Microsoft to focus Kinect software on "broad appeal" games.
This is not going to go down well with Microsoft's core base. If anything, this will only add fuel to the fire:
Microsoft says Gears of War, Halo, and Fable fans can rest assured the company isn't abandoning them for the Wii demographic with its initially casual-focused Kinect.
But for the rest of 2010, don't look for more than "broad" appeal Kinect games, according to Microsoft EMEA vice president Chris Lewis.
"Certainly over the launch phase and this Christmas in particular I think you'll see very much pure Kinect for 360 experiences that will appeal to the broad young/older/female/family audiences I described earlier," said Lewis, speaking to Gameindustry.biz.
How long do GearsofWarHaloFable gamers have to wait then?
18 months, says Lewis, during which time 'more of these hybrid experiences...where you can complement what might ostensibly be a controller-based experience with gestures, voice and physical movement' will probably make an appearance.
According to Harvard Business School's disruption literature, if a company has not secured its base (and earned the right to innovate), the push into a new market will start a fire that threatens to burn out of control. In that event, the company is forced to abandon its innovative push and secure its base, shrinking smaller in the process.
It will be interesting to see how this theory plays out for Microsoft. If their hardcore gamers retaliate against Kinect by simply not buying the high-profile Xbox 360 sequels (like Halo), things could get very ugly. Add in the disgruntled investors who want to kill the company's consumer division entirely, and a collapsing stock price under Steve Ballmer's reign as CEO, well.....pass the popcorn, kids. We are in for some fireworks.
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