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28 March 2024

As Kinect premieres in Dubai, industry eyes revival

Kinect uses a 3D camera and motion recognition software to let people play videogames using natural body movements and voice commands (FILE)

Published
By Georg Szalai and Keith J Fernandez

Microsoft’s much-awaited Kinect motion-sensing system makes its Dubai debut this weekend, giving consumers the chance to try out one of the most-anticipated gaming developments of the year.

Sadly, though, they’ll have to wait until November 10 to actually get their hands on some product, when the “controller-free gaming device” is officially released in the UAE.

Also being seen at the annual Games Alliance Middle East Show (Games 2010), which runs from September 16 to 18 at Dubai Festival City, are a slew of franchise sequels the industry hopes will reignite software sales. Three versions of “Halo: Reach,” Microsoft's new prequel, hit UAE stores on Tuesday, but other titles being showcased are “Fable 3”, also hotly anticipated, and “Gears of War 3”.

Like with Hollywood, franchises have come to dominate the gaming industry that is in the midst of a worldwide sales slump that began in March 2009.

“A huge percentage of sales comes from recurring franchises,” said analyst Michael Pachter, Wedbush Securities, a US-based investment banking and brokerage firm that tracks the gaming industry. “Typically 25 of the top 30 for the year are sequels, and probably 80 per cent to 90 per cent of revenues come from sequels.”

Among the buzz releases coming before Christmas are next month's “Medal of Honor Limited Edition,” “Fallout: New Vegas” and “Fable 3,” followed in November by “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit” and “Gran Turismo 5.”

Those potential hits will arrive just in time for an industry that could use some positive buzz.

The latest confirmation of the business’s recent sluggishness came late last week as research firm NPD Group reported that US software sales were down 14 per cent in August to $403.5 million after an eight per cent drop in July and a 15 per cent decline in June. That left the year-to-date software sales haul 9.7 per cent below the same period of 2009. The August decline was driven by continued weak software sales for the Nintendo Wii and sluggish debuts for Take-Two's “Mafia II” and Eidos' “Kane & Lynch 2.”

In 2009, game software sales declined 11 per cent to $9.9 billion (Dh36.3bn) , according to NPD.

“The declines can only be explained as a combination of a weak economy and console fatigue at persistently high prices, as consoles are currently priced at the same point as the introductory prices for the last generation in 2000-01,” Pachter said.

The recent figures have dented the image of the gaming sector, which in recent years has consistently been seen as one of the entertainment industry's biggest growth engines besides the internet.

Top seller

But Microsoft is unfazed.

The “Halo” franchise has sold more than 34 million copies worldwide and grossed nearly $2 billion, making it the best-selling Xbox and Xbox 360 game brand and one of the top-grossing gaming franchises of all time. Its most recent installment, 2007's “Halo 3,” brought in a then-record $170 million in first-day sales. And some expect the latest edition will have a stronger sales start and become one of the year's biggest releases, maybe the biggest.

In the game, which has been described as cinematic, users play soldiers they can create and customise. It is the No1 most-wished-for game on Amazon, and the Xbox install base is about three times as large as when 2007's 'Halo 3' was released.

“We expect it to be the biggest game of the year,” said Josh Holmes, executive producer of “Reach” and studio creative director at Microsoft's 343 Industries, which will manage the “Halo” franchise after studio Bungie decided to start on a new project with Activision Blizzard.

Although Emirates24|7 was unable to detect a rush of shoppers or mad enthusiasm when it rang stores around Dubai to enquire about the availability of the game on the first day of sales Tuesday, Aman Sanger, Product Marketing Manager – Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft Middle East, said things look different from where he stands: not only have retailers placed large orders with his firm, but some have run successful pre-order campaigns on their own initiative, he said.

“Some retailers have said ‘Halo 3’ was their strongest-performing product to date, and given the very, very strong feedback we’ve had, ‘Halo: Reach’ could well go beyond that.”
Pachter said he expected 10 million copies to be sold during the first year.

Games’ performance in markets outside the US can surpass 50 per cent of any given quarter's publishing revenue for some publishers, say insiders – similar to performance for movies.

Optimism

Clearly, Sanger is among the optimists expecting to end the year on a high – but he’s quick to point out that there’s plenty of action for the firm in the last quarter.

Part of that anticipation comes from Kinect, launched as Microsoft and Sony look to close in on Japan's Nintendo, which pioneered motion controls with its hit Wii consoles in 2006.

Boasting total lifetime sales of more than 70 million units, a record in Nintendo's history, the Wii has easily outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 since its 2006 launch.

The Xbox 360 has sold 40 million units worldwide, Microsoft said, and 13 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Previously dubbed Project Natal, Kinect is based around a webcam-style add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console and uses a 3D camera and motion recognition software to let people play videogames using natural body movements and voice commands, and does not require hand-held controllers.

“Kinect’s extremely unique game play is hard to imagine unless you try it out yourself or see a video,” Sanger says.

Ffteen games are being launched at the same time. Among those that can be previewed this weekend are “Kinect Adventures”, “Kinect Joy Ride”, “Kinect Sports”, “Dance Central” and “Kinectinamals”.

Early reviewers have slated these as too boring to offer the sort of blood-and-gore thrills gamers have come to expect, but several new games are in production to meet these demands, Sanger says.

A “Star Wars” title hits stores next year, Lucasfilm confirmed recently, while a “Forza” title is in the works and developer Ubisoft has announced a “Child of Eden” game, also for 2011.

For now, the Kinect sensor and the “Kinect Adventures” game will be bundled together and priced at Dh699 in the UAE.

Meanwhile, Microsoft will also roll out a redesigned Xbox 360 console later this year. The smaller, whisper-quiet device offers touch sensitivity and features a wireless controller and a headset. The Xbox 360 250GB and 4GB consoles will be available at Dh1,150 and Dh899 respectively.

“From our perspective it’s definitely going to be a massive year,” Sanger said.

Movie

Hollywood and “Halo” fans also will keep a close eye on one other issue: whether “Reach” could help lead to a long hoped-for “Halo” movie. Peter Jackson at one point was involved in a film project, with Universal and Fox potential distribution partners.

But budget issues plagued the project, and Hollywood has had a hard time translating video game success to box-office magic, with a few exceptions like “Resident Evil,” the big winner at the box office this past weekend.

Microsoft continues to hold movie rights, though, which leads some to hope that Monday's Hollywood-style “Reach” launch will turn out to have been a test for a similar film launch effort.

And Holmes said he is interesting in continuing the franchise. “We'll continue to consider opportunities to develop the universe with more 'Halo' experiences, including new game experiences,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

“And there is always a lot of interest around the prospect of a 'Halo' film. For all of us here, we'd love to see a great 'Halo' film one day.” With inputs from Reuters