Despite the conservatism of the software Microsoft chose to represent Kinect's launch, it shouldn't be forgotten that the company is betting on a control scheme that offers no physical feedback. In an interview conducted at the event (which you can read in full in our latest issue, available in UK newsagents tomorrow), Kudo Tsunoda, general manager of Microsoft Game Studios, told us that he was initially worried about the disconnection but now feels it was the right decision.

"The thing I was most worried about was the [lack] of haptic feedback, but it’s been really interesting how much you can do with visuals and audio." He says. "In many of the games we have, people will crash a vehicle and they’ll go totally like this [mimes dodging out of the way]! And even people playing games with a controller, there’s always people doing this [mimes driving motion]. They want to be moving. There’s natural movements and reactions involved. I’ve never seen someone doing that from rumble. It’s the audiovisual stuff."

While Peter Molyneux is more cautious about the difficulty of selling a device which must be experienced to fully appreciate, Tsunoda is bullish about its forward thinking: "The overwhelming thing we’ve discovered is that rumble is such a rudimentary form of haptic feedback. It’s not like a little rumble in your palm is your whole way of interacting with the world – it’s not like, oh, I stubbed my toe and I get a little rumble in my palm." He continues. "It’s almost laughable the way people hold on to rumble as the holy grail of haptic feedback. We’ve gone so far past anything that can be done with rumble, or that kind of restrictive thing you have to hold. It’s been creatively liberating to work on this stuff."

Like Molyneux, however, he agrees that the best way to introduce Kinect to people is through games they will easily understand - hence the distinctly familiar nature of that launch lineup. "When you’re doing something new, like controller-free interaction in a digital space, it’s helpful to put it in a familiar environment before evolving it into other things…to put the technology into people’s hands, get people feeling good, and move on from there."

Tsunodo also suggests that physical controllers are constrictive, citing the multifarious ways in which players interact with games and pointing out that this is stymied by the need to conform to the design of a piece of hardware. He compares the evolution to the shift from linear game design to open world, but asserts that it goes further. "In an open world design there’s still a set number of choices. But human beings are so varied in the way that they do things that it’s challenging to figure what is natural for so many different people." He explains. "You need to work hard from a creative perspective to figure out the ways people might do something. But it’s really nice that Kinect technology can handle the different ways people do things and make it feel natural for people. People are getting a direct link to the fun inside the experience."

Beyond the lack of rumble, the other main concern is lag and how responsive games are to the player's movement. While playing the demos on the show floor, we experienced varying amounts of lag, but crucially, it didn't meaningfully detract from our enjoyment. Tsunoda asserts that an input from the player is received just as quickly as one from a button press, but stresses that he is more concerned with the experience, than the maths. "The way we measure ‘lag’ is by putting people in front of the experience and measuring their thoughts. Either it feels good or it feels sloppy. It’s not how many milliseconds, it’s: 'Does it feel good? Does it react fast? Does it feel as if you’re in control?'”

The prototyping and research required to create software on a platform that requires such new thinking is expensive, so will smaller developers be able to afford to enter the market? Although he doesn't divulge specifics, Tsunodo allays fears that this will be an issue. "We’re very focused on that as a company...The thing I’m most excited about with E3 is getting out and playing all the other companies’ Kinect games! I really believe the more we get the tech into different kinds of creative people’s hands, the more creative things will come. As a company we’re very good about making sure different people can make games, and we want to continue that as a platform."

http://www.next-gen.biz/features/kudo-tsunoda-rumble-is-rudimentary

Is rumble last gen again? "

Your thoughts?

Full of himself.

Wasn't sixaxis crap because it had no rumble?!

My, how things change.

I switch it off anyway, i have no need for it and it dosent improve my enjoyment of the game i'm playing. but i can appreciate that some people like it; so i cant understand why having the option of rumble is inferior to not having it at all?? and isnt the audio visual stuff just pre-recorded stuff; isnt that already in games??

LOL, Double Standards much?

Funny thing the rumble I have heaphones that have it and obviously the 360 controllers. I have turned it off on the headphones as that was totally uncessary and I am non plussed about it on the controllers. For me it adds little. Putting my thoughts aside I think I am in the minority.

I think he is correct about the lag as it is the experience obviously we have not experienced it so we cannot really comment but the Jimmy Fallon show I think demonstrated how lag could be perceived externally to the experience but the gamers themselves did not notice or at least that is what Jimmy Fallon told us and that man would not lie to us (Would he?).

Why would he? He was only showcasing the product, right?

Six axis wasn't "crap" and being that the six axis was a traditional controller, yes rumble was "required".

This is about motion sensing gaming, not the use of a traditional controller, and in that aspect, Kudo (MS really) feels that rumble isn't neccessary.

Well I never bothered to replace my Sixaxis with a DS3.

Some people prefer rumble and some don't. I like rumble in some games but truthfully sometimes I forget it's there once I get used to it. However I see that as a good thing.