Poor Kinect. Microsoft's motion-control device has encountered a less-than-stellar first year in Japan, which really shouldn't come as much of a surprise given the tech's room-size restrictions. Recapping Famitsu's coverage, andriasang reports (via Sokuho) that Kinect has sold 114,000 units through November 13.
Sad as that figure is, you shouldn't feel bad. (Not simply because it's an inanimate object.) Last we heard, more than 10 million Kinects had been sold worldwide, and I'll be shocked if this isn't another terrific holiday season for the sensor.
The Kinect software sales, on the other hand, are depressing. Not including the pack-in Kinect Adventures, Forza Motorsport 4 was the top game at 24,900 copies sold. Let's slowly back away.
Kinect in Japan: One Year Progress Report [andriasang] [Image]
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Contest:
7:00 PM on 11.28.2011 | 
As far as I can see people are using kinect to do everything except playing games.
Or hey, I bet it could track the trajectory of your pee if you set it up in the restroom. "WHO PEE FARTHEST!?" would be a total system seller.
1) Many of us over here still don't want to buy it either.
2) No games or Most games are glorified tech demos.
3) 360 isn't all that big over there in the first place. If it was, and it didn't sell, then I'd think things are fishy.
4) And this ones a biggie -Word is Japanese houses/apartments are small - Microsoft didn't make this thing with small places in mind. (See: The entire reason for Nyko's extra lens attachment.)
Untill it evolves into something more like VR its really just a gimmick
I want a controller with 22 buttons and 4 sticks puleez
OT: Does this mean we're going back to "Japan hates everything not Japan", Jonathan Holmes?
I'm confused and need your help.
Racist?
my previous post provides even more evidence.
Kinect isn't going to appeal to the more traditional gamer, but for the DDR, Wii Fit etc. crowd, it has huge potential. It just needs the library to back it up.
They don't have shit for it right now. The fact that Japanese didn't bother with it just seems like a good call to me. I still have no idea how so many people fell for it in the west. I blame Oprah.
right and nearly all of them are probably collecting dust in closets next to their Wii's, lol.
I've had a Kinect for over a year now, so I'll bite. The good thing about Kinect? Motion Control gaming with no controllers required. You ARE the controller. This allows for full body movement in games without cumbersome crap like PSMove and Wii controllers flying through your brand new LED flatscreen, dragging some embarrassing device into the middle of your living room floor to play DDR that looks like an android twister mat on drugs, or trying to balance on a 12 inch rectangular piece of plastic while doing yoga moves and holding a wiimote in your hand.
If you don't like motion gaming then none of this probably appeals to you, but for the crowd who loves dance dance revolution, wii fit and the like, the Kinect is an incredible step up from its predecessors. The Dance Central franchise is probably the best example of what the Kinect is capable of - its fun, it can be played alone or in a group, it has great replay value, and is exceptionally responsive and accurate when it comes to the kinect's motion-control camera. The Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports games are great as well.
The biggest problem the Kinect has right now is a lack of quality titles, but its far from a 'junk' gadget.
I use it for basic 3D scanning. For that it's worth it's price twice over. You can create some really great effects in After Effects as well if you know what you're doing.
There's nothing else in its price range that does what it does quite so well and quite so easily. Yes, there may not be many great games for it at the moment, but its non-game applications more than justify the price tag for me, and from what we've seen so far, other people.
The difference with the 3DS is that it ONLY has gaming applications. Nothing wrong with that, hell I love my 3DS, but there's your difference between the two things right there.
take your waifu body pillow and ceramic busty figures and move your otaku ass to Japan already.
QQ ~ THESE WHITE DEVILS DON'T UNDERSTAND ME AND MY MANGAS ~ QQ
Optional voice commands doesn't make Mass Effect 3 a Kinect game.
Blast Corps Kinect.
You're welcome.
i love how sony fanboys bash Kinect without even playing any games on it.
@Shinta and Leonardo Bandeira,
facepalm, if you're blind fanboy without any knowledge then just don't post.
Dance Central series, Your Shape series, Child of Eden, with Gunstringer, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, Disneyland Adventures and Rise of Nightmares all launching in the past 3 months. then we have gigantic list of core titles coming next year and games with additional support for Kinect like Forza 4, Mass Effect 3 or Halo Anniversary.
@PrinceHeir,
both games are coming in early 2012.
... uh, because i have a kinect and actually use and enjoy it, im biased and must be part of some evil microsoft plot to infiltrate destructoid comment sections? good god, remove the tinfoil hat kiddo.
movement based gaming is by definition a playstyle that caters towards casual games. games like dance central are a great workout, and despite the replayability in them, they aren't games you play in marathon sessions. that doesn't make them bad. and really, what is so awful about dance central anyways? that its a dance game and its not ~hardcore~ enough for you? not liking a certain genre of game doesnt make the entire genre shit.
im not really sure what's so bad about casual games anyways.. i mean, there is more to the gaming world than callofbattlefielddutywarfare17vietnam and 700 clone fantasy rpgs.
