E3 2010: How Microsoft Failed To Cater To Casual Gamers

COMMERCIAL IMAGE In this photograph taken by AP Images for Xbox, Microsoft unveiled Kinect for Xbox 360 at the World Premiere Experience imagined by Cirque du Soleil on Sunday, June 13, 2010 in Los Angeles. Kinect makes you the controller; when you move your Avatar moves. (Casey Rodgers/AP Images for X

id Software's debut title was Wolfenstein 3D, a violent first person shooter with unprecedented graphics. You play as B.J. Blazkowicz, an American spy attempting to bring down the Nazi party. As he searches for plans to a cruel experiment, he is captured and imprisoned inside their headquarters at Castle Wolfenstein. B.J. escapes and finds out the operation is to create an army of zombified mutants. To beat the game, B.J. faces off with Adolf Hitler who is equipped with a robotic suit and heavy duty weaponry. Wolfenstein 3D sold more than 100,000 copies within its first year and has since been named one of the top games of all time. It is the basis of all FPS games combining fact-paced action, technical advances and graphic violence. It propelled id Software and shooting games into the future.


As mentioned, Molyneux makes it clear that, while he is leaving the studio, he'll continue to oversee the upcoming casual but hardcore-friendly Kinect title , Fable Achievements|https://fablelegendary.com/: The Journey (slated for release in 2012) as a creative consultant - even though he's moving on to start another studio, entitled 22 C


Thankfully, Game Rant got a chance to sit with Peter Molyneux, head of Lionhead Studios, to hear his vision for Fable: The Journey , which cleared up a lot of confusion over the game, and made it seem like one of the first intriguing hardcore titles coming for Kinect. Should you be anticipating Fable: The Journey despite a seemingly on rails and lackluster demo? Read on to find


Following the initial Kotaku report, Molyneux took to Twitter (for the first time since November 16th) to chat it up with fans and other industry icons ( Minecraft creator, Notch plus the aforementioned Cliffy B) - as well as reveal his plans for the fut


Over the years, especially after the success of the studio's first console title, Fable , back in 2004, Molyneux has become a fan-favorite figurehead for the gaming industry - similar to the "celebrity" of similar designers like Cliff Bleszinski, Hideo Kojima, or Gabe Newell. As a result, there's little doubt that fans of the Lionhead brand will see the departure as a potential death-blow to the studio - despite Molyneux's co-founder, Mark Webley, sticking around to run the stu


All in all, as a lover of the X360, I felt significantly disappointed, in a dramatic way. I am not too excited about any of the exclusives and as an overweight nerd, dork, geek, and gamer, I feel like I would never play with Kinect. Even a month after E3 I still feel pretty uncertain about the future of my beloved console of choice and I certainly hope MS has some announcements later in the year to prevent Xbox 360 from completely fail to satisfy in 2010, for the hardcore audience that i

It was the console to beat all others. Nintendo announced its new system two years before its unveiling. It was named, "Revolution" and had everybody buzzing. We now know it as the Wii-- a less than threatening name that is more suited to Nintendo's goals. "Revolution" served as a wonderful project title filled with mystery and excitement. However, according to Reggie Fils-Aime, it would not translate well under many other languages. Plus, a name like that would have probably caused an uproar from Americans stating the Japanese are out to get them again. That didn't happen...at least to my knowledge. Wii is friendlier and less menacing. Nintendo was right about the Wii's original namesake, it did cause quite the revolution in the video game industry because of its highly advanced motion sensor system.

Molyneux explained that the problem many gamers have been encountering with Kinect is its lack of tactile feedback. When a player swings a sword or shoots a gun via a gesture, they inevitably expect to receive some sort of response. But since Kinect puts you into the role of the controller, there is no tactile response, and thus the action feels f


In an interview with Digital Spy , Head of Lionhead Studios John Needham explained that this new online direction for the studio isn't going to be exclusive to Fable Legends . Following the departure of Peter Molyneux , Needham - who has an MMO pedigree - took over the studio in his stead. With that pedigree, he said that all future games from the studio will boast "connected" aspects. Being candid about his roots, Neeham said, "We're online game guys, that's the studio. We love online games, we love interaction with real people, and we want to bring that magic to Fable" . He explained that interaction between characters and NPCs is what made the world of Albion a special place to play in. The goal of Fable Legends is to experiment with that dynamic and see what would happen if you substituted those interactions and brought in real players to the