The headset allows voice control?

What is Mod-Kinect?

The only decent game that makes good use of it is Child of Eden, I imagine. I'm not about to find out, though, cos its an expensive piece of kit/shit just for one game. 

Seems pretty useless, why has it sold so well???

Diluted Dante wrote:

Aware that it was taking over the other thread, so I'll make this thread for the continuing argument. Kinect is shit. It's best feature (voice control) can be done with the headset, and even then it only works in conjunction with the power of prayer. IMO the best game for it is UFC Trainer. If I cared for that sort of thing I'd probably say Dance Central, but I don't, so I won't. I don't care how many units it shifted. Every time I use it I remember why I don't like it.

It's brilliant.  And I don't want to wear a bloody headset to get Netflix to play the next episode of Breaking Bad, nor do I want to wait 10 seconds for the controller to switch on and connect.  I want to say "Xbox, next episode" and have it start immediately.

Likewise, I don't want the immersion ruined in something like Skyrim by having to wear a headset when I can just say "equip bow" to change my weapons, or "quick map" rather than faffing through menus.  In terms of media stuff and general control, controlling things through gestures and voice is absolutely brilliant.  

Child of Eden is excellent, but I see the gaming market using it as an add-on rather than a standalone thing.  That said, the Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout and UFC Trainer were pretty good but needed to sharpen up with their recognition.  I'm genuinely very keen on the Nike+ partnership.  My gym already does Nike+ integration, saving workouts to your iPod/Nike+ account via wi-fi while it's connected, so I'd like something in the home doing it too.

In the same way that ME3/Skyrim allows for voice control, I can see some games introducing selective gesture control.  As soon as someone finesses that into place I think it'll become quite common.

It's a brilliant piece of kit, and the only people I've seen who moan about it either have voices like they're eating a pile of pebbles or live in box rooms.  It's not for people like that in its current iteration.

hylian_elf wrote:

 Seems pretty useless, why has it sold so well???

The idea seems to be attractive, even if the execution isn't.

A device that allows you to control games without a pad definitely has some appeal to the more casual audience. Getting it to work with traditional games where responsive controls are prized was always going to be tricky. Occasional obvious gestures as a complement to a pad in a FPS might have worked, building an entire mech shooter around it is obviously mad in hindsight.

Watching Warehouse 13 earlier, switching on the pad to pause it managed to beat the voice control. It's not just me either, my housemates struggle to get it to understand us. I was referring to it's use in game though. I'm fairly accustomed to wearing a headset (and with the amount of Turtle Beach headsets out there so are others) so I don't see why it would be much of a stretch to see it used in COD.

Unlikely wrote:

What the frig is this thread HALLO MOD PLS SPEAK TO ME TYVM ok

It's a thread for me to argue with Mod.

Diluted Dante wrote:

Unlikely wrote:

What the frig is this thread HALLO MOD PLS SPEAK TO ME TYVM ok

It's a thread for me to argue with Mod.

You are a moron.

Diluted Dante wrote:

Watching Warehouse 13 earlier, switching on the pad to pause it managed to beat the voice control. It's not just me either, my housemates struggle to get it to understand us.

That's simply impossible.  Saying "Xbox pause" cannot, in any feasible way, be slower than picking up a pad, pushing the button, waiting around 5 seconds, and pushing 2 other buttons.  

If it's a very loud movie or I have it turned up, sometimes Kinect doesn't hear me very well.  In which case, pushing "mute" on the always-on TV remote followed by "Xbox pause" is still going to be faster than even getting my hands on the controller.

You have a faulty Kinect, or you're speaking in the most bizarre dialect in the world.

Fair enough, Maverick. I'd rather just click 'play disk' then go in the kitchen.

Elm, DD's from Preston/Blackburn. Kinect has no chance.

If all you use Kinect for is voice control, you've basically admitted Kinect is pointless and shit. 
The whole depth camera and skeleton extraction and tracking is the USP - if it's just an expensive, always-on microphone to you, it's a fucking expensive, always-on microphone and you've been ripped off.

If you like the dancing or fitness games then fair play, Kinect is worthwhile for you and it's not just a hyper-expensive microphone.

Elmlea wrote:

In which case, pushing "mute" on the always-on TV remote followed by "Xbox pause" is still going to be faster than even getting my hands on the controller.

Okay so normally if I know I am going to pause something I know in advance. I can see the attraction in casually reaching for the controller, whilst still paying attention is not much to cry about.

What you've just described though makes me feel like it'd be a bit stressful. I'd be trying to mute and say the command without missing dialogue or running into the next scene. 

I can just see after coming back to the 360 I'd have to be like "xbox rewind" too far back  "xbox play, xbox slow-forward. Xbox stop do'h, Xbox play."

Talking over something you now urgently need to get away from briefly for a piss or whatever just sounds shit. I'd rather do it with a held gesture. Or having to mute something because you're watching something a little bit too loud so you can tell it to do something sounds shit. It does sound useful for changing(edit) the TV station though, I hate number typing.

Here's a question, what if you're watching a video that contains the phrase XBOX pause in it?
What if it's a video of you saying it?

beano wrote:

Okay so normally if I know I am going to pause something I know in advance. I can see the attraction in casually reaching for the controller, whilst still paying attention is not much to cry about. What you've just described though makes me feel like it'd be a bit stressful. I'd be trying to mute and say the command without missing dialogue or running into the next scene.  I can just see after coming back to the 360 I'd have to be like "xbox rewind" too far back  "xbox play, xbox slow-forward. Xbox stop do'h, Xbox play." Talking over something you now urgently need to get away from briefly for a piss or whatever just sounds shit. I'd rather do it with a held gesture. Or having to mute something because you're watching something a little bit too loud so you can tell it to do something sounds shit. It does sound useful for changing(edit) the TV station though, I hate number typing.

It's not worth crying about; I just find saying it is better and easier.  Having to turn down the volume to use voice controls was a one-off occurrence, so I wouldn't read too much into that.

Voice controlled rewinding I find easier and smoother than using the controller; but the gesture based shuttling on Netflix is better still.  It's excellent; wave at screen for a couple of seconds and the time bar appears at the top.  Move hand over the point you're at, and as you slide your hand left and right, a thumbnail shows that bit of the video.  Find the bit you want, and moving your hand's obviously analogue and precise, then swipe hand downwards to pull that video thumbnail down to the main screen.  It's excellent.

Pausing's just as simple.  2 waves, hover over pause button for a second.

Voice stuff is easy; command it to rewind  and you can use "faster," "slower," and the usual commands too.