Hey Dtoid.... Edit button, nao
OK, so Microsoft have said that with the Dashboard update comes improved detection and reduces the required range to work, but I think as the band Silver Sun once said: "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late."
Yeah, that!
I'm genuinely happy they are moving it out of games and into more mainstream stuff. Although, Kinect Ads was truly ground breaking!
The only good thing that anyone has to say about Kinect is that it sold 10 million copies. No one can actually point to anything that it actually does that is somehow worth the money. Keep in mind, 3DS is not worth $150 according to popular gamer opinion. Yet here we have this mystery machine for the same price called Kinect and yet, I never hear about how shit it truly is. What is the great game on this? Are there any? Did they have a single holiday game this year?
They don't have shit for it right now. The fact that Japanese didn't bother with it just seems like a good call to me. I still have no idea how so many people fell for it in the west. I blame Oprah.
^THIS^
All of this, every word.
Personally I prefer my Move+Sharshooter set up. I don't play dancing games.... but I do play shooting games, so it's a no-brainer for me.
i think most people here and all those raged fanboys that games once were about....OH MY GOD, FUN. yes i said it, FUN. DAMN ME.
Dance Central is great dancing title, frankly it's the only real dancing title and honestly i have more fun playing it than pretending that i play Uncharted or God of War when it's all QTEs, "press X to win" gameplay(that is very popular these days with games like Call of Duty, LA Noire, Uncharted, Assassins Creed etc.) and corridors without any type of fun.
i'm enjoying the time i spend playing Dance Central and same goes to Rise of Nightmares or Gunstringer. Your Shape is not a game, but it's also not a garbage - for me it's great addition to my fitness routine that makes exercising actually fun. it makes usually boring part of my life actually fun and exciting thanks to direct feedback i get from the game.
i play loads of very different games from difficult simulators, point & click adventure games, hardcore wargames, fighting games, action games to very weird niche titles and more casual games, but it was always about having fun. if i don't have fun with the game i'm not interested.
i love games like Dark Souls, Mount & Blade, Gemini Rue, Dragon Age Origins, Civilization, de Blob, Zelda, Total War, Forza, Endless Ocean, Trauma Center, Mario platformers, Nier, Halo, Dance Central etc. on the other hand i hate titles like Uncharted, Call of Duty, Killzone, Final Fantasy 13, Metal Gear Solid 2/3/4(weirdly enough i loved Peace Walker), Fallout 3, God of War, Dragon Age 2 or Gran Turismo.
You know, I actually agree with a lot of what you're saying. Dance central work fantastically for what they aim to do; not exactly my style of gaming, but I can respect that. Both move and kinect (as hardware) are very good pieces of technology. With move, and to a lesser extent, kinect, potential for their tech isn't being used enough. Although Gunstringer and Sorcery seems to be very good games for their respective devices.
My underlying point is, while I'm not a fan of kinect or move, I can admit they are good at what they do, and work for their target audiences. Can you also accept that a majority of those games.you listed that you hate are in fact genuinely good.games that you may not have.interest in, yet are.still good at what they do? Because if I can do it for motion gaming, something a mainly loathe, I'm sure you can realise this for a few measly Sony exclusives, which most of your list was.
sofik should listen to his own words sometime.
for me those aren't exactly good games per se(if you want me to post ratings or something i won't). they have load of things that simply pisses me of and make them unplayable. i hate:
- general lack of freedom in games(God of War, CoD),
- shallow gameplay or as developers like to call it "streamlining"(Call of Duty),
- taking away from me by the developers gameplay elements(that's especially goes to Assassins Creed, Heavy Rain, FF13 and Uncharted),
- retarded or ridiculous design choices(Gran Turismo 5 with it's menu, limitations, standard vs premium BS),
- difference in quality between elements of games,
it's different between genres(you can't say about lack of freedom in adventure games really).
i can say that game has high production values or that it has good audio, but if it's not fun it's simply not good. Uncharted 3 and LA Noire are great examples of that - i won't go into details, but basically both were products with high production values and nothing else besides it. for me LA Noire is the biggest disappointment of 2011.
Maybe Idolmaster Kinect?
Kinect/move has some quality titles in 'my opinion'. It is not for everyone and it shouldn't be. Is an RPG or a shooter for everyone, no. Does this mean that kinect/move should not exist, of course not. The trolls lack common sense and are selfish.
The other idea that it is common gamer opinion move/kinect sucks or 3ds is not worth 150 is so retarded. You took a poll? What demographic/charct. was your sample? Just more subjective nonsense.
I enjoy every system, but if I didn't enjoy the move or kinect doesn't mean someone else cannot enjoy them. I usually don't bother to comment on this topic due to trolling-sexual choc/sofi and company.
I know the world is full of selfish assholes, but keep your negative sh&* to yourself and allow people to enjoy their games.