Why did Xbox Kinetic fail?

filmoret

With all the VR talk it made me wonder why Kinetic failed so hard?  Is it because you have to stand up in front of the television and people are too lazy for such things?  Was it the lack of games or clunky controls?  It definitely didn't catch on like it should have.  I remember playing force unleashed on WII and I never played a game with so much control of a character like that.  Yet somehow it didn't become popular and now they are sitting on the shelf.

Geneaux

Firstly, while similar thematically, Kinect and the VR headsets of now are vastly different implementations. The better term here would be 'VR-like' for Kinect, as the two technologies aren't quite directly comparable, in my opinion.

Secondly, Microsoft's vision of Kinect was supposed to be a hands-off proactive form of input for the 360, that was easily engageable for a wider audience and consumer base. Unfortunately, they underestimated the reins that come with the horse that is truly 'VR'. The games and software that came out for the Kinect were mostly niche and shallow. They could never compete behemoths that were "killer apps", like Halo and Forza, or any major title released. Interestingly enough, you can find that Sony themselves sort of kept some distance from the idea(though they still marketed Playstation Move). The technology and desire simply weren't in sync, from what I can tell.

cameltosis

Kinect = input device

VR Headset = output device


They really can't be compared in terms of the experience they were trying to give users. Also, for input devices, the kinect has to compete against a wider variety of other devices (lots of control pads, keyboard and mouse, steering wheels, joysticks etc) whereas VR headsets only have to compete against flat TV screens / monitors. 

Finally, the kinect only improved the user experience for a very small niche of games which could make use of the kinect, whereas VR headsets have the potential to improve every type of game through the simple fact that it offers 3D vision instead of the usual 2D.