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Kinect enabled head-tracking previewed in Forza 4 spotlight video, turns heads (video)
Ever since Johnny Chung Lee was snatched up by Microsoft's Project Natal team to work on Kinect, we've been curious to see how his Wii head-tracking skills would come to fruition on the device. This week, an Inside Xbox episode shows us how it will work with Forza 4, and the Kinect enabled head-tracking appears to run fairly smoothly compared to others we've seen (just try getting similar results on Gran Turismo 5 with a PlayStation Eye). There's no word about other titles planning to make use of this new feature, but we'll surely find out more while we're at E3 next week, and possibly get some hands heads-on time while we're at it.
First copies of Forza 4 include five extra cars, pre-order bonuses revealed
Despite the fact that retailers will assuredly have plenty of extra copies of Forza 4 when it arrives at retail, perhaps you're interested in pre-ordering the game long before its planned fall launch? Well that's just peachy, 'cause today Microsoft announced pre-order bonuses that folks can pick up at a variety of retailers. Unfortunately -- as has become de rigeur as of late -- rather than making it so fans of the series can actually acquire all the pre-order items that they're nicely plunking down money for ahead of time, various retailers have exclusive in-game content that can only be attained through a pre-order at their stores. In essence, this means that folks who pre-order Forza 4 at Target are locked out of the bonuses being offered at Amazon, GameStop, Walmart, and Best Buy... at least, unless the retailer DLC is offered later through XBLM. At very least, fans who pick up the game (at any store) around its launch later this year will snag a quintet of free vehicles in the "Ship Bonus" car pack, listed alongside the aforementioned pre-order items below the break. The car pack will only be free to folks purchasing the "first production run" of Forza 4, so be sure to choose your fastest supercar for shuttling to the local brick and mortar.%Gallery-124664%
Forza 4 pitch video pulled by Microsoft
If you must suffer an unforeseen failure in confidentiality on any day of the year, what better day than April 1st? It's the one time when the internet can muster some skepticism, even while presented with purportedly leaked footage of a high-profile sequel. Doubt over the authenticity of an "internal" pitch video of Forza Motorsport 4 might have obscured the news, had Microsoft not pulled it from Youtube. According to a Microsoft statement received and published by several gaming news sites, the video "was not intended for public distribution and may not accurately reflect features and functionality that ship in Forza Motorsport 4." The company's concern may lie in promising features that have yet to be finalized, such as 16-player online races, the contribution of over 80 automobile manufacturers and the introduction of social car clubs. (One promoted feature we can rule out with ease, however, is the career mode that has you "literally" traveling the globe. Forza 4 isn't likely to include a bundle of plane tickets -- if it did, you'd have a cheap opportunity to swing by this year's semantics nazi convention.) Considering the glossy, flattering nature of the video, and the presence of already-announced additions like Kinect head tracking, it's possible that April Fools' Day marked the start of a viral marketing campaign for Forza 4. Let's see how long this version of the video stays up, and whether Microsoft comes knocking on our door. Not literally.
Forza 4 tuned up to take checkered flag, boosted by Kinect
In the unending competition to create the preeminent simulation racing game, Turn 10 Studios has kicked it into overdrive for this fall's Forza 4, reports MSN Autos. Let's run through some highlights from the development process (as documented by MSN), shall we? 3-D laser-scan "select cars, including the Bugatti Veyron?" Check. Obtain "proprietary performance data from tire manufacturer Pirelli" to create "the most up-to-date simulation of how modern tires grip or slip in a variety of racing conditions?" Done. "[Isolate] the intake, exhaust and engine sounds from each vehicle" in the game to record realistic audio? You have to. "[Rent] out each track that appears in the game for two to three days, [shoot] terabytes worth of video and photos, and [trace] the inside, middle and outside portions of the road surface with a commercial-grade GPS system?" They did that. Of course, as MSN observes, "[few] players will notice this level of nuance mid-game." It's only through the endorsements of "the tiny, exacting minority of hardcore players and professional racers who train using Forza" (and other sim racers, like Gran Turismo) that we few can trust that the iterative updates over the years are actually bringing us closer to the the most accurate simulation racing game of all time. It's worth a chuckle, then, that Forza 4's most marketable feature is "more gimmick than breakthrough," according to MSN, and is perhaps a mini-step backwards in the race to ultimate realism. That feature, of course, is Kinect support. Aside from the "advanced ogling tool" (which allows players to walk around and inspect their virtualized cars; as seen at E3 2010), Forza 4's "Kinect-only mode" will also feature a "more interesting" head-tracking ability, by MSN's account: "when you lean to one side or the other, the driver's perspective edges with you, letting you peer around a blind curve or just slightly around a car before passing it." Still, even coupled with "the phantom steering wheel you can grip and steer," this experience is more "potential" than achievement. "I think we're just scratching the surface," game director Dan Greenawalt told MSN.
