Microsoft "not forcing Kinect" on devs

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 19 July, 2011

But gamers will "embrace" it if they use it.

Microsoft isn't forcing developers to incorporate ten million selling motion sensing add-on Kinect into their games, it's insisted.

But Microsoft believes that if developers do make their games Kinect-enabled, gamers will "embrace" them.

That's the verdict of Dennis Durkin, Corporate Vice President and Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, who told Eurogamer's US brethren IndustryGamers that developers are now "experimenting" with multiple control methods for their games.

"I don't think we're trying to put any input paradigm, enforce that on anyone, unless it's better," he said.

"We're not trying to force anything. If people want to do it and they think it enhances the experience, I think consumers will embrace it and they'll do it, but that's the bar that they'll expect.

"And there will be a bunch of experimentation, some of it will work and some of it won't. The things that work, people will emulate and they'll chase and the things that don't, people will try other experiments."

At E3 last month Microsoft announced a raft of Kinect-fuelled Xbox 360 games, including Mass Effect 3, Minecraft, Ryse and Fable: The Journey.

The list of games is evidence, Durkin said, of experimentation within development.

"You're seeing experimentation with voice. You saw it with gunsmith inside the Tom Clancy world, which used both voice and gestures. And you saw head tracking inside of Forza.

"So there's all this experimentation that's happening across that spectrum, and all those people are trying to make whatever experience it is - whether it's a soldier's experience in Ghost Recon, whether it's a driver's experience in Forza... whatever kind of experience it is, it's just to try to make that experience better and easier for that user."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (50) Latest comment 10 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tyranix #1 10 months ago

    Gamers will certainly embrace when they try Kinect.

    Embrace a rival format.

  • Darren #2 10 months ago

    I won't be 'embracing' Kinect any time soon, I'm afraid Microsoft. I'll wait for the refined and uncompromised next gen version which will surely be far less laggy and much more accurate? Maybe by then there might actually be some decent games for it too... ;)

  • cloud_ix #3 10 months ago

    no we fucking won't like

  • YobRenoops #4 10 months ago

    Bullshit

  • Altrezia #5 10 months ago

    Not for me, thanks.

  • TopKatt #6 10 months ago

    Except that we've aready embraced the game pad. However clever Kinect, Move et al might be, they're just not as good at controlling games as the good old fashioned controller. Kinect is the solution to a problem that doesn't exist. The sooner MS realise that and get on with the business of making games the better.

  • Tomahawk #7 10 months ago

    So what do Microsoft call these forced partnerships? surprise sex?

  • AdamAsunder #8 10 months ago

    Gah, too many 'experiences'.

  • homerramone #9 10 months ago

    What a load of bollocks. For stuff that makes sense with kinect (dance games et al) great.. for other stuff (forza) complete twaddle.

  • carlitoswagon #10 10 months ago

    Have no strong opinion on Kinect but just don''t want to use anything that makes me stand or move around the room while playing video games. Especially after a long day working/looking after the kids etc.

  • jetsetwillie #11 10 months ago

    im way too hardcore to play kinect games... fuck MS if they think they can turn me into a casual gamer with crappy kinect.

  • MrFlump #12 10 months ago

    I really don't understand the issues people have with Kinect other than it seeming like as easy a target. I've had no issues with accuracy or lag, I can use it well in a relatively small room and it works well and the Kinect Labs stuff is quite interesting. The accuracy has been improving as well as I've noticed in the Kinect Labs stuff, it seems more responsive so I'm guessing these firmware updates to the 360 and the applications are starting to unlock more.

    I think some of the extra functionality like what they're adding for Forza 4 and Mass Effect 3 are perfect examples of how it can enhance a game but not replace the controller entirely which is what many aren't looking for.

  • Gambit1977 #13 10 months ago

    I'm a gamer.
    I haven't embraced it. In fact every time I try something on it, I realise how much I don't like it.

    Nothing for a very long time, will replace a joypad for me.

  • TopKatt #14 10 months ago

    @MrFlump

    I can only speak for myself but my problem isn't actually with Kinect itself, more the emphasis that MS seem to be placing on it.

  • Porcupine_I #15 10 months ago

    row row row your boat, gently back the stream, merrily merrily...

