the consoles is as large or larger than any two comparable consoles from previous generations. Think original Xbox vs PS2/Gamecube, only this time the architectures are practically identical so comparisons are much more straightforward. They are like two PCs with different video cards.

[Edited on October 29, 2013 at 2:21 PM. Reason : :]

10/29/2013 2:21:10 PM

Definitely, hardware/graphic card-wise, the PS4 has the upper hand. Whether it will really make a big difference down the line will have to be seen. I simply enjoy Microsoft's interface and user experience so much more that it isn't even a question of the graphics at this point.

I thought the PS3 had the graphics advantage over the 360 also, but I grew to hate using my PS3. The 360 was simply a more enjoyable user experience. In multi-platform titles, I could not notice a diff in graphics so that made no impact.

Not a xbox fanboy or sony basher (PS2 is still one of my fav systems of all time), but I've learned that these graphic wars at launch mean little to nothing to me personally and have not equated to anything significant in the past.

PS2 > Xbox
Xbox 360 > PS3
Xbox One ?=? PS4

10/29/2013 2:46:05 PM

the singular reason I use my 360 over my PS3 is the controller

10/29/2013 3:09:23 PM

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-battlefield-4-next-gen-vs-pc-face-off-preview

Quote :

"PlayStation 4 offers a commanding lead in terms of resolution - it's 720p vs. 900p, with what looks like some very curious processing on Xbox One to boost detail."

Not that youtube does anything justice, but even at 1080p setting, I can't see a diff
http://youtu.be/MWzkw32amOM

10/29/2013 9:51:56 PM

BF4 looked better on xbox to me

10/29/2013 10:28:31 PM

wonder if that "detail boosting" that they compliment is the eSRAM stuff that MS decided to go with

10/29/2013 10:42:14 PM

^^ i thought so too based solely on that video at face value. i'm not really that worried about it tbh... i'm more worried about the games being fun with (hopefully, please?) fewer lag issues anyway. here's hoping the dedicated server promises follow through.

10/29/2013 10:52:05 PM

PC

10/29/2013 11:01:43 PM

Yeah PC was obviously best.

Still leaning toward the xb1 but I'm not going to get either until start of next year. PS4 is a bit more powerful but my PC is more powerful than both so who gives a shit.

10/29/2013 11:39:37 PM

stick all your money into your pc and get a cheap ass steam box to do game streaming.

10/29/2013 11:50:09 PM

i'm starting to get excited, i hope they start shipping pre-orders early.

11/4/2013 10:00:10 AM

12 minute demo of the Xbox One:
http://youtu.be/xhe6jV-APwM

Looks great, I'm excited

11/8/2013 10:42:10 AM

I like it as a Skype box and a Netflix box which both get a shitload of use in my household.

However, what fucking games can I play on it? I'm not sure I can justify the cost and still have to have my 360 hooked up.

11/8/2013 11:54:41 AM

http://www.ign.com/wikis/xbox-one/Xbox_One_Launch_Titles

11/8/2013 12:13:26 PM

Seen the list; it was a rhetorical question. The launch titles are shit.

11/8/2013 12:18:58 PM

Forza 5 is shit?

11/8/2013 1:11:04 PM

yep

11/8/2013 1:18:40 PM

Fifa 14 is shit?

11/8/2013 1:35:29 PM

are there any cable or satellite boxes that support HDMI-CEC or am I definitely going to have to use an IR blaster?

11/8/2013 2:33:28 PM

Is there a list of cable providers that the xbox one TV capabilities are compatible with?

11/8/2013 3:39:31 PM

Pretty much everything with a set top box and DVR (for the guide to feed), no?

11/8/2013 4:01:21 PM

its compatible with any HDMI input, but you have to use an IR blaster if it does not support HDMI-CEC. It's surprisingly difficult to find out if any satellite or cable providers offer HDMI-CEC boxes.

11/8/2013 4:02:52 PM

i thought there were specific cable providers that the dvr would work with.

[Edited on November 8, 2013 at 4:56 PM. Reason : a]

11/8/2013 4:49:02 PM

WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS CABLE COMPANIES RAAARGH

11/8/2013 5:16:38 PM

^^ the One doesn't work as a DVR, and with the ir blaster is unable to control your cable box's DVR (not sure if it can control it with HDMI-CEC). If you want to DVR a show, you will still have to use your cable/satellite remote.

11/8/2013 5:21:25 PM

if someone ordered it and also has uverse, lemme know how well it integrates with the DVR, I'm looking to replace my Revue

11/8/2013 5:24:23 PM

Does the uverse box support HDMI-CEC? If not then it doesn't interact with it at all

11/8/2013 5:46:05 PM