Microsoft’s initial Kinect offerings were squarely aimed at casual gamers, but it’s hoping to reach out to core gamers starting next year.
You’d be forgiven if you’d assumed that Microsoft’s newly-launched Kinect peripheral was targeted at people other than the core gamers who are all currently playing Black Ops, because it really, really was. Your average Mass Effect lover isn’t going to be booting up Kinectimals anytime soon, right?
Speaking with CVG at a Kinect launch event in the UK, UK marketing boss Stephen McGill said that Microsoft was planning to shift its focus back to the hardcore gamers feeling left out by the whole shebang next year. “Back in September at the Tokyo Game Show we announced a whole range of incredible games really targeted to core gamers that are going to be dedicated to Kinect – adventure games, horror games etc,” said McGill.
“We’ll start showing more of those in 2011. 2011 is going to be an amazing year for gamers both on Kinect and normal controller-based games for Xbox 360,” he continued. “I think there’s something for everyone.”
The games in question would be things like Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, and Suda 51’s Codename D. It does seem like a clever developer could make good use of the Kinect’s body-tracking cameras in a horror title – but it would have to be a very clever developer indeed. The technology is there, it’s just a question of software.
Hardcore gamers have been lukewarm on Kinect thus far because of a lack of quality software. If Microsoft makes it, will they really come?
