Kinect to give Xbox 360 five-year life boost
Motion control heralds new generation
Microsoft believes that the arrival of Kinect has breathed new life into the Xbox 360, with the company treating the new motion control system like the launch of a whole new platform.
Speaking to Gamasutra, Xbox product director Aaron Greenberg believes that the Xbox 360 is going to be around for a long time to come.
"We do think that this generation is unique," he explained.
"We're treating the launch of Kinect as an entirely new platform launch, as almost a new generation.
"For us that does extend the product life cycle."
Five-year plan
Even though the Xbox 360 has already been around for five years, Greenberg is adamant that the console is only halfway through its lifespan, noting: "we're five years in. We think we have another good five years-plus, but that remains to be seen - but easily there's another five years' life."
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This life boost is all down to Kinect, according to Greenberg, who thinks that the addition of the motion controller brings a new lease of life to the Xbox.
"I think what [Kinect] enables us to do is to keep things fresh, enable developers to bring new IP to the market, and enables people to have new experience."
With Greenberg hoping that Kinect will sell more than the Xbox 360 did on its launch – the target is to exceed three million sales – it seems that Microsoft is betting big on gamers wanting to play titles sans controller.
Via CVG
Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.