The next big motion-sensing breakthrough will occur on this generation of the Kinect hardware, according to Microsoft Creative Director Kudo Tsunoda.

There has already been a lot of software-side innovation with the Kinect including finger tracking, object capture, and seated play, but fidelity will increase further and a major breakthrough is inevitable, said Tsunoda.

He attributed this to developers becoming more familiar with the device.

 

We're long past the days of narrative not mattering in videogames. The moment that gamers stood in an open field west of a white house with a boarded front door, the pressure's been on the developers and the designers to create compelling stories, and to tell them better.

That's why we have triple-A titles - like BioShock, Shadow of the Colossus and Half-Life - that wade into the contemporary discourse on subjects as varied as politics, societal issues and the act of gaming itself. That's why we have a burgeoning indie gaming scene through which creators like Edmund McMillen, Tim Schafer and Phil Fish can peddle intelligent, evocative narrative works without the consumer ever having to leave their couch. That's why the games industry is constantly pursuing the ultimate goal of becoming cinematic in the way it tells its stories (though whether it's desirable to aspire to films is another debate in and of itself).

There's a whole market full of games out there that offer rich, deeply satisfying narrative experiences. The bar's been lifted so many times, even on handheld consoles, that it's easy to lose count. Take the 3DS, a platform in its infancy that still has on offer games like Kid Icarus, Cave Story 3D, and Ocarina of Time. If developers are going to make interactive fiction in this market, they have to put some effort into it. It's not enough to cobble together something inane and slap-dash in the hope that the gameplay will distract the audience. They'll notice.

 

Carrier Command: Gaea Mission will be available in New Zealand on Windows PC and Xbox 360 on September 27.

The game, a re-imagining of 80s classic Carrier Command, contains a unique combination of first- and third-person action alongside strategy elements such as instructing units, managing resources and customising equipment.

In command of an armed vehicle carrier, players will traverse the seas to engage in free-roaming combat and establish a strategic network of island bases for mining, manufacturing and defense, according to Bohemia Interactive.

 

A new patch for Capcom’s Street Fighter X Tekken contains a game-breaking bug.

The patch, which updates the game to version 1.04, fixes prior problems regarding hit boxes, but causes the game to freeze whenever Rolento's knife hits an opponent's fireball.

It seems unlikely that the freeze is simply a public service announcement warning us of the apocalyptic power of combining the two materials, but this is Capcom we’re talking about, so who knows.

 

Pictures of the newest version of the Wii U controller have been tweeted by a Traveller’s Tales employee.

The posts, made under the Twitter handle @MATTYBOOSH, have since been deleted.

The biggest change appears to be that analogue sticks have replaced the circle pad nubs seen on the device at last year’s E3.

 

The EA Sports development team based in Burnaby, Vancouver have their own full-sized football field.

Their studio floor is replete with banners, pendants and all manner of shirts and associated football paraphernalia. This, then, is clearly a team who take the game extremely seriously indeed.

So as each development cycle in the long-running FIFA series draws to an end, their only thought is towards the next iteration. Which aspects to improve, which to shelve, and which exciting new gameplay additions can be introduced to an audience measured in the millions.

 

The first cheque 38 Studios has written to the state of Rhode Island cleared yesterday after bouncing on Friday.

Although it covered the studio’s first repayment, the USD $1.125 million (NZD $1.48m) cheque barely made a dent in the USD $49m (NZD $64.7m) loan 38 Studios received from the taxpayer-funded Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, who was elected after the loan was made, stated that the state was changing tax break legislation so such a deal could not be made in the future.