Kinect: One Year Later

One year ago today, Microsoft introduced an add-on to the Xbox 360 that the company believed would change the way we game forever. Building on the motion gaming trend started by Nintendo’s Wii, the Kinect got rid of the controller altogether, allowing players to use their whole body while playing. To use Microsoft’s marketing phrase, “You are the controller.”

One year later, where has becoming the controller taken us? Let’s take a look.

Kinect launched to some skepticism in November 2010, but it quickly proved itself as a success among consumers. Ten days after the launch, Microsoft announced that it had already sold one million units of the new hardware and expected to sell five million before the end of the year.

Of the 11 Kinect launch titles, only Harmonix’s Dance Central stood out as a particularly strong critical hit, with a Metacritic of 82. Only two other titles (Kinect Sports and Kinectimals) scored above 70 on Metacritic, and several (Sonic Free Riders, Ubisoft’s MotionSports, and Konami’s Adrenalin Misfits) all landed at a 50 or lower. Immediately, gamers were faced with concerns of Kinect heading in the same direction as the Wii – unique and potentially powerful new technology choked by a flood of mediocre games taking advantage of the curious market.

These concerns did not slow hardware sales, though. Where Microsoft had predicted five million units sold by the end of the year, the company actually reached an astounding eight million within the first 60 days on shelves. Kinect became the de facto “hot new toy” of the holiday season, with mainstream word-of-mouth spreading and tons of Kinect YouTube videos popping up around Christmas.

Beyond the fairly packed launch month, Microsoft and third parties failed to take advantage of the growing Kinect buzz with a steady stream of titles. No Kinect titles were released in December 2010 or January 2011, and 15 releases were spread thinly across February through September. Nonetheless, sales continued, with the hardware passing 10 million sold in March alongside reports of 10 million total games sold.

Though a few of the fall 2011 Kinect releases have received solid reviews – The Gunstringer with a Metacritic of 76, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster with 81, and Dance Central 2 with 86 – Microsoft’s library of motion titles faces an even scarier fate as time marches on: being completely ignored.

Of Kinect’s most recent releases, games such as Minute To Win It, Hulk Hogan’s Main Event, and Grease Dance don’t even have enough reviews to have a Metacritic average despite being available on store shelves for weeks. A similar problem has plagued the never-ending pile of Wii shovelware targeted at gamers who don’t read reviews over the past several years.

Looking at the full round-up, there have been approximately 45 Kinect-exclusive Xbox 360 games released in the past year. Of that bunch, 27 have below a 70 on Metacritic, 10 have above a 70, and eight either have no reviews from sites aggregated by Metacritic or have too few for a reliable average score. In addition to this, 11 Xbox 360 games over the past year have had optional Kinect functionality, but in many cases these Kinect modes were either aggressively bad (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1) or decidedly superfluous (Forza Motorsport 4).

Though it’s not hard to argue that the first year of Kinect has been underwhelming, all hope is not lost for Microsoft’s motion control device. In addition to more major family-friendly releases such as Double Fine’s Happy Action Theater, Kinect Disneyland Adventures, and Kinect Star Wars, developers aren’t giving up on making games targeted at hardcore gamers. Microsoft’s E3 2011 press conference in June was filled with examples of third-party games that will be receiving some Kinect functionality on the 360, such as Ghost Recon Future Soldier and Mass Effect 3.

Some hardcore-focused Kinect exclusive titles are in the works as well. Cult favorite Japanese developer Suda51 is working on a violent action game with his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, titled Diabolical Pitch. Lionhead Studios will be taking its popular fantasy franchise controller-less with Fable: The Journey. Capcom will be attempting to resurrect the complex mech combat of Steel Battalion. Even shooter developer Crytek is getting in on the action with a first-person hack-and-slash game titled Ryse.

We’ll have to wait and see if any of these titles live up to our hopes for what Kinect could be. As you can see from the first year, there’s plenty to be skeptical about. Still, I can’t help but harbor a tiny hope that maybe somehow Microsoft and its partners will begin cracking the code for how to turn this powerful technology away from gimmickry and into solid gameplay.

[Some info for this feature gathered via Metacritic and Wikipedia]