[Jared Russell]

The 2008 IR remote was very important for one reason: The Randomizer. Game pieces were put in random locations prior to each match, and the IR remote was a way to tell your robot where they were.

Rebound Rumble has no equivalent aspect of randomness. Sure, you might get beat to the bridge, or the balls might be placed slightly different on the bridge, but imagine if there were 2 more "wildcard" balls that were placed somewhere on the floor pre-match. THAT would have been a strong incentive to use the Kinect.