Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War: Judgement not supporting Kinect

Epic Games upcoming prequel Gears of War: Judgement will not support Microsoft's Kinect sensor.

While we are starting to see more "core" games like Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim sell out to the Kinect and its voice recognition software (hey, everything is better with Kinect right?), Gears of War creator Cliff Belszinski confirmed the latest installment to the Gears franchise will not utilize it.

Speaking to GamesTM, Bleszinski admitted that he "likes" the Kinect, but that it hasn't quite lived up to its potential so far – whatever it may be.

“There are not a lot of things that wound up in there. There’s one thing actually that you just reminded me of though, is that we are not supporting Kinect in Gears Judgment," Bleszinski said.

"I like Kinect, I've been a fan of it," he added, "but I don't think it has been fully realized as far as the potential of the device."

"Dance Central 3 looks great and all, but I’m curious how the ‘core’ games will work out," he concluded.

I find it a little odd that multiplatform games like Mass Effect 3 and Skyrim are using Microsoft's core peripheral while Epic Games has no plans to, especially with an Xbox 360 staple title like Gears of War. Heck, even Madden NFL 13 and FIFA 13 will be using the Kinect.

It seems, at this point, many core games are using the Kinect simply for its voice recognition software. Many of the titles use it to make it simpler for players to issue orders or perform commands. For the latest sports titles, Microsoft confirmed at their E3 press briefing that Madden and FIFA will use Kinect to communicate with the AI players on your team calling plays and audibles.

I admit, when it comes to registering your commands, the Kinect is fairly accurate. Improvements can be made, particularly with natural conversation, but for the most part the Kinect performs well. I would've liked to be able to shout commands to my squad in Gears of War Judgement.