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Denver, 4:21 PM
Sat Nov 28
27 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/03/09
10/02/09
10/03/09
10/02/09
I understand not liking it if it doesn't work as promised, but why not reserve the hate for that point? At this point all most of us have to go off of is what MS has said, site reviews like Kotaku's, and video examples. And all of these have been pretty positive for the most part. Yet still all I see is negative post about how "you better not take my controller away or I'll come find you!"
It seems so strange that on a site where people are trying to find out all about the present and future of gaming that a possible future scenario is met with such angst.
10/02/09
People don't trust it because Microsoft has given them no reason to believe them.
10/02/09
How the hell can you say it isn't real hardware?
I know you hate the 360, but good grief, at least come up with real reasons and not pointless slander.
10/02/09
I'm talking REAL software.
10/02/09
They also had that brick-breaking game if you are looking for purpose-built software.
Otherwise, what are you complaining about? That they don't have a full AAA title to show yet?
I just don't understand what you are complaining about. It is clear that it *works*.
Whether or not the games are any good comes down to the developers and another year of them building stuff for it. They may or may not suck, but it's not like you can dismiss Natal as being vaporware/marketing BS at this point.
10/02/09
If Natal's games haven't been announced by now, with the hardware scheduled for a fall 2010 release, then we're supposed to believe developers are going to whip 'em together in less than a year?
As for the demos, they're not actual games. The Katamari demo is not an actual game, announced for Natal. It's like a concept sketch, saying "could this work? Maybe". But every single developer they've brought so far on has said "we're not working on anything directly for it yet, this is just what we think MIGHT happen with it". They seem to be taking the same stance Kojima did with the Wii; "we like what could possibly be done with it, but we're not gonna buy in until we're sure we can sell our shit on it". Kojima loved the Wii and wanted to make a game for it a year or two ago, remember? I don't see any KojiPro games on the system, and it's got the biggest userbase of this gen. How is Natal, an optional add-on for a system whose fanbase largely wouldn't buy it, going to beat that?
I would just like Microsoft to shut the hell up, stop patting themselves on the back, and show something REAL for it. They have no right to brag when they haven't even shown a single real game yet. I don't come on here every day and brag about how my graphic novel is going to revolutionize storytelling and change the world forever, and you know why? Because I don't have jack shit to show of it yet.
10/02/09
There is absolutely NO doubt that the launch games for both Natal and the lightbulb will be mini-game collections featuring the system's avatars. Those can, and will, be turned out the year or so MS and Sony have to develop on the hardware.
The other major difference with the Wii-Kojima situation is that devs already know exactly what they can sell on the 360 and PS3. The Wii on the other hand, has proven to be financial death for most 3rd party devs. Not so with the others.
10/02/09
I'm just sick of Microsoft bragging INCESSANTLY about Natal. Every day I come to Kotaku, Microsoft's made some new statement talking about how great it is. "Screenshots or it didn't happen" is the mantra of the internet. So far, I haven't seen a single convincing screenshot. Like FapFap said a little down the page, it just reeks of cynical, directed marketing.
And the problem with your interpretation of the Kojima paradigm is that Natal, and the Playstation UI (I believe that's what Sony called it at TGS?) are ADD-ONS that will be sold as extra cost on TOP of the system. That severely limits their market penetration right there. If HD games are already too expensive to develop for exclusivity to be profitable, how is it going to be any wiser to cut that potential userbase down so much that only people who have a 360 or a PS3 AND its respective add-on will be able to buy them?
You don't have to be Kojima to see that's a dangerous risk to take. If Natal was standardized with Microsoft's next system (which I'm sure a variant of it WILL be) then it would do fine. But I just don't believe it's wise for developers to hedge their bets on this generation's version of the EyeToy. Either one.
10/02/09
Halo games would NOT work well without some kind of controller. It just wouldn't work properly.
Endwar, however, showed that voice recognition can work well in games, if only RTS ones. So that will go in well.
