Microsoft planning monthly Kinect XBLA releases

Microsoft hopes to be releasing one Kinect-supporting Xbox Live Arcade roughly every month, it's revealed ahead of the launch of the first Kinect XBLA game next week, Fruit Ninja Kinect.

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Xbox Live Arcade developers have been slow to take to Kinect, with the first game made for the motion-sensing controller, Fruit Ninja Kinect, finally launching next week--nine months after Kinect. However, Microsoft has said that we can expect many more to come, as it's planning to eventually release a Kinect-supporting XBLA every month or so.

"Expect to see more from us as Microsoft studios as we leverage the power of Kinect; expect to see a number of Kinect Arcade titles coming," Xbox Live EMEA's product marketing manager Robin Burrowes told CVG. "We're targeting a frequency of about one a month from the Xbox Live Arcade portfolio that will have Kinect integration. That will really be powerful and differentiate the platform."

Kinect is gaining traction as an optional, supplementary control scheme, even in 'core' games. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Mass Effect 3, Forza 4 and Ubisoft's Tom Clancy games are all planning to support Kinect in some way, whether it be gesture control in the UI or ordering squad-mates about with voice commands.

Twisted Pixel's The Gunstringer was the first Xbox Live Arcade Kinect exclusive announced, but it has since become the core of a $40 retail double-pack with a download code for Fruit Ninja Kinect. As for Fruit Ninja Kinect, that'll be released on XBLA next Wednesday for $10 as part of Microsoft's 'Summer of Arcade' promotion.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    August 3, 2011 9:45 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, Microsoft planning monthly Kinect XBLA releases.

    Microsoft hopes to be releasing one Kinect-supporting Xbox Live Arcade roughly every month, it's revealed ahead of the launch of the first Kinect XBLA game next week, Fruit Ninja Kinect.

    • reply
      August 3, 2011 9:50 AM

      Maybe if Microsoft stopped turning all the promising kinect XBLA titles into retail games there wouldn't be this "slow adoption" of kinect on XBLA?

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      August 3, 2011 10:17 AM

      You mean Forza 4, not Kinect 4. ;p

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        August 3, 2011 11:35 AM

        Have they posted a car list for Forza 4 yet?

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      August 3, 2011 10:19 AM

      I hate that they put that bullshit 'Fruit Ninja' as part of their Summer of Arcade package...

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        August 3, 2011 10:26 AM

        so out of place and so far the only one that i dont want. although how much is that game you get for free, i bet 1200 points so you probably save 400 points if you were planning to get the other games anyways

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          August 3, 2011 10:30 AM

          Yeah, same here. If Fruit Ninja were something else, I probably would have picked up From Dust, too, but since I already knew I wasn't going to get Fruit Ninja, it pushed me off the fence for it.

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      August 3, 2011 11:35 AM

      "Kinect 4 Kinect" lol

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