  • MrFlump #16 10 months ago

    @TopKatt if you spend that much money developing and supporting it and marketing it, you can't blame them for wanting to promote it :)

    If it enhances a game, I'm all for it. I'm not a massive fan of jumping around the living room like i've got an attention deficit disorder or waving wands around like with the Move or Wiimotes. As someone who uses TrackIR for flight sim stuff as well, I can understand the advantages that kind of functionality can bring to many games. You don't need it, but its nice to have it. Thats the same way I approach Kinect.

  • Mister-Wario #17 10 months ago

    "Except that we've aready embraced the game pad. However clever Kinect, Move et al might be, they're just not as good at controlling games as the good old fashioned controller".

    I think it depends on the context, myself. I mean, I'd probably prefer to play my shooters with Move and would probably have one if more games used it. Similarly, PCs are great for shooters but I can't imagine playing a platformer without the option of an analogue stick. I think we have to remember that a one-size-fits-all approach is ill-advised in some cases.

  • MaxiSleep #18 10 months ago

    Having tried it with child of Eden I have to say I find it pretty rubbish. Far better with a controller. It really needs handheld buttons/thumbstick.

    Given that the game was designed with kinnect in mind I think it shows the hill that msoft need toclimb.

  • linksdad #19 10 months ago

    The box that my kinect came in is currently embracing it.

  • orangpelupa #20 10 months ago

    kinect have deep potential... that need to be dig....
    need kinect game that "New".

    New as in really new and only able to be done correctly with kinect.

    i dont know what game is it, but if microsoft can make that new game very fun. ill happy

  • Compass #21 10 months ago

    @Mister-Wario
    "I think we have to remember that a one-size-fits-all approach is ill-advised in some cases. "

    The worry is that Microsoft thinks Kinect IS a one size fits all. They invested heavily in it, it's not really going to be okay for them if Xbox owners don't buy it.

    Personally I have no interest in Kinect, mainly because I don't need it for the kind of games I prefer to play on the Xbox. So long as devs design a game so that Kinect is just another way to play (rather than the only way you can play it properly), I'll be happy. Mass Effect 3 is a good example; I won't be buying the game if it's tuned so that Kinect is almost mandatory to fully enjoy it.

  • NorUraeus #22 10 months ago

    To me it seems Kinect is quickly going the way of the 'sixaxis', mostly used for some cute gimmicks in games, but not core to the experience.

  • Shikasama #23 10 months ago

    "input paradigm"?

    Jesus H Christ.

  • RodHull #24 10 months ago

    Not "forcing", "bribing".

  • agparrot #25 10 months ago

    Let's not mention how you aren't entitled to the Summer Of Arcade free bonus game unless you buy a Kinect game, though.

  • RevanNL #26 10 months ago

    Man, it must be great to work at MS, it seems that every employee gets an unlimited stash of the finest weed in the world.

  • coomber #27 10 months ago

    They need to embrace the fact that Kinect is shit.

  • rottingyoda #28 10 months ago

    I remember working for a marketing company which worked closely with XBOX. I had to try sell people 'In the Movies' the game. They would try to say 'it's not for them' but reassuringly I told them, 'Oh, it's for everyone when you give it a chance'. As they walked away I would threathen them...err... I mean remind them in a friendly manner to 'live their XBOX moment'.

    Everybody loved 'In the Movies' didn't they?!..Didn't they?

    Microsoft really do have a clear way of trying to get the right people to like the wrong thing (for some at least)

  • DAN.E.B #29 10 months ago

    I dont hate Kinect I just dont want it!
    But I do hate the fact that MS are way too busy with Kinect and putting less and less effort in new releases!
    Hopefully its purely down to the new XBOX being on the horizion.

  • Lord_BeeJee #30 10 months ago

    I don't see a lot of devs putting in too much effort for only 10-20% of their potential buyers.

  • Dave52 #31 10 months ago

    EG: "Microsoft isn't forcing developers to incorporate ten million selling motion sensing add-on Kinect into their games, it's insisted."

    What's the Sold Through figure EG...?

  • Toothball #32 10 months ago

    I'm trying to embrace Kinect gaming, but they're still not particularly forthcoming with games that support it. Fortunately it looks like there are fewer mini-game games on the way and more proper games with a bit of Kinect on the side. It's much the same with Nintendo and the 3DS really.

  • LazyDan #33 10 months ago

    Thought controls will be the only thing to ever satisfactorily replace a controller. As a format nothing beats the level of control it affords to to mechanical and digital devices. Think of it this way - you wouldn't replace a pilot's controls with Kinect.

