E3 2011

E3 2011: Hole in the Wall opens for Kinect in 2011

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Microsoft bringing downloadable Xbox Live Arcade title based on humiliation-based TV game show later this year.

LOS ANGELES--Microsoft has been doling out information on some of Xbox Live's upcoming highlights for the remainder of the year throughout E3 week. On Monday, that effort took the form of a full reveal for this year's Summer of Arcade lineup, with the first of five games expected to go live July 20.

Hole in the Wall forces gamers to supply their own dunk tanks.

Hole in the Wall forces gamers to supply their own dunk tanks.

Today, Microsoft announced Hole in the Wall, a Kinect-enabled take on the TV game show, will also arrive this year. In the game show, versions of which have been redone in the US, Japan, and other countries, contestants attempt to contort their bodies to conform to an on-rushing wall. If they succeed, the wall passes harmlessly by. If they fail, the wall pushes contestants off into a waiting pool of water.

Microsoft's version of the game will play out much the same, sans dunk tank. Using Kinect, up to four players can compete to quickly mimic on-rushing open spaces. The game also includes a Survival mode, where players engage in a continuous stream of on-rushing walls to see how many they can pass through successfully.

Microsoft did not reveal pricing information for Hole in the Wall.

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.

18 Comments

  • shnull

    Posted Aug 6, 2011 1:58 am GMT

    fruit ninja kinect ... hole in the wall .... really ... i'm so excited , what's next, apple bobbing ?

  • boarwar

    Posted Aug 4, 2011 2:19 am GMT

    they should have MXC (most extreme elimination challenge) with the original announcers...instead of a game where you stand..still. PS...the show "hole in the wall" is like 8x better than watching a green outline of yourself

  • AvatarMan96

    Posted Jun 24, 2011 7:21 am GMT

    there's no way to tell if you fit in the hold or if you would have "knocked some of it off". Plus, it doesn't seem like a very deep game that you'll get lots of hours into

  • gp3tron

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 7:40 am GMT

    This is lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy programing, will rank as one of the top 10 lazy ideas for a game, and its even worse that the idea has come up in 2011...

  • Units420

    Posted Jun 9, 2011 6:51 am GMT

    I see people talking about the show in the past tense....people realize this show is still on the air? And I personally find myself laughing my ass off sometimes. Especially when people of the much heftier persuasion go on the show, lol. If I had a Kinect and this was cheap, I'd probably snatch it up

  • Poodger

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 7:20 pm GMT

    If this wasn't based on the tv show, a game called "Hole in the Wall" would probably be rated AO

  • monson21502

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 7:19 pm GMT

    the name of this game reminds of me a song i used to sing when i was a kid.... theres a place in france where naked ladies dance, theres a hole in the wall where we can see it all

  • monson21502

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 2:42 pm GMT

    would be great if the kinect worked right... by the time i get the menu to the game im already so mad i dont feel like having fun playing...

  • Dr_McTeabag

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 1:20 pm GMT

    @raverstar, I agreed until you mentioned steering wheels as if they are just a gimmicky peripheral. It's the only way to play Forza (one of my favorite xbox exclusives). But yes, bring on Gears 3.

  • redskinStu

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 12:53 pm GMT

    Gotta hand it to Gamespot, they are certainly doing their part to promote the Kinect.

  • RAVERSTAR

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 12:45 pm GMT

    Holy sheete, I just realised, I haven't plugged in my Kinect this whole year so far. Frankly, It don't look like thats about to change looking at feeble offerings like this. Is Wii-style movement based gaming a dead end? moreover, did real gamers ever really want it? No... answers NO, is'nt it? In the bin Kinect goes, with rumbling forcefeedback steering wheels and lightguns. Stupid really. Gears 3 anyone?

  • Spincut

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 12:30 pm GMT

    Oh god, this game show was real? I was watching on TV in a car wash or something and I though it weas a joke/on shot.

    Since I think this may have been based on one of many Japanese game show esque challenges, why don't they just have one big crazy japanese game show challenge package for kinect instead? Much better than just "hole in the wall" stand alone.

  • IceJester45

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 12:19 pm GMT

    Sounds like a tech demo. I hope this isn't 1200 MS Points.

  • theJBlounge

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 12:05 pm GMT

    I liked the name "Human Tetris" more

  • The_Shadow_Link

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 12:02 pm GMT

    Those this come with a complementary Pool and Pushers into said pool for falling a wall? Because otherwise, not interested.

  • jazzyrider

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 12:01 pm GMT

    Sounds fun. Never saw the tv shows but from a party point of view with friends, this looks like a hit!

  • Gamingclone

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 11:59 am GMT

    The TV show was nice, but what made it fun was that, if you didnt fit in the hole; you would either 1) Break the wall, this was way too funny 2) Fall in the water, hope you can swim and 3) Break the wall and fall into the water. All the above is what made the show fun to participate in. To watch... not really. How is this game going to be great? Im just wondering. Its not like Kinect is going to push you into a bucket of water or throw a physical wall at you.

  • Evz0rz

    Posted Jun 8, 2011 11:35 am GMT

    This seems like something I would get bored of after 15 mins