Forza 4 will have Kinect support, Top Gear content
With a quick tease during this past weekend's Spike VGAs, Turn 10 Studios revealed its next project: Forza Motorsport 4. Microsoft confirmed today that Forza 4 will feature Kinect functionality -- the teaser trailer we've dropped after the break shows a brief moment that looks identical to a few of the features we saw at E3 this year. Additionally, the studio is working with the US version of Top Gear "to create an automotive experience unlike anything before it" -- perhaps Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has been cloned and will ship with copies of the game, cheering and jeering players as they pilot supercars? That remains to be seen. What we do know is that Forza 4 will drift into retail outlets sometime next fall.%Gallery-110457%
Forza 4 announced with live-action trailer
Forza 4 was unveiled with a dramatic live-action trailer during tonight's Spike VGAs. The teaser gave an idea of what the game will include -- namely, simulation driving in really fast, expensive cars. Did you expect any less? See it for yourself after the break. Also, we're guessing that the Kinect functionality that we saw with Forza back at E3 could end up in this forthcoming title. Color us interested, just please, please don't make us pretend there's a steering wheel in our hands. Forza 4 arrives on Xbox 360 in Fall 2011.
Kinect Star Wars not due until holiday 2011
No matter how many times you call up LucasArts and suggest in your best Jedi voice, "You will release Kinect Star Wars soon," the game apparently won't be out until holiday 2011. Kinect evangelist and creative lead Kudo Tsunoda told the BBC as much in a recent interview, calling it and an upcoming Forza project the two Kinect-enabled games he's most excited for next year. "We have a Kinect Star Wars game coming out for next holiday," Tsunoda said. "I've seen a bunch of the game and it's super compelling." Presumably he's seen more than what we saw at E3 this year, clumsily demonstrated in this video. "Another one next year is Forza," he added, alluding to vague plans to integrate Kinect into the racing franchise, before boasting that it was "the best racing game of this generation of consoles." "Those are the two games I'm most excited about," Tsunoda concluded. As far as 2011's current Kinect prospects go, those would seem like safe picks, but we're wondering if developers aren't thinking outside the box enough -- just imagine if you were to somehow combine the two concepts ... perhaps mounting light sabers on high-end race cars? Now that would be something exciting enough to get us off the couch.
Kinect motion controls coming to Forza
Microsoft announced at this morning's E3 event that the Kinect system will interact with very popular Forza series. So we'll get this out of the way right now: yes, you will be able to play Kinect Forza. Whew -- glad we could get that one out. And you won't just be driving with a nonexistent steering wheel -- Microsoft showed someone actually walking around and inspecting the car with the Kinect system, as well as opening up the hood, waving a hand to shut the doors, and hovering a virtual cursor over various parts to open up menus of information. Turn 10 is developing, and a release date was given as 2011, but it's not clear yet whether this is added functionality to a current version of Forza, or a completely new game. We'll let you know when we do.
Forza Motorsport dev working with Natal tech
It may not be the most shocking turn of events, but we would be remiss not point out that Turn 10 -- the studio behind the Forza Motorsport series -- is dabbling in Natal development. The evidence comes by way of a Turn 10 job listing for a business development manager. The listing, discovered by Total Video Games, is looking for someone to "set strategy and drive high quality game content for our Next Generation games including the NATAL platform." Considering that Forza Motorsport series is the only product that Turn 10 has created for Microsoft thus far, it's probably safe to assume Natal support will work its way into future iterations of the series. Microsoft has already proven that Natal can be utilized in driving games with its Burnout Paradise demo, though its hard to imagine the motion capture peripheral will have the precision for something as technical as Forza. But who says Natal has to be used for steering? It could be used for secondary activities like shifting, changing the radio station or, most obviously, flipping the bird. We're sure Xbox Live members would just love it. [Via G4tv]
