I was in a meeting this afternoon and someone mentioned that the head of the XBox One is leaving Microsoft to go to Zynga. I didn't believe it at first and so I looked it up on the Internet as soon as I had a spare moment. Yes, it looks like Don Mattrick is headed to the folks that brought you Farmville. Now let's see if he can't help them create another product that is as successful as their first one. It is a tall order that Zynga has thus far failed to duplicate.
With Mr. Mattrick leaving Microsoft, what does that mean for the XBox One? Did he not believe in his own product? Or was the offer so good, it was worth going to a company with a ton of cash, but no visible future products? No matter the answers to those questions, Microsoft finds itself with yet another hurdle to overcome with its forthcoming console release.
In the meantime, Sony continues to march forward with the PlayStation 4 release. You can preorder a PS4 bundle from their Sony store. I'm not sure if the bundle shows retail prices for products, but if it does, then their equivalent hardware to Microsoft's Kinect is only $60. That means in an apples-to-apples comparison, the PS4 is $40 less than the XBox One. It will be interesting to see what other changes we will see before either product is launched.
Showing posts with label Kinect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kinect. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Someone Is Watching
It is nice to see that Microsoft completely changed their mind with respect to being able to play used games on the XBox One. There are rumors circulating as to why this reversal took place, but I don't want to speculate. Their own site says they listened to their users and in my opinion, that is the right thing to do.
One advantage the XBox One has over the PS4 is that it comes bundled with the Kinect. With the PS4, you will have to shell out another $80 or so to get the equivalent feature. Including the Kinect will allow Microsoft to do all sorts of things for all of their users that a large number of PS4 users won't be able to do. For instance, when you are watching TV on your XBox One, the Kinect will be able to count the number of people in the room and be able to distinguish the relative ages of everyone. Think what a benefit that will be to the advertisers paying for commercials during your favorite shows. Whereas they used to have to go through expensive and error-prone services like Nielsen, they will have immediate feedback on their audience.
The XBox One will also always be listening to you. They say it is so it will turn on when it hears you say, "XBox On". However it can also be used to hear things like, "I love this game," or "This game blows." Just think, they will be able to take that information and feed it back to game developers to help them create better content for you to play.
Microsoft is also very concerned about security with their devices and would never let anyone have the ability to write a virus for the XBox that would allow it to listen in on your private conversations or watch what you are doing in the privacy of your own home. After all, their operating systems are known for being the most secure and immune to hacking or viruses. And we were told at launch that the XBox One would be running three different operating systems, one of which was a form of Windows.
Yep, I think these features are really awesome. Just as long as today is opposite day.
One advantage the XBox One has over the PS4 is that it comes bundled with the Kinect. With the PS4, you will have to shell out another $80 or so to get the equivalent feature. Including the Kinect will allow Microsoft to do all sorts of things for all of their users that a large number of PS4 users won't be able to do. For instance, when you are watching TV on your XBox One, the Kinect will be able to count the number of people in the room and be able to distinguish the relative ages of everyone. Think what a benefit that will be to the advertisers paying for commercials during your favorite shows. Whereas they used to have to go through expensive and error-prone services like Nielsen, they will have immediate feedback on their audience.
The XBox One will also always be listening to you. They say it is so it will turn on when it hears you say, "XBox On". However it can also be used to hear things like, "I love this game," or "This game blows." Just think, they will be able to take that information and feed it back to game developers to help them create better content for you to play.
Microsoft is also very concerned about security with their devices and would never let anyone have the ability to write a virus for the XBox that would allow it to listen in on your private conversations or watch what you are doing in the privacy of your own home. After all, their operating systems are known for being the most secure and immune to hacking or viruses. And we were told at launch that the XBox One would be running three different operating systems, one of which was a form of Windows.
Yep, I think these features are really awesome. Just as long as today is opposite day.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Sports Video Games
I think we all have our favorite types of video games and a lot of that depends on environment. I used to play a lot of arcade-style games when I was young but then didn't get back into games until I had kids of my own. One Christmas I got the family a Nintendo 64 and we spent all of our Christmas break playing Diddy Kong Racing. After that, my preference was racing games.
Eventually we all got tired of playing with the Nintendo 64 and it sat next to the TV for years. Then my brother sent me a PlayStation 2 for my birthday along with a copy of SOCOM II and I spent a year or so playing the online first person shooter with my extended family. We eventually got SOCOM III but didn't like it as much and our weekly night game eventually came to a stop. As you can imagine, my game genre of choice became first person shooters.
Last Christmas I borrowed a couple of Move controllers from work. The Move controller was created by Sony PlayStation and competes with both the Kinect from Microsoft and the motion controller for the Nintendo Wii. The kids had so much fun at Christmas that I went and bought a set so they could continue to play even after I had to return the borrowed equipment. I have never considered myself to be much of a sports game person but I can see myself getting into them now. My son challenged me to 9 holes of virtual golf. We were just playing the game that came with Sports Champions 2 and I have to say it was a lot of fun. My yard is covered in snow, yet I was able to play a quick round of golf. Even more amazing was the fact that the Move figured out I have a wicked hook in real life. I plan to play a lot more golf and see if it doesn't help me correct my bad habits. I'll try to remember to let you know this summer.
Eventually we all got tired of playing with the Nintendo 64 and it sat next to the TV for years. Then my brother sent me a PlayStation 2 for my birthday along with a copy of SOCOM II and I spent a year or so playing the online first person shooter with my extended family. We eventually got SOCOM III but didn't like it as much and our weekly night game eventually came to a stop. As you can imagine, my game genre of choice became first person shooters.
Last Christmas I borrowed a couple of Move controllers from work. The Move controller was created by Sony PlayStation and competes with both the Kinect from Microsoft and the motion controller for the Nintendo Wii. The kids had so much fun at Christmas that I went and bought a set so they could continue to play even after I had to return the borrowed equipment. I have never considered myself to be much of a sports game person but I can see myself getting into them now. My son challenged me to 9 holes of virtual golf. We were just playing the game that came with Sports Champions 2 and I have to say it was a lot of fun. My yard is covered in snow, yet I was able to play a quick round of golf. Even more amazing was the fact that the Move figured out I have a wicked hook in real life. I plan to play a lot more golf and see if it doesn't help me correct my bad habits. I'll try to remember to let you know this summer.
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