Email: Kinect is Microsoft’s future

Hey Malstrom, I’m  sure you’re being flooded with e-mails right now.

Not to kick someone while they’re down, but I found Microsoft’s Kinect-heavy conference to be disturbing. Now, the mainstream media will simply tell you “Microsoft is taking a different direction. Now enjoy Halo 4!”, and at first glance the show was pretty bad, but here is the thing that everyone seems to be missing: Microsoft showed off so many Kinect games to RECOUP Kinect’s failure. 10 million Kinects but no high-selling games? Microsoft knows the truth, even though they keep bragging about Kinect’s sales. A healthy company should be talking about their focus, their direction, and what they want their fanbase to anticipate in the future. For the past 3 years (count ’em) Microsoft has simply repeated over and over again “Kinect is the future…”

Microsoft’s E3 presentation this year was not a “fail”. It was not “teh casualz”. It was not great, good, bad, or horrible.

It was an exit strategy. 

Notice how they’re just milking the last few drops of blood out of the 360 fanbase while trying to convince them that Kinect is the future? Heh, yeah right. They won’t even commit a full game to Kinect. Everything is either a minigame collection, a spin-off, or “integration” with existing games. At least Sony is trying to hang on to their spot in the market, but Microsoft’s 180 degree shift of focus in the gaming market is the behavior of a desperate man chasing money streams.

Do you think Microsoft truly plans to support Kinect, or do you agree that this year was a lead-up to their farewell tour?

I didn’t watch Microsoft or Sony’s conferences. I wish I didn’t waste the time watching Nintendo’s conference. Thankfully, this will be last time watching E3.

It is an interesting idea you have there where Microsoft is looking for an exit strategy with the Kinect. I think Microsoft is pushing Kinect so hard and writing misleading press reports screaming how ‘successful’ it is because Microsoft executives are under extreme criticism for their inability to find new markets.

I am wondering too if that is all what the Wii was about. Nintendo would be under intense pressure, then, to show growth and new markets after so much decline. Once pleasing investors, then Nintendo could relapse into doing their Gamecube direction again (which we are witnessing).