Kinect: “2 Active Players”

TSA Staff 51 Comments

Although Primesense, the company behind the tech used in Microsoft’s Kinect, told us that their system “has no limit on the number of players it can track” rumours continue to surface around Microsoft’s final product only being able to track two.

UK retailer Play.com (via 1UP) is the latest to stoke the fires, with their product page for Kinect clearly stating that whilst the system “tracks up to 6 people” it only actually tracks “2 active players”.

Play disclaim the information, saying it’s based on manufacturer data and is for guidance only, but everything else on the page matches what we know: colour and depth-sensing lenses, voice microphone array, tilt motor for sensor adjustment and the physical dimensions.

Play.com also managed to refresh the notion that Kinect requires players to be standing, not sitting.  “Kinect provides gameplay that gets you off the couch, on your feet and in the fun,” it says. “Each Kinect experience is designed to get players moving, laughing, cheering and playing together. Kinect makes social gaming off-the-couch fun.”

Kinect is expected to cost $150.  TheSixthAxis didn’t get a reply to our enquiry on the subject when the initial rumours started.

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51 Comments

  1. I think 4 people waving their arms around in front of a camera are pretty likely to have a few collisions anyway to be honest :P

    • that’s the same i mentioned…

      But with only 2 Players it seems overpriced

    • Yep, I certainly wouldn’t wanna use it with more than 2 people for that reason… Wait, no that’s not right, I just don’t wanna use it =P

    • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mV0QS-flxg

      doesn’t seem to me like they have a problem :-)

      but they wouldn’t even need to stand that close together, as the Wii doesn’t use a camera, like Kinect and Move.

      • good lord, must get that game for my fiance

      • Ohh blondie would get it!!

    • yeah but imagine the youtube videos!

  2. If true, is this really an issue? Now, I’m not a Kinectophile by a long shot, but do people REALLY need four player games? How many times are you going to need four people jumping around like monkeys on acid in a game? The only thing I can think of this being a let-down for would be Dance Central. It would be pretty awesome for four kids/adults to dance together but other than that …

    • It does bring the price comparison with Move into sharper focus though.

    • Actually, Mario Party is great fun on the Wii when all 4 players are stood up shaking the remotes like idiots. IMO anyway :D

      • i agree. these companys are making products for casual gamers…that means your mum,dad,and nan will want in on the shovelware. i have a wii, and i have NEVER played it on my own. even Mario Kart i do 2 player. Shovelware needs more than one person inorder for it to be fun. if you are left to it on your own, you notice how bad the game is. with other players jumping around you, the social effects over come the glaring fact that what you are playing is crap.

        MS will be using Kinect for shovelware, its to inacurate to do anything else, so by not alowing more than 2 players, it will hamper it, not by much, but it will make the games a little less fun compared to wii.

        Move on the other hand, will be able to shift shovelware with 4 players, giving it that edge to the casual market as it acts in the same way the wii does.

      • You play Mario Party standing up? That game lasts hours!

    • You should have tried EyeToy Play 3…
      I have had great fun running, jumping, etc. with four people at once.

    • Yeah, well, people keep going on about the price but I really don’t see why that’s so relevant. Why do we feel the need to compare the two new technologies in order to deem a “winner” based on value for money? How about we look at the price and say: “Is that a fair amount for what it does/what I want it to do?”

      If so, buy. If not, don’t.

      • Mainly because Gastos ran an article on here comparing both sets of hardware. For me, it matters little, but I have a fair few friends who have Wii parties where they’re playing 4 player games. They upload their photos of the parties to Facebook which is why I know. Sad, but true.

        Anyway, sounds like Kinect can differentiate between six bodies but only track two. Fair enough. Although I’m curious about MS wanting a slice of the Wii pie but not catering for more than two people at a time. It’s not the end of the world but a limitation nonetheless.

