Microsoft has seemingly cancelled the Kinect puzzle game Matter that was due for release on Xbox Live this year. It was being developed by Blind Wink Games, a studio formed by Universal Pictures and film director Gore Verbinski, famous for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and the upcoming Lone Ranger adaptation. The official soundbite from an unnamed representative of the company states, “Microsoft Studios is no longer pursuing this title. We have no further details to share at this time.”
This is a contrast to its debut at E3 2012, when Phil Spencer, Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios, sang its praises: “To a lot of people who haven’t played games for a long time, somebody standing completely stationary with a controller in their hands kind of seems emotionless, even though we know that we’ll be sweating or twitching. And [it was Gore Verbinki’s] feeling, that with motion and movement, that the connection of the emotion that’s happening on screen and how the player feels would be more natural.”
Neither Verbinski or Blind Wink Games has commented thus far on the reasons behind the cancellation. Is this a sign that Microsoft are moving away from Kinect? Given the multitude of rumours suggesting that the device will be mandatory with the next iteration of the Xbox, it seems highly unlikely.
[Source: Joystiq]
