Tell us your hopes
Microsoft's E3 2011 news conference is only a few weeks away, and our thoughts are turning towards what the company will show off on Monday 6th June. Here's a list of what we believe Microsoft should do with Kinect in order to capture the imagination like it did at E3 2010.
Improved Tracking
In its current form, Kinect can track your limbs but not their rotation, limiting developers' options when it comes to creating control systems that work.
Virtua Tennis 4 is the latest game to suffer from the lack of wrist-tracking for example, but we know
developers have access to better Kinect responsiveness now, and also that
Microsoft will unveil new Kinect features. Put these two together and we're hopeful we'll see more accurate tracking from the sensor come June.
Kinect Star Wars to Be Playable, and Good
Last year's tantalising reveal of
Kinect Star Wars was as tightly orchestrated as the Imperial March, with an actor jumping onto the stage to respond to a pre-recorded demo video. This year we need to see the game playable by real people to judge the game's potential: if it can nail the lightsaber battles and Force abilities, we'll be happy. With a proposed release around Christmas, this could be Kinect's biggest hit of the year.
More Of the Games That Got Gamers Interested in Kinect in the First Place
Microsoft sold Kinect to gamers with a slew of core titles that so far we've seen next-to nothing about:
Project Draco, the new game from the creator of
Panzer Dragoon,
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor,
Rise of Nightmares and more have all been absent since their original reveals last year. This year, they need to take centre stage to show they're alive and kicking and ignite interest again.
New Genres Explored
While we'd be happy with sequels to top-tier Kinect games
Kinect Sports and
Dance Central, what we really want to see is new kinds of games only possible with Kinect.
Milo and Kate looked like being that inventive title, but its cancellation has left an innovation gap in Kinect's line-up. Will a small studio be able to step into this gap and make a name for itself with a brand new game only possible with Kinect?
More Xbox Live Arcade Support
Twisted Pixel's
The Gunstringer is one of just two Xbox Live Arcade games announced for Kinect so far, but there could be more on the horizon, as we asked in our recent
Talking Point: Are Small Games Kinect's Future? We know that
Doodle Jump is coming to the sensor, but we'd love to see a greater emphasis on downloadable games making up Kinect's catalogue.
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My name is James Newton, and this is my website - a collection of my writings about
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