Kinect Sports Rivals
Developer(s)Rare
Publisher(s)Microsoft Studios
Producer(s)Adam Park, Joe Neate
Composer(s)Robin Beanland
SeriesKinect Sports
Platform(s)Xbox One
Release
  • NA/AU: 8 April 2014
  • EU: 11 April 2014
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Kinect Sports Rivals is a sports video game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One.[1] It is the third game in the Kinect Sports series and utilizes the console's Kinect motion-sensing camera.[1] The game was announced during Microsoft's E3 2013 press event and was released in 2014.[2]

Gameplay

The game features sports such as bowling, jetski racing, rock climbing, soccer, target shooting, and tennis.[1]

Development

The staff size for Kinect Sports Rivals was 150.[3] Originally intended as an Xbox One launch title, the game was delayed from November 2013 to April 2014.[4] Ex-Rare designer Gavin Price commented on the development of the game in 2015: "During Rivals' development, Kinect kind of got dropped quite suddenly. I think in part it was because we missed the launch date - I don't think that did us any favours! But we managed to get a jetski demo out for Xbox One's launch, and we had our cloud-based Avatar creation system with the facial recognition as well."[5]

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[6] In Japan, where the game was ported for release on 4 September 2014,[23] Famitsu gave it a score of all four sevens for a total of 28 out of 40.[9]

National Post gave the game 6.5 out of 10, saying, "Kinect Sports Rivals isn't quite the revolution in motion-controlled sports gaming that we might have hoped for."[22] Digital Spy gave it three stars out of five, saying, "It's a package that rivals the very best party games for volume, so ultimately when the whistle blows and the action is go, there's plenty of fun to be had with Kinect Sports Rivals."[21] Metro similarly gave it six out of ten, saying, "Kinect is still a solution in search of a problem, and while this is an impressive tech demo it's a largely uninteresting video game experience."[24] Common Sense Media gave it three stars out of five, saying, "Unless you're a huge fan of Kinect Sports and [you] have some disposable income, leave this game for the bargain bins."[25] Edge gave it five out of ten, saying, "Rivals' biggest problem is that its chances of success are inexorably bound to the performance of the device around which it is designed."[26] EGMNow gave it four out of ten, saying, "Instead of making a case as to why you need a Kinect, Kinect Sports Rivals shows that the peripheral—and most games revolving around it—still have a long way to come."[27]

The game entered the UK all-formats sales charts at #14 and a source later indicated to Eurogamer that Rare suffered a significant loss on the project.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Farokhmanesh, Megan (10 June 2013). "Kinect Sports Rivals is a launch title for Xbox One, coming this holiday". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
  2. ^ McWhertor, Michael (25 July 2013). "Kinect Sports Rivals for Xbox One delayed to spring 2014". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b Yin-Poole, Wesley (19 May 2014). "Layoffs hit Rare following Kinect Sports Rivals flop". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  4. ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (25 July 2013). "Kinect Sports Rivals Delayed to 2014". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  5. ^ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (16 December 2015). "Rare and the rise and fall of Kinect [date mislabeled as "31 January 2017"]". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Kinect Sports Rivals for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  7. ^ Carter, Chris (7 April 2014). "Review: Kinect Sports Rivals". Destructoid. Gamurs. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. ^ Parkin, Simon (8 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b Romano, Sal (2 September 2014). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1344 [first number in the four-number score is mislabeled as "6"]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  10. ^ Helgeson, Matt (16 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals Review". Game Informer. GameStop.
  11. ^ Tan, Nicholas (15 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  12. ^ Petit, Carolyn (7 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  13. ^ Peeples, Jeremy (7 April 2014). "Review: Kinect Sports Rivals". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  14. ^ Albert, Brian (7 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  15. ^ Conditt, Jessica (7 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review: The crowd goes mild". Engadget (Joystiq). Yahoo. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  16. ^ Hayward, Andrew (7 April 2014). "Kinect Sports review". Official Xbox Magazine. Future US. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  17. ^ Riendeau, Danielle (7 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review: second string". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  18. ^ Workman, Robert (9 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review: could've been a contender". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  19. ^ Hoggins, Tom (5 May 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.(subscription required)
  20. ^ Freeman, Will (11 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review – going through the motions". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  21. ^ a b Martin, Liam (7 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review (Xbox One): An entertaining party package". Digital Spy. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  22. ^ a b Sapieha, Chad (7 April 2014). "Review – Kinect Sports Rivals: The more things change, the more they stay the same". National Post. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  23. ^ "Kinect スポーツ ライバルズ". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  24. ^ Jenkins, David (7 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review – next gen Wii Sports". Metro. DMG Media. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  25. ^ Saltzman, Marc (2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  26. ^ Edge staff (11 April 2014). "Kinect Sports Rivals review". Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  27. ^ Carsillo, Ray (17 April 2014). "EGM Review: Kinect Sports Rivals". EGMNow. EGM Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2023.

External links

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