This is reposted from Deans personal blog over at Deanb’s Musings, where I rant & rave about anything and everything. Mostly games and technology.
So I’ve ragging on at Microsoft Games for not seemingly having a clue at what they intend to do with Kinect and how they seem to be giving the impression they have no damn idea at all on what their market wants from them. Turns out Microsoft aren’t the only guys giving off some weird messages.
“Imagine a future Xbox 360 that is actually a tablet you carry around.
It will have more power than 360 does today, with technology like Kinect built right in. Imagine walking into a bar with some friends, propping it up on the table and playing games like Dance Central or Kinect Adventures anywhere you go.
Then when you get home that same device will use technology like AirPlay or wireless HDMI to connect to your big screen, you’ll pick up a wireless controller, or use your phone as controller to play games like Gears of War.”
Mark Rein of Epic Games
I weep inside that this is the thoughts of a guy who runs the company that makes Unreal Engine. UE3 kind of being the cornerstone middleware of this Gen. And this guy thinks next-gen we’re going to be taking our Xbox portable into a bar, getting our moves on or jumping up n down on a raft, then we’re going to get home and use our phone as the controller?
I dunno, maybe just being on the bottom rung of the gaming food chain I can’t see too far into the distant future or imagine how wonderful this will all be in reality, but this just seems stupid to me. If this is where developers see gaming going then I think I’m going to get off at the next stop of this crazy train. Gamers have fought tooth n nail against touch controls and ‘controllerless gaming’, so why are folks that have their fingers deep in the shooter pie, the genre that is generally acknowledged the accuracy and options of a 52-button keyboard and mouse > controller, talking of using phones and cameras to game with?
I am however of the mind that the stuff with using Wireless HDMI and a bluetooth controller would be a good idea, and PSPgo and ZuneHD have inklings of this already. But keep those functions to an already handheld device. Play Monster Hunter on the go, then when you get home, sync with your TV, whip out the DS4 and play on the big screen. (Which would help, because the PSP controls suck for Monster Hunter) That’s really the only thing he’s saying that seems to make sense, and an improvement in gaming. The rest, well see the title.
The unrealistic thought of groups of people congregating in pubs with an inflatable dinghy to play kniect games is horrifying, but luckily I doubt it will ring true.