MS: Kinect launch line-up lacks adult content but will satisfy the core

You looked at Kinect Adventures and put it in your casual box. You were wrong, buddy. Kudo says so.

Kinect creative boss Kudo Tsunoda has told VG247 that Kinect's launch line-up contains the right "skill-based gameplay" to satisfy core players, despite the fact it features no mature content.

"While we're not putting out mature-rated content on Kinect in the launch line-up, I do think we've focused a lot on really building that depth of gameplay and skill-based gameplay into the games," said the exec, speaking at gamescom.

"The example I always use now; would you say Sonic games are core or casual? That's right. And hey, we've got a Sonic game right there in our launch line-up, right? Sonic is a core game, and if I was coming here with Kinect and you'd never heard of Sonic, and there's this little hedgehog and you're running around collecting rings, everyone would be, like, 'Where's the core content?' But that is a core game.

"That's how we look at the Kinect launch line-up. We want to put in the skill-based gameplay and have the depth of gameplay that gamers love. And I think you really see that in all the titles, whether it's Adventures, whether it's the sports game, Joyride; those are all things that really have that depth of gameplay."

"Lots of different types of content"

Tsunoda went on to promise that more traditional core content would appear on the motion system in the future.

"If you're talking about M-rated content or action games, I think that you saw at E3 we announced a Star Wars game, and I think that will have a lot of action content," he said.

"Third-party developers have lots of different titles in the works. I think you're going to see lots of different types of content coming onto the platform as well."

Kinect's main launch line-up titles are Kinect: Adventures and Kinect: Sports, with Harmonix's Dance Central being the most wanted game in the gamer space.

Titles such as Kinectimals, Joyride and Ubisoft's Your Shape - Fitness Evolved are also included, giving a distinctly "light" feel to the system's initial software.

Here's the lot, as confirmed at E3. There still hasn't been an official press release confirming launch software for the UK and Europe, so don't take this as gospel:

• Kinect Adventures (Microsoft Game Studios)
• Kinectimals (Frontier Studio/Microsoft Game Studios)
• Kinect Joy Ride (Big Park/Microsoft Game Studios)
• Kinect Sports (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)
• Dance Central (MTV Games)
• Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Ubisoft)
• EA Sports Active 2 (EA)
• Deca Sports Freedom (Hudson)
• Dance Masters (Konami)
• Adrenalin Misfits (Konami)
• Zumba Fitness (Majesco)
• Sonic Free Riders (Sega)
• The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout (THQ)
• Motion Sports (Ubisoft)
• Game Party: In Motion (Warner Bros.)

Kinect launches in the US on November 4, to be followed in Europe on November 10.