World-renowned developer Peter Molyneux has expressed concerns in an interview that Microsoft"s Kinect device may have some flaws. Discussing the device"s practicality as an input device, Molyneux admitted that "Kinect has got some problems."
Speaking to Gaming Union, Molyneux said that "without a thumb stick, navigation is a real problem." Despite this criticism, Molyneux also pointed out Kinect"s advantages over the traditional controller. "But what Kinect does have is a great sense of freedom and emotion," he said, before highlighting this strength as one of the goals of Fable: The Journey.
Fable: The Journey is set to be the fourth game in the Fable series. The game requires Kinect and was criticised for its on-rails approach in demos at E3. Molyneux took the opportunity during the interview to debunk this myth. "Why would we ever make a Fable game that was on-rails? Fable is all about freedom," he said.
Kinect"s lack of button input has received its fair share of criticism from the gaming community. Previous attempts to move away from button input, such as with Sony"s EyeToy, have been met with mixed reception. Microsoft appear to have faith in the device as a platform, however, and have gone to lengths to accommodate Kinect input within the Xbox Dashboard. While its approach is questionable, Kinect seems to have resonated well with the public, having sold over 10 million units since its introduction.