Tsunoda: Kinect Can Support More Than Two People, Limitations down To Developers Not Hardware

Apparently Kinetic is perfectly capable of supporting more than two people, but that the launch titles have been limited by the developers rather than the software. Speaking to Videogamer.com at Gamescom last week, Xbox General Manager Kudo Tsunoda.

‘I think that it all depends on the kind of experience that you want to build,” said Tsunoda when presented with queries on the subject. “Certainly if you look at a game, go down on the floor, Dance Central is already incorporating a lot more than two players. So you know it’s not necessarily any kind of limitation as much as it is developers just trying to customise the experiences around what they think is the best way to play.’

Having seen Kinect’s debug wireframe control mode pick up people on a perfect 1:1 basis, and considering the variable lag we found when checking out the camera for ourselves it’s not surprising at all. What is worrying are all of the rumours and hearsay pointing to Microsoft not opening up the platform properly to developers, which was a running theme we overheard a number of times on the trade floor during some covert eavesdropping. Kinect has huge potential and, as Tsunoda notes, it will improve over time, but with more and more features disappearing from launch it’s hard not to see the clouds of disappointment looming on the horizon. [Videogamer]

Sony: New IPs Define Success, Not Beating The Competition

More fun chatter from the last week, as SCE WWS European VP Michael Denny told OPM that it’ll be their strength in new IPs rather than kicking the downed corpses of their competitors that will define Sony’s success…and we’re inclined to agree with him.

‘In a year like the one just gone, you look at a game like Heavy Rain,’ said Denny.’A lot of people questioned whether that was risky and whether it [could] stand up. But I think that’s what really brings the pleasure of working for Sony first party – we’re willing to take some risks and look at innovation. I think that what that game’s delivered is fantastic – it’s not only new IP, but I think it’s created a new genre. [It's had] not only great critical acclaim, but great commercial success as well.’

Considering Sony’s ever expanding stable of first and second party development talent, their impressive, genre leading list of exclusives, Nintendo’s preference on regurgitation rather than original innovation and Microsoft’s rapidly expiring laundry basket of ideas, we’d go along with Denny’s assessment of the situation. Finally, it would seem, the long game plan that the PS3 was initially ridiculed for is beginning to pay off. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below! [CVG]

Only 2% Of Britons Prepared To Buy Into 3D

It’s time for the results of another survey, and this time it’s 3D in the hotseat. Mere weeks after a Japanese survey revealed just 30% of the public to be interested in 3D comes a similar survey of British folk conducted by YouGov and Deloitte. Out of the 4199 people questioned the results suggested that, quite frankly, that we British couldn’t really give much less of a damn about 3D, with only 2% indicating that they’d consider purchasing a 3D TV set in the next year.

With Microsoft watching from above, refusing to commit to anything before seeing whether or not other companies’ heavy investiture goes tits-up, and Nintendo hawking their own glasses-free 3DS, it’s only really Sony who’ll be concerned by this. I think some of the 89 people who said might reassess their choices when it comes to the crunch too. [VG247]

UK To Get It’s Own Gaming TV Channel

Ginx TV UK is aiming to be the first dedicated gaming TV channel in the UK, and will be streaming into homes from November, according to CEO Michiel Bakker. Bakker, one of the founders of MTV back in 1987, is hoping to bring the same level of trendy cultural appeal to gaming that MTV did for music and, speaking at Edinburgh Interactive yesterday, it would appear that all of the pieces are in place and set to go:

‘Launching our channel in the UK, the world’s second largest videogaming market, will propel Ginx to the big league. The next step for me is to accelerate the roll-out of fully localised channels in key markets around the globe,’ announced Bakker. ‘Video gaming is the only massively mainstream entertainment genre without a dedicated channel. My ambition here, is to do for gaming what MTV did for music. Video Gaming has broken through into mainstream entertainment, yet is thoroughly under-represented on TV.’

We’ve had DJs, MTV popularised the VJ…is the GJ next? Frankly I think they should just bring back a floating head of Patrick Moore. That’s all we really need. But we want to know what you think. Excited by the prospect of gaming television, or worried that it’ll be absolutely dreadful. Stick your thoughts in the box at the end! [Joystiq]

Dragon Age II Director’s Cut Trailer

As if the first trailer wasn’t enough…here it is again, but with 48 extra seconds more of majestic RPGtastic psychitude! We’re excited about this. Go figure.