Xbox 360 Kinect is Microsoft’s answer to motion controllers. With the huge success of the Nintendo Wii, it was just a matter of time before rivals Sony and Microsoft jumped on to the motion controller band wagon. Now there are two new motion controllers competing for your money, and it really comes down to Xbox 360 Kinect VS Move.
Believe it or not Microsoft had already made an attempt at motion controllers with their less than successful Sidewinder game controller for the PC, but this time things would be different. Xbox 360 Kinect has already sold more than 8 million units.
Xbox 360 Kinect or Natal?
When Microsoft first announced their controller free game play, it was called Xbox 360 Project Natal. This proved to just be a code name, and when the motion controller went to market, the name was changed to Xbox 360 Kinect.
What is Kinect?
The Xbox 360 Kinect is much more than a motion controller. It puts you in the game, and it requires no controller at all. It works much like Sonar does. The Xbox 360 Kinect sensor projects thousands of infrared lights into your room. When the lights touch your body or anything else in the room, the software that is built into Kinect can quickly determine where you are in the room. It does this by calculating the speed at which the light travels to your body. Much like Sonar, this can create a 3D image of the room and everything in it, but there is more to Kinect.
The Xbox 360 Kinect also features two cameras that are capable of many different things. It also has built in microphones for voice commands.
So does the Xbox 360 Kinect work?
The simple answer is yes and no. The Xbox 360 Kinect does allow you to use your body as the controller, but it does not really fit into regular games on the market today. Kinect games are different, and they don’t always work. In some games there is a noticeable LAG between your movements, and what actually happens in the game. At times it can be frustrating, but these little flaws are few and far between.
Games need to be re-invented or re-designed to take full control of the Xbox 360 Kinect. It is missing one vital piece. You can wave your hands, jump, clap and do all sorts of things, but you can’t really move forwards, or backwards or sideways. Kinect does do head tracking, but without the ability to move your body forward it just doesn’t really connect. If the Kinect had a nunchuk like controller like the Wii, then it would be extremely immersive, but Kinect has been marketed as controller free gaming, so I doubt this will happen.
The Xbox 360 Kinect does work very well in a different way. Navigation. Being able to navigate the Xbox dashboard by just moving your hand in the air is amazing. You can move your hand to the left, grab the air and swipe the whole screen to the left. It is much like using an Iphone, but you do not have to touch anything.
You can sit on the couch, play, rewind or fast forward a movie without ever touching a controller. This is truly lazy, but completely genius. It makes television remote controls completely unnecessary. This type of technology should and most likely will be used in every TV in the future. No misplacing the remote controls.
There are also voice commands. You can simply say, “Xbox.” A menu appears with more commands. If you are watching a movie, you can say, “Xbox, Pause,” and the movie will pause. In order to play you just say, “Xbox, play,” and the movie starts playing again.
Do you have what it takes to play with the Xbox 360 Kinect?
There is one problem with the Xbox 360 Kinect that should be noted. It does require a good bit of free space for it to work correctly. The Xbox 360 Kinect requires a minimum of six feet between you and the sensor. For some people that is too much to ask. If you don’t have this much free space, Kinect will not be able to “see” you properly.
Xbox 360 Kinect Fitness
This is where the Xbox 360 Kinect really shines. Fitness games really work and they work exceptionally well with the Kinect. Games like, Your Shape are not only reshaping the way we play games, but they are also reshaping gamers literally. There is no better way to get a workout. As you get tired, you tend to loose proper posture when exercising. Your shape with the help of the Kinect alerts you of this. The end result is a real work out that is more consistent.
Games for the Xbox 360 Kinect?
There are quite a few games on the market for the Xbox 360 Kinect, but are they any good? Just like every thing else there are a few really good Kinect games, and then there are quite a few that are just bad. Here is a good Xbox 360 Kinect games list.
- Kinectimals
- Your Shape Fitness Evolved
- Dance Central
- Kinect Sports
- Zumba Fitness
- Child Of Eden
As you can see that is a pretty small list, but in time developers will learn the best ways to use Kinect, and then this Kinect games list will grow.
What about the Xbox 360 Kinect Adventures?
This is the game or demo that comes with the Xbox 360 Kinect. It feels more like a demo than a game. It is fun at first, but then it quickly becomes boring once the novelty has worn off. There are portions of this game where the Lag is very noticeable, and it really effects the game play. Kids will love it though.
It lets them play games like never before.
Is Microsoft’s motion controller a glimpse into the future, or will Xbox 360 Kinect be nothing but a bad memory?
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13 Aug 2011, 7:41 am
[...] martial arts (MMA) training techniques with the controller-free motion sensing technology of the Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360 (required and sold separately) to get you in the shape of your life while you have fun doing it. [...]
06 Jul 2011, 9:40 am
[...] at motion controller gaming has been a huge success, but will it change the way we play games like Microsoft’s Kinect? Only time will tell, and in the end it really comes down to Playstation Move VS [...]