Xbox Europe boss on Kinect success, next-gen plans

Microsoft's Xbox Europe VP Chris Lewis talks about how Kinect extended this generation's lifespan, and hints that the next generation of Xbox might overlap with this one.

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Microsoft's Xbox 360 has been enjoying a healthy boost in sales, thanks largely to Kinect. But in spite of the company's current success, it must begin to talk about its plans for the next generation. Unlike the transition from the original Xbox to the 360, we may see two systems coincide for a while according to Xbox Europe VP Chris Lewis.

"We think we're a little over halfway through with the life cycle of the console," Lewis said.

"We're in a very healthy place, we're attached better than anybody else, our ecosystem's very healthy, Xbox Live gives us this unique service which is really not something anyone else can offer in quite the same way," Lewis told Metro.co.uk. "So, good success. Kinect's given us a growth spurt, that really does help us to appeal to broader."

Lewis cites games like Steel Battalion and Mass Effect 3 as examples of core games that use Kinect, but says they need the family audience to grow. "This where Kinect plays such a huge part for us, and hooking up with Disney and Sesame Street and what we're doing with LucasArts and Star Wars. Those are the elements that are really going to give us that family growth, that give us the numbers and the kind of critical mass we aspire to."

As for the next generation, Lewis says Kinect "pumped this adrenaline into the arm of the business," extending the lifespan of the 360. He plays coy with specific timing announcement plans for the next Xbox, of course, but his comments seem to imply an announcement sooner than later. "We think we're a little over halfway through with the life cycle of the console, but that's not to say there won't be an overlap."

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  • reply
    August 19, 2011 3:30 PM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Xbox Europe boss on Kinect success, next-gen plans.

    Microsoft's Xbox Europe VP Chris Lewis talks about how Kinect extended this generation's lifespan, and hints that the next generation of Xbox might overlap with this one.

    • reply
      August 19, 2011 4:04 PM

      I wonder why he has two first names.

    • reply
      August 21, 2011 9:49 AM

      Lewis cites games like Steel Battalion and Mass Effect 3 as examples of core games that use Kinect...

      THEY'RE NOT OUT YET!!! It's ridiculous to see Microsoft execs harp on and on about the "success of Kinect", when on the other end, you hear game reviewers call Kinect a "dumping ground for Wii mini-game collections" and laugh at how every publisher will re-release their Wii mini-game titles on Kinect (I remember the 11-9-2010 Bombcast, where this discussion went on, and Brad jokingly said, "Carnival Games Kinect!" ...and then "Carnival Games: Monkey See, Monkey Do" was released for Kinect in mid-April 2011!).

      As for non-mini-game recommendations for Kinect, I keep hearing "Dance Central, and Child of Eden if you're into that kind of thing."

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