As funny as this bit of advertising is, I can't help but feel they're directing all their marketing in the wrong direction.
Both companies know the 'core' gaming audience aren't in to motion controls - so Microsoft chooses to ignore them, Sony chooses to market to them. Trying to convince existing gamers that their motion control is the best doesn't seem to bring in anyone new, as opposed to Microsoft's attempts at shoving Kinect down non-gamers' throats.
@TheBeast: True, but at least their marketing is more in-line with their pricing. I don't think either company really has any idea what they're doing really.
i guess it does what they want it to, but to be honest it seems a little bit immature, if i was microsoft now all id do would be issue a statement saying "we dont need any sort of random website, we think our product will speak for itself" and they would seem like the better party in my opinion. (note: im not saying this is what Microsoft will do, probs more likely theyll come out with there own random site :S)
@MrChaz: They both know what they're doing - they're both smarter than you might think!
Microsoft is trying to get more people in to their ecosystem - Haloz doesn't sell Xboxes to your average non-gamer, but Kinectimals sure as hell would. More people with Xboxes = more subscribers. I'm not sure if they've hit the right price with Kinect (they're probably making little to no profit on it), but only time will tell. It doesn't matter if the device barely works (see the Wii) - it's all about marketing at this point.
Sony seems like they're trying to add another control scheme for their existing/potential users - very little of what they're doing seems targeted at the 'casual' audience. But they've hit a better looking (maybe not better in practice) price point. There's clearly less R&D gone in to their motion system (not saying it won't function better than Kinect) and they benefit less from a larger install base (no significant subscription plan), so it would seem their plan is to profit from more unit sales. This probably means their device will work better for the types of user they're targeting - good reviews are important for this approach.
I tried my best to say nothing which might be construed as favouring one over the other there... maybe I failed.
@TheBeast: quite the dance there :) I do wonder if microsoft might have been better off launching the new 360 and kinect at the same time in a 'BAM: new xbox family edition' kind of way. I think that would have given them more traction. Either way both companies are caught trying to serve two masters. If it wasn't for stupid Harmonix and their stupid dance central I would have absolutely no intention of purchasing either at this point.
As much as I might agree that buttons are pretty important, I don't necessarily agree with their idea that developing new control methods is foolish. Touchless control could be just as rewarding as buttons.
I just don't think it'll happen in the next five years. And it won't be Kinect. The first iteration of technology is always barely there. Compare the Wiimote to the Move.
@MrChaz: I don't think launching the two at the same time would have mattered. They've got the new Xbox out of the way early to keep the existing Xbox fans happy, to make sure they can ramp up development in time, so their advertising isn't too diluted over the holiday season and so that bundles can be sorted out with retailers ready for November. Now they can focus on promoting Kinect as a 'new and exciting' thing ready for Christmas.
I'm pretty excited for Dance Central too - strangely enough. I do want to pick up the Move at some point because it looks like it's a well-designed bit of kit.
" As funny as this bit of advertising is, I can't help but feel they're directing all their marketing in the wrong direction. Both companies know the 'core' gaming audience aren't in to motion controls - so Microsoft chooses to ignore them, Sony chooses to market to them. Trying to convince existing gamers that their motion control is the best doesn't seem to bring in anyone new, as opposed to Microsoft's attempts at shoving Kinect down non-gamers' throats. "
It's a lot easier to market something to an existing audience rather than try and create new customers, so I think it's smart that they're doing both and not neglecting to cater to their core audience. As someone who (for the sake of this discussion) could be classed as a 'core' gamer, I find the Move a lot more appealing than the Kinect specifically because of the attempts Sony has made to incorporate it into real games. I think Sony are doing the right thing by not assuming their core audience are opposed to motion controls, but rather that they aren't interested in playing dumbed down games where you jump and sway in a raft or flail about in front of a 3 dimensional breakout corridor. Sony are certainly targeting that raft jumping, corridor flailing audience with some of their titles, but even those games hold some appeal for someone like me, because they seem like they could be genuinely challenging and might require some actual skill/finesse (obviously this largely remains to be seen).
@Binman88: Yeah I agree - we find Sony's approach more appealing because we're who they're marketing the thing towards. I can imagine it is probably easier for them to sell stuff to a captive audience than Microsofts attempt at bringing in new people.