  • Inmediasress #34 10 months ago

    Well forcing certainly isn't the right word, more like paying for it.

    Before I forget Kincet is a technology that is not ready yet, it's that simple, call me when we have somthing that at least manages to get to somewhere near the level of things seen in scifi movies.
    Until then Kinect and 3D as well is nothing, but gimmicks. You can have fun with it but all this core gaming experience is nonsense.
    Edited by Inmediasress at 19/07/11 @ 13:10

  • bluetoothion #35 10 months ago

    Anyone can imagine how much worse MSs E3 would be if MS forced devs too ?

  • 32768Colours #36 10 months ago

    I don't hate Kinect, but for all the promises and hype - and the price of it for that matter - I'd have expected far more interesting stuff out for it by now. Perhaps in a world where risks aren't often taken even in established genres, developers are unwilling to go all out when only a fraction of XBox owners also own Kinect.

    Perhaps its because in spite of how clever the tech is, Kinect just isn't capable of providing the level of fidelity developers may need to make the games they want.

    In the end, as someone who has no interest in dance or fitness games, the prospect of one arty shooter, a bit of voice control in Mass Effect and head tracking in Forza doesn't add up to a compelling enough reason to drop £100 on a peripheral.

    Taking sales of the actual hardware out of the equation and looking purely at software, Kinect (and Move for that matter) are turning into this generation's 32X; good technology, but hampered by being neither ubiquitous or a brand new console.

    To be fair, I'd say both Kinect and Move's implementation probably offer slightly better value for money than the 32X, but still, the fact is both systems are probably a turn off for most developers as they know the technology is both a stop-gap and limited in terms of ownership.

  • atomised #37 10 months ago

    Never going to embrace it. A marketing employee will embrace in publicity speak which I will them disagree with.

  • God_Octo #38 10 months ago

    Am I the only one that thinks the title and subtitle of this article are a bit creepy? I imagine its something someone would say after mind probing or the like...

  • Feanor #39 10 months ago

    "Microsoft isn't forcing developers to incorporate ten million selling motion sensing add-on Kinect into their games"

    Yes it is.

    "But Microsoft believes that if developers do make their games Kinect-enabled, gamers will "embrace" them."

    No they won't.

  • HotshotLemming #40 10 months ago

    Played with sure, but embraced? Mine's currently sat on a shelf next to my wii gathering dust.

  • Bravestinsane #41 10 months ago

    oh piss of MS

    I already bought Kinect last year, and ill tell you this for free, if i knew the state the thing would be in, i wouldnt have bought it, fuck all games, seriously in a year i can count them on 2 hands, its a joke.

    Only Dance Central is worth the money, Child of Eden if it was

  • Zomeguy #42 10 months ago

    Oh look it took 42 posts for a dusting Wii to appear in a Kinect thread.

  • Kazama74 #43 10 months ago

    Kinect hardly even recongizes me flapping my arms around. How will it ever detect me 'embracing' it? ;)

  • edhe #44 10 months ago

    /me wonders why people put the kinect 'away' instead of just leaving it where it is to take advantage of when it actually could be useful instead of bashing it.

  • Jay1983 #45 10 months ago

    Its still only sold 10 million?
    They have been throwing that figure about since March.
    Has it stopped selling since then??

  • loksfox #46 10 months ago

    You cant tell whats best for me, i wont buy it anyway

  • Xardan #47 10 months ago

    Its clear neither devs or consumers are ready for the best that Kinect can offer. All these people can lie to themselves all they want but the Kinect has huge potential.

    Hopefully in time there will be some really new and interesting experiences that only a device like Kinect can offer. I mean just use your imagination.

  • Paulie_P #48 10 months ago

    The whole Kinect thing reminds me of one of those episodes on the Apprentice where they go into a focus group then do the complete opposite of what they're told and come up with a terrible idea then the whole episode after they keep insisting its a good idea until they get to the boardroom and Lord Sugar is like 'wtf is this shit' and which point they blame it on the guy/girl who came up with the idea and they get the sack.

    I hope I'm wrong though, I hope that some day something comes out for it that makes me go and buy one.
    Edited by Paulie_P at 19/07/11 @ 16:35

  • VandelayIndustries #49 10 months ago

    Didn't do Child of Eden much good though did it?

  • Bluetooth #50 10 months ago

    I can't wait for more Kinect games!!!!