Is X1 forcing Kinect on us any different than PS3 forcing Bluray on us?

[Akvod]

Mr Puggsly said:

Akvod said:

Mr Puggsly said:

 

Agreed.

I argue Bluray in PS3 wasn't necessary, it was very expensive at the time and did little to actually improve the gaming experience. An expense device that doesn't improve the gaming experience... its no wonder why so many people went to the 360.

I fear Kinect is doing the same on X1. Its an expensive device the average consumer may not and it will do little to improve the average gaming experience. Although, I feel Kinect can have a bigger impact on X1 gaming than Bluray ever did on PS3.

But it obviously did have utility, given how it's being used today by both consoles.

 

Its useful now because of the storage space. It wasn't necessary last gen and hurt PS3.

We could go back and forth, but here's the bottom line.

Both BluRay and Kinect could be argued to enhance the console's gaming capabilities. Both firms incorporated it into their marketing.

The difference is in how the consumers perceived and bought into that message.

 

If I had to guess, I would believe that relative to BluRay, the Kinect was unsuccesful in convincing a majority of gamers that the feature enhanced their gaming experience. Actual utility is subjective and we can go back and forth on it, but if we did a professional survey, especially when Xbox One debuted and its negative image was at its peak, then a majority of gamers would say they didn't see the utility of Kinect in terms of gaming.

I'm a little less sure about BluRay getting >50% of gamers saying they thought it was useful when the PS3 debuted.

But now let's focus on another aspect. Again, the marketing. As true or untrue Sony's claims about the Cell Processor and BluRay was, their proposition was that those two things would lead to better performance. We can debate if people bought that, but that was the messaging they gave.

Microsoft has been much weaker in translating Kinect in terms of gaming, and I think that was their biggest downfall:

Just look at all those dislikes for that video.

 

All Microsoft needed to do was demonstrate how the Kinect could be used in a gaming context. Instead of showing people watching football through Skype, why not show 2 guys playing CoD/Madden while Skyping with each other? Why not show a before and after footage of someone going through menus to do something (e.g. equip new armor) and have someone do the same thing with a single command?

 

Bottom line:

It's not a matter of actual utility (utility in and of itself is subjective).

It's a matter of how the feature was markted by the company, and how the consumers interpreted that marketing.

And I find it hard to believe, after all those PS3 fanboys when about how great the Cell processor and BluRay is in terms of graphics and performance, that BluRay was received just as negatively as the Kinect.

I'm sorry, that's just pure fantasy.