MS: Hardcore will buy Kinect first

The traditional ‘hardcore’ userbase of the Xbox 360 will be amongst the first consumers heading to the High Street to buy the device, Xbox’s worldwide product marketing manager Ryan Moore has claimed.

I think we know that hardcore gamers will be the first to go out and buy it, as they are with any product,” he told CVG.

So we know we have to have a wide range of experiences, from things like the animals game you saw today to… to… games that are more geared towards the core. So I would expect a wide range of products to be released this holiday.”

The latest statement carries on the tradition of mixed messages from the platform holder about the ability of Kinect to connect with the Xbox 360’s traditional core gaming userbase.

Shortly after its initial E3 unveiling in 2009, the platform holder went to great lengths to state that Kinect really is for all types of gamers.

Project Natal (the former name for Kinect) director Alex Kipman stated: We’ll have games that are specifically designed to work only with Natal. Not just arcadey games, but real, hardcore, triple-A titles.”

However, in recent times – and in light of the very casual-focused E3 2010 Kinect presentation – Microsoft has cooled the hardcore aspirations of the device.

At Xbox, we’re developing controller-based games for the core and Kinect titles that appeal to everyone,” a Microsoft spokesperson said last week.