Gabriel Stanford-ReisingerDuring the slow but sure decline of the Xbox 360, Microsoft shared intents on releasing a camera that could double as a controller. This layout would lead to Peter Molyneux, head of Lionhead Studios at the time, to reveal the technical marvel that was Project Milo. Things fell apart and since the former figurehead has shared some of the troubles that they faced trying to make the game into a reality.
During the Nordic Game Conference (via GamesIndustry.biz) Molyneux was asked about what happened to the project. In the end, it fell partly on the technical limitations Xbox and Microsoft put on the Kinect, which if left unchecked could’ve led to consumers spending 5K on the accessory.
“Unfortunately, as we were developing Milo, so the Kinect device was being developed. And they realised that the device that Alex Kipman first showed off would cost $5,000 for consumers to buy. So they cost-reduced that device down to such a point, where the field-of-view…I think it was a minuscule field-of-view. In other words, it could only just see what’s straight in front of you.”
The big problem, though, was how Microsoft marketed the Kinect, opting to give it more of a party accessory for those with Xbox consoles rather than an accessory for gamers to seek more immersion; using dancing or sports games as leading marketing material.
“The death blow of Milo, which still breaks my heart to this day, was that it was decided that Kinect shouldn’t be a gaming device, it should be a party device. You should play a sports game with it, or dancing games with it. So, it just didn’t fit into the Microsoft portfolio, and unfortunately the project was cancelled.”
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