Motion sensing with a camera is nothing new though. Hell, I was playing games using that about 11 years ago! (Ezonics webcam)
10/02/09
10/02/09
10/02/09
=)
10/02/09
10/02/09
You know what I don't like about Natal? Even since it was unveiled by MS I feel like I've been so cynically marketed at. Natal seems like it was completely concepted in Microsoft's marketing department. Pulling stunts like bringing developers from gaming companies on a stage to go on about how fantastically amazing Natal is just makes it that much worse. Partly because no hardware manufacturer has ever done things like that before (I don't think) and partly because for all this talk about drastic change (which we've heard before about the Wii) NONE of the ideas anyone has put forth has been sounded particularly amazing. Not even MS has shown anything beyond simple little tech demos. At least Nintendo had Wii Sports and stuff...no one is making a full fledged game out of that ball slapping game or talking to some creepy British kid any time soon.
About the only idea I keep hearing is that you'll be able to use your head to activate the cover system in FPS games. That's a nice additional feature, but it's hardly changing the way we're playing games entirely.
I didn't mind the huge PR push for the Wii, so this isn't about that. I LIKE hype (usually). I enjoyed all the pre-PS3 hype, too.
But I don't like it when I feel like I'm being "marketed" at. Does that make sense?
Don't get me wrong — I have no doubt that Natal, like the Wiimote, has the chance to truly change the way we play games. I'll likely buy it eventually, too, and probably love it, since I do enjoy motion controls.
But I think partly I'm just cynical due to the undeniable failure by developers to capitalize upon the Wiimote's potential; and now MICROSOFT of all companies is saying everything Nintendo did in 2005/2006 x10 and we're supposed to believe it now? It launches in a year and they're backing up their talk still with absolutely nothing. Something is wrong there.
I dunno. There's just something...cynical about Natal that I find a bit difficult to put into words, but I don't like it.
10/02/09
Everything about it feels very fake, though. Like it's designed by Microsoft's PR department specifically to get people to believe it's worth following despite never actually showing anything real or meaningful. I'm not interested in the PS3 wand either, but at least they announced a few GAMES for the damn thing and showed them off in public.
10/02/09
10/02/09
I hope so too.
10/02/09
It looks nice and all, but at least with the "Wand", I still have something physical to hold on too, which appeals to me a lot more personally.
Anyway... OPINIONS.
10/02/09
Not going to happen. It's a novelty. It's a "oh, this is cool" moment. It's a gimmick. What it's not is a replacement for a physical controller. What it's not is a long-term future. What it's not is anything I'm going to support.
10/02/09
Why would I ever want to move more when playing games? Doy.
10/02/09
Has anyone explained why the Natal device needs to be so wide? It seems unnecessarily hugemungous.
10/02/09
...although the two similar sensors are close together, and I don't know if the green one is another sensor or an "on" light.
I'm sure the reason must be something to do with the way it senses you, though.
10/02/09
10/02/09
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10/02/09
I find motion controls to be little more than a novelty.
10/02/09
Not only that, but it'll be funny watching your friends and family make fools of themselves. Kind of like in charades.
I think we have to keep an open mind until we at least try it. I'm pretty sure that most of us own a wii, even if the only games we ever play on it are Smash Bros. and zelda.
10/02/09
Except... actually being able to aim like you would in real life? That seems a lot more accurate/precise to me. I am a way better shot with a real weapon than with a video game.
Not that I have any plans to buy Natal, I'm just saying.
10/02/09
10/02/09
But then... What's the point?
Their whole "vision" is to dispose of controllers, surely holding something to feel like a gun is just the same as using a Wii-mote to aim with, which Nintendo have been doing for 3/4 years now, and arcade machines have been doing for over 10?
That defeats the entire purpose of the device, this is what I've kept asking myself, I think it's great, but it keeps bringing me back to "How can I use this fucking thing without something in my hands."
10/02/09
All I know is I'm not knocking it until I try it. I did the same with the wii, and now, after trying it and realizing that MOST games are waggle fests, I'm done with most of them. Maybe this will be the same thing, who knows?
Now what they need to do is supply some guy to punch you in the chest. There's your rumble!
10/02/09
10/02/09
I liked having my friends over to play games
10/02/09
10/02/09
Your insight means the world to me.