When Microsoft showed off Kinect at E3 this year, a lot of people were disappointed with the games demonstrated. They were all aimed at the casual gaming market and though plenty of casual gamers own Wiis, most Xbox 360 owners probably don't consider themselves part of that market.
Well, Microsoft hasn't forgotten about the more dedicated gamers, but as far as Kinect is concerned, they are focusing on the casual market for now. Chris Lewis, VP of Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, this week told GamesIndustry.biz that we can look forward to hybrid games that complement what might ostensibly be a controller-based experience with gestures, voice and physical movement. However, though Lewis said that this will happen over the next 12 to 18 months, he said that over the launch phase and through Christmas, the Kinect games will be very "much pure Kinect for 360 experiences that will appeal to the broad young/older/female/family audiences."
When GamesIndustry wondered aloud if that would be enough on its own to get people to part with the cash, Lewis said, "We're confident it will – early signs are very positive."
Another sore spot for Xbox 360 owners is the price. A lot of gamers think Kinect is a little bit pricey. When asked why Kinect costs what it does, Lewis said Microsoft researches these things across wide groups of target customers and that it's confident – particularly because it comes with Kinect Adventures, which has 20 different levels – that it's good value.
Do you think Kinect is good value? Let us know in the comments below.
Read the full interview here.