What Microsoft Didn't Do Wrong

I’m all out of hate. Maybe Microsoft’s strategy was to get the Kinect launch’s vast stupidity out of the way at the Cirque du Soleil show so that I could roll my eyes and move on. That’s not to say that there weren’t some cringe-worthy moments – the awkwardly forced stage banter between Kinect engineer “lollip0p” (ugh) and her twin sister via Kinect’s video chat was nearly as wooden as the infamous Jeff Bell/Reggie Bush fiasco from years past. Still, I was impressed by a few things that I didn’t see coming at all.

I could spend my time spewing vitriol all over the many terrible moments at the press conference, but I think I got most of that out of the way last night. Let’s talk about what didn’t suck instead.

ESPN on 360. The little bits of interactivity, like choosing your side in an ongoing game and voting in SportsCenter polls during play, display all the technical prowess of trivia challenges at Buffalo Wild Wings. On the other hand, I will totally use the hell out of them. Sports fandom is best enjoyed in a social context. Anything that brings the home viewing experience closer to being in a crowded bar at playoff time is awesome. Live HD streams from ESPN’s impressive coverage of the wide world of sports at no extra cost is a great selling point. I’ll be dumbfounded if you can get much on your local team via the service – blackout restrictions are a big deal in sports, and the lucrative TV contracts the major leagues are signatory to typically prevent any online streaming that the TV networks (rightfully) think might interfere with their product. Even so, I’d love to have been able to watch Strasburg’s masterful 14-strikeout debut and interact with other baseball nerds from my couch, even in the banal ways highlighted in the announcement. I wonder if we’ll get any ESPN original content, from SportsCenter to athlete features like the in-depth look at the greatest player of our lifetimes, Joe Mauer.

Your Shape Fitness Evolved. Cyberpunk godfather Philip K. Dick would be proud of the digital incarnation of the player that Your Shape Fitness Evolved puts onscreen. More importantly, this 1:1 representation of what the Kinect camera sees exists in the gameworld, so it would seem that you’ll have an easier time visualizing how to interact with the game. The announcement presentation showed players getting instant feedback on their technique in aerobic and yoga activities, which would be a great tool to get my doughy physique moving in the correct way. I realize that this is being marketed directly at women, but I’m secure enough to say that I could absolutely see myself using this if it means hiding my shame in my living room rather than putting it on display at the gym – if it is founded on real training programs, anyway, which looks to be the case.

Beyond those two surprisingly interesting announcements, Microsoft’s 2010 press conference did little to impress. Metal Gear Solid and Gears of War looked amazing, as expected. The rest of the Kinect stuff looked as lame in the light of day as it did last night. The new 360 hardware is cool, I guess, but in the absence of a price cut or an aggressively priced Kinect bundle, I don’t see it as a game-changer.

If you’re coming to my blog for the hate, don’t worry – I’m sure that my batteries will be recharged shortly. With the overwhelmingly negative response to Microsoft’s conference out there on the Net, though, I felt like these two announcements deserved a shout-out for not sucking.