      • That’s true, I did. But again that wasn’t about declaring a ‘winner’. Like Kovacs said it was more about comparing value for money as Kinect’s seemingly high price was getting a lot of attention. Turns out, if 2 is the limit, that both Sony and Microsoft are on level ground when it comes to motion control.

      • Exactly, and people misinterpreted that article as a “which one is better” argument.

        The tech is different. The prices are different. I can’t see someone buying one over the other because one is deemed “less value for money.”

      • I guess it’s the psychological barrier to entry and Kinect might appear more costly now it only supports two active players. Like you said, if someone wants Move and/or Kinect I’m sure they’ll probably get it but price is everything.

        Regarding the “people don’t need to find a winner” I totally agree. The way things are panning out it appears that Kinect might not be capable of the more intensive games that might lure hardcore gamers into enthusiast-gamer territory. Whereas, if Sony play their cards right they could attract from both hardcore and casual. Then again, with that grey area in the middle comes a lack of focus. Trickier to market, potentially.

        I’m rambling. :-)

      • fanboyism and peoples desperate need to feel justified in their choice of purchasing has a lot to answer for

      • I don’t care who wins, but the success of each is highly dependant on the pricing.

        It’s more important for Kinect as their primary market is the casual gamer so if it’s priced to highly, then the tech could fall on its face.

      • I think Sony and Microsoft are more concerned about declaring themselves the winner than the consumer.

      • Wii Fit with balance board still costs $100 and that was strickly aimed towards casual gamers and that sold VERY well. The $150 will stop Kinect from being a impulse purchase for some, but i still think it’s going to sell very well.

        And Two active players isn’t that big a deal is it? It can still do 4 player games, just likley to be turn based/two at a time.

        And yes please, lets stop trying to find the winner here. Both Move and Kinect should provide good value for those interested in either product. I have big hopes for Move in terms of shooters like SOCOM and KZ and i’m looking forward to using Kinect with my family. My wife (whose gameing habits don’t extend beyond Peggle and Sudoku) is very interested in Kinect, particularly the Ubisoft work out game/program.

        People keep pointing out the Kinect isn’t geared towards to “hardcore” gamers, but that’s been perfectly obvious since the thing was reveiled. If you’re too “hardcore” for some social/casual/family gaming, then don’t buy Kinect. And if you don’t even own a 360 then why the hell argue against something that has absoluley no impact on you.

        And when devs do start to incorporate Kinect into “hardcore” games, i’m sure it wont be as a replacement to the controller, but as a supliment. Like using hand guestures in Rainbow six to send your squad forward to point out how many enemies are in a room etc etc.

  3. Hmm. Not like Move really has demonstrates any games with four active players. It’s still nice to have the option but my TV area can’t really support much waving around for fear of breaking some expensive equipment.

    • Funny my iPhone autocorrected ‘demonstrated’ to ‘demonstrates’

    • They haven’t demonstrated anything with four players, but it is much more clear what you are getting for the money you are paying. What’s the betting that if questioned MS would again come out with a statement about how there isn’t a limit to how many people it can track, yet they must be telling retailers about this 2 active player limit.

  4. This is an feature-advertising battle rather than a real one that end users actually care about.
    Sony will be able to exploit the facts that:
    a) Two Move controllers come in cheaper than Kinect
    b) Move CAN support more than two

    The fact that most games won’t support more than two and most people won’t take advantage of the ones that do, is irrelevant to that.

    • Personally I find it frustrating how MS are keeping so much information back from the public. We don’t know exactly how many people can use it, the $150 price is still currently an assumption and not confirmed, they mention core games but don’t show any, even the information about the accuracy and the fact that you need to stand has come from other sources. Sony have been much more upfront information regarding Move, so I can’t help but be pessimistic about the reasons why MS are being more secretive. Seems to me to be the kind of sales tactic employed by a company that knows their product isn’t as good as they’d hoped, so they are only feeding a small amount of specific information and allowing the public to interpret that and (hopefully for them) assume that its greater than it actually is. I can’t shake the feeling that if it was as truly amazing as they had hoped we would have heard so much more from them in terms of facts.

