The Kinect option is about 5th on my list of things to be excited about with this year's game. I am genuinely excited about the prospects for Total Swing Control, not because of the stance and ball position tools, or even the Strike Meter. BTW, I agree with your comment that we already have the tools to accomplish the same things under different names. The Strike Meter looks like something I've seen in Hot Shots Golf. Anyway, back to my point, from what I'm picking up, there's an authentic new component that's at the core of the new swing mechanic. It involves tempo to the extent that the new golfer animation engine is required to give you a level of visceral feedback for it to work.
I'm still very much a doubting Thomas on the Kinect front. Even if the swing works to my satisfaction with it, I'm concerned that I'll be discouraged from using it because of what looks to me to be a tedious and inefficient navigation system.
EA Sports is having a tough time describing the full benefit of the new swing mechanic in their superficial previews, but after reading what Fred Parrow (Oblong) had to say about it in his "Game Changer" blog, and in subsequent postings and messages, he had been sincerely affected to a degree I haven't seen him admit to before. These videos we're seeing so far, showing the game in Amateur difficulty level with the waist-high/follow-cam fare aren't showing me what this game will look or play like for me.
I'll admit that I'm a Kool-Aid drinker, and I'll have it in my house day one. Heck, I still play Tiger Woods 12 Live Tournaments almost every day that I'm off and on some work days, as admittedly flawed and short-sighted as this game is... I can't explain why or how I still derive some enjoyment from it, but I do. I guess it's the only golf game in town right now, so it gets away with a lot.
Playoffs and full career customization with DLC would be nice as well but that's a pipe dream at this point. I'd be shocked if that was in TW13. Looks like I have to start buying this game every 2 years to notice a real difference.
As for career mode, I really haven't heard any mention of what changes are being made for it, but it can only go up. I think the career mode just flat out sucks in this game over the the last three years. I haven't seen any mention of what they may be doing with it, which makes me think they maybe haven't bothered with a lot of change here.
LOL... I was just thinking the same thing today after I finished my Weekly Live Tournament round at Torrey Pines! There's got to be some alternatives they can insert cheap here!?