What I'm trying to suggest is that the Move doesn't seem like as much of a big step for Sony as the Kinect is for Microsoft as they have a lot less to gain from it. The Move is them getting in to the motion control game with as little investment as possible - all they can do is sell units. Kinect matters to Microsoft because if they market it at new people, it means more subscribers. If the Kinect hardware sucks, or if none of us existing gamers enjoy it at all, it doesn't matter, because we're not who they're selling the thing to. I'm sure they'd love if it we all decided it was awesome and we should get one anyway - if they could reasonably sell it for twice the price I'm sure it would be incredible - but they know that most of us are already paying for Gold and that PS3 people will always be PS3 people, so we're just not worth the effort.
" @Binman88: Yeah I agree - we find Sony's approach more appealing because we're who they're marketing the thing towards. I can imagine it is probably easier for them to sell stuff to a captive audience than Microsofts attempt at bringing in new people. What I'm trying to suggest is that the Move doesn't seem like as much of a big step for Sony as the Kinect is for Microsoft as they have a lot less to gain from it. The Move is them getting in to the motion control game with as little investment as possible - all they can do is sell units. Kinect matters to Microsoft because if they market it at new people, it means more subscribers. If the Kinect hardware sucks, or if none of us existing gamers enjoy it at all, it doesn't matter, because we're not who they're selling the thing to. I'm sure they'd love if it we all decided it was awesome and we should get one anyway - if they could reasonably sell it for twice the price I'm sure it would be incredible - but they know that most of us are already paying for Gold and that PS3 people will always be PS3 people, so we're just not worth the effort. "
That's true. I never thought about the potential extra Live subscriptions headed Microsoft's way with new customers too. Assuming both devices work flawlessly and are equally well received, it makes sense that MS will outperform Sony (I imagine by a large margin), and that they'll be making the lion share of the profit this Winter. I do appreciate what Sony is doing though - like I said, I'm not opposed to motion control gaming, I'm opposed to simple "waggle" games. If Sony's Move can add another level of depth to the games we play (and again, this has obviously yet to be seen), I think that's a major gain for the 'core' audience and video games in general. I look forward to seeing what developers do with both devices in the future.
Yeah they have buttons, but they totally bottled putting a stick on the thing. That would have allowed them to do more than the Wii, rather than just duplicate it.
" i love how sony is back to its arrogant self... even tho they are having their asses handed to them in america >_> "
And here in Europe. We Europeans always supported the PlayStation brand.. until Sony stopped giving a shit about us with late release dates and a half-arsed PSN store.
" @MrChaz: They both know what they're doing - they're both smarter than you might think! Microsoft is trying to get more people in to their ecosystem - Haloz doesn't sell Xboxes to your average non-gamer, but Kinectimals sure as hell would. More people with Xboxes = more subscribers. I'm not sure if they've hit the right price with Kinect (they're probably making little to no profit on it), but only time will tell. It doesn't matter if the device barely works (see the Wii) - it's all about marketing at this point. Sony seems like they're trying to add another control scheme for their existing/potential users - very little of what they're doing seems targeted at the 'casual' audience. But they've hit a better looking (maybe not better in practice) price point. There's clearly less R&D gone in to their motion system (not saying it won't function better than Kinect) and they benefit less from a larger install base (no significant subscription plan), so it would seem their plan is to profit from more unit sales. This probably means their device will work better for the types of user they're targeting - good reviews are important for this approach. I tried my best to say nothing which might be construed as favouring one over the other there... maybe I failed. "
I absolutely agree with this. Great post.
Some people are too touchy about this Kevin Butler stuff. As much as they're ripping on their competitors, they are also ripping on themselves. It's a fantastic campaign.
@Binman88: Well here's hoping they'll both be fun, will push innovative ideas and will bring another bunch of people in to the world of gaming. It doesn't matter who wins, just that we're all enjoying them!
If only Apple felt the same way about buttons... Until the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad get buttons, I think it's wasted potential as a gaming platform, especially with id and Epic building these fancy new game engines for it.
Also, iPods without buttons for playback control suck, and I'm disappointed in the new Nano because of that. :(
Kinect versus Move is a lot like Christians versus Islam. A bunch of people really wrapped up in a bunch of meaningless bullshit that are really amusing to watch losing their shit over completely irrelevant and petty bullshit. Of course, the one big difference is that -- unlike the Move or Kinect -- I would allow a Christian or Muslim into my home. :)
Looks like I'm definitely buying Kinect now...I think sony tried this bullshit by saying people didn't want to play online, look how that turned out lolololololololololololololololololol
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