      • You let MS, or any companies, PR (or lack there of) frustrate you? Specifically for a product that isn’t out for another 5 months or so, and that you’re probably not going to buy anyhow (judging by your Anti MS/Pro Sony tone). Seriously? Your life must be awesome.

      • @ Juelz345
        Generally when you have an interest in something you can feel frustrated about it, just like you can get excited about it. To be honest I feel exactly the same bewilderment about football fans getting upset about England being a total failure in the world cup – but that’s a pretty large proportion of the population. People who like games often enjoy finding things out about them, and some will become interested in the industry business strategies. It’s not like he said he was losing sleep over it.

        I know you think you’re being a voice of reason but all you’re doing is using personal attacks to quell a mixed bag of opinions on a gaming discussion website. Your life must be awesome.

      • @tantalus_blank
        Actually, yeah it is. Thanks for noticing.

  5. What a surprise!

  6. So a basic setup for for two players:
    Kinect: £125
    Move: £85 (Camera + 2 controllers)

    [Assuming of course that you already own the console. Also note these prices do not include any games]

    • Yes but don’t forget that the predominant retailers will certainly be including some sort of deal for a little extra. My guess is on something like ‘One Move pack (Sub cont, Move and PsEye) plus Resident Evil 5 (For example) for not that much more money. The same could be said of Kinect but considering the release is so close now and Microsoft are yet to announce any solid launch games, or even a solid retail price for the thing, which makes it harder for consumers who are not caught up in Kinect fever to put together an accurate estimation of pricing. Whereas Sony has already announced a cheaper, solid price and already has a growing catalogue of games with move support.

    • Dont forget to add the cost of two navigation controls. Yes, i know we wont “need” them for every game, but if your a “hardcore” gamer interested in Move then you’ll almost certainly be getting the Nav(s). I just preordered two sets, myself. I’ll probably pre-order Natal as well.

  7. if you dont have enough space, it wont even track 1 player.

    • Why would you buy Kinect if you didn’t have enough space? Your comment sounds inflammatory. :-\

      • Yeah man – i live in a box…and what about the cripples? They can’t get up off the sofa! MS h8s the disabled.

    • That’s also a reason why i can’t get Kinect.
      Even it would track also sitting gestures for example accelerating with your feet I don’t think it will track it through my table.

  8. “Play disclaim the information, saying it’s based on manufacturer data and is for guidance only”

    Play.com sound like a reversing Juggernauts there, beep, beep, oh f**k, beep, beep

  9. What I don’t get is why it costs so much? The software is surely going to be in a update (much like 3D on PS3) however what gets me is surely the camera + Software doesnt come to nearly £120 to produce? Or have I missed something. If it was the camera and a game I’d same sounds more like it.

    • It’s because they spent 7.6 trillion US dollars on a Cirque Du Soleil event and now they’re in the hole unless the boost the RRP.

    • Microsoft seem to be saying that the depth sensor costs alot, which I guess is understandable since as far as I know, it’s pretty new tech. What gets me is why the hell they’re using a 30fps camera, that would explain the lag, since that’s only one update every 33ms plus processing…

      I don’t get why they didn’t just glue two 640×480 60fps cameras together, it would have been alot cheaper to manufacture, plus it would have given them the opportunity to have 3D online chat in the future, which while I’m not particularly excited about 3D, would have been seriously cool (I kind of think that Nintendo missed an opportunity there aswell with the 3DS).

  10. I just want to be able to use a more accurate “Wii style” remote in a decent fps (which rules out the Wii) or play a Monster Hunter type game in HD (ditto earlier comment). I also want to have the option to do that on my sofa if i so choose and I don’t want to spend a fortune either.

    Sony’s Move it is then!

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