# Kinect - Faddish gimmick or valuable addition



## Codfishjoe (Sep 3, 2010)

So. Exactly what the title says. Anyone had a chance to personally use the Xbox 360 Kinect? Any thoughts or reviews/comments on it?
The previews response time to movement seems fairly solid, but I'm not so sure about the market for these types of games as well as what kind developers could effectively produce. It looks like it could be good for families and fun that way, however the pickings so far are an adventures game where you jump and lean in a raft or hit dodgeballs, or an animal game where you "pet" your animal. You pet thin air. eh?


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

A friend is a beta tester for it. He's having fun with it so far. That's about all I know.


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## ncxcstud (Apr 22, 2007)

I'm interested in it, because it appears to be a far greater leap in technology than what the Wii and Playstation will offer.

They'll combine it with games that use the regular controller as well...I'm excited about what developers will be able to do with it.

Though that magic game for the Playstation Move looked pretty darn impressive at E3 as well.


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## Codfishjoe (Sep 3, 2010)

I've heard that the magic game was very impressive as well. I was not fortunate enough to see it, but apparently it's got a lot of good hype.


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## Fluthy (Feb 9, 2008)

I just bought the Kinect today. So far it's pretty cool, the voice commands/response it awesome! The wife and kids are playing the Kinectinamls game right now and are loving it, big smiles all around! I think this has some great potential, nice effort by Microsoft!


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Only time will tell.
All depends on how quickly the game catalog can build for it.


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## fluffybear (Jun 19, 2004)

I know one of the developers and he can not stop bragging about it. I think this could change the way we play video games but without a extensive game catalog, it will just be another gadget to sit on the shelf.

He also mentioned that Nintendo has plans to release something similar to it in the very near future.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Meh, I can't get excited about it. I have a Wii, that seems to keep the kids and me happy well enough. Mariokart Wii, Woohoo!


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I'm certainly tempted to get it.


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## sum_random_dork (Aug 21, 2008)

I went ahead and ordered one via Amazon. I kept debating but overall reviews seemed pretty good. I think this may bring in more "Casusal" gamers to Xbox. I like that you stay more active in the game rather then sitting on a couch and playing.


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## cdizzy (Jul 29, 2007)

Picked one up today. The launch games are weak but I thought that when the Wii came out. I have played Kinect Adventures for a couple hours now and I have certainly had fun. I think it will only get better once the game companies buy in. 

I am happy with my purchase.


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## Brandon428 (Mar 21, 2007)

Earl said it. The games right now are crappy. If they can start implementing the tech in good games then I'll think about getting it.


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## STEVEN-H (Jan 19, 2007)

I received mine on release day. I works really well. So far My teen grandkids love it. It does take quite a bit of play room. Put sliders on the legs of the coffee table to move it out of the way. Only have the starter game pack so far but it is a winner. Kids love it and I will b getting the exercise game soon!


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

I'm curious to see reviews from users. Conceptually, I love the idea there's no controller, but wonder how well that works for games like bowling, tennis, etc? I think holding something in your hands, like the Playstation wands might actually be better for those types of games.

We have a Wii, but I thought the controller could be improved. The PS3 controller does look like it might be a better design.

Or am I just thinking a controller is needed in hand because I "broke in" with a Wii? :scratchin


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## fluffybear (Jun 19, 2004)

Steve said:


> Conceptually, I love the idea there's no controller, but wonder how well that works for games like bowling, tennis, etc? I think holding something in your hands, like the Playstation wands might actually be better for those types of games.


I was kind of wondering the same thing. Just running through some of the motions (Bowling, Tennis, Basketball, Golf, etc) it feels awkward not to have something in your hand.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

fluffybear said:


> I was kind of wondering the same thing. Just running through some of the motions (Bowling, Tennis, Basketball, Golf, etc) it feels awkward not to have something in your hand.


I suppose we could hold "props" in our hands anyway, but I don't know if that would affect the accuracy of the camera tracking our hand movements.

Otherwise, I'm thinking the PS3 may be the way to go. Their baton seems to be an improvement over the Wii controller, and I'll bet they can track it extremely accurately, looking at how it's designed.


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## fluffybear (Jun 19, 2004)

Steve said:


> I suppose we could hold "props" in our hands anyway, but I don't know if that would affect the accuracy of the camera tracking our hand movements.
> 
> Otherwise, I'm thinking the PS3 may be the way to go. Their baton seems to be an improvement over the Wii controller, and I'll bet they can track it extremely accurately, looking at how it's designed.


What is your opinion of the Wii controller with Wii motion?


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## Codfishjoe (Sep 3, 2010)

I've been hearing great things about how well its working out for families and getting everyone involved in the games. That is appealing, now I just need 150$. 200$ to get an extra game with it. 

This brings me to my next point:

Does anyone have 200$ to send me?
I'll pretend I'm a millionaire in dubai that needs 200$ to give you millions if you'd like.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

fluffybear said:


> What is your opinion of the Wii controller with Wii motion?


I haven't tried it. I knew that Kinect and Playstation Motion were coming out, so I wanted to wait until the dust settled before I invested more in the Wii, because I also like the higher resolution graphics of the other two platforms.


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## Mikemok1981 (Jul 9, 2009)

Steve said:


> Otherwise, I'm thinking the PS3 may be the way to go. Their baton seems to be an improvement over the Wii controller, and I'll bet they can track it extremely accurately, looking at how it's designed.


I've heard some exceptionally poor reviews of the PS Move. I've heard that the tracking is glitchy, the space needed is inconvinient, and most of the games out for it are poorly designed. Most of the games I've seen to to calibrate all the time for movement and even then it doesnt react very well to your moves.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Mikemok1981 said:


> I've heard some exceptionally poor reviews of the PS Move. I've heard that the tracking is glitchy, the space needed is inconvinient, and most of the games out for it are poorly designed. Most of the games I've seen to to calibrate all the time for movement and even then it doesnt react very well to your moves.


I haven't tried it, but I read this review with interest. The reviewer mentioned that room size was important:


> The definition of "too close" or "too far" changed on a game-by-game basis, too. One would say eight feet, another five and yet another 3.3 (one meter). Playing Move games in my den - a small room where I sit maybe four feet from the TV - was hit or miss.


But then added this:


> This said, when I met the proper line-of-sight and distance needs of the hardware and software, the tracking and accuracy of the Move was astounding.


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## mutelight (Oct 6, 2008)

The Kinect is a lot of fun. I own a Wii and the Move as well and while the experiences are similar, the Kinect's does differ. The Wii (with Wii motion plus) and the Move do a fantastic job with 1:1 motion tracking in your hand but there is something really cool about not needing to hold anything. Also, the way that the Kinect maps your head, both hands and feet add a new dimension to motion gaming. I have yet to hear one of my friends say anything short of, "this is awesome!" when playing Kinect Adventures or Sports.

It definitely does need a TON of room for it to be fully effective which is easily its biggest negative points. The casual games are a lot of fun and I love how they capture your friends and you playing them in either photos or video that can be uploaded to Facebook for lots of laughs.

I look forward to them adding support to the more hardcore games. Imagine playing a Rainbow Six game where you can give hand signals to your squad or leaning out to your side, as an example.


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## mystic7 (Dec 9, 2007)

sum_random_dork said:


> I went ahead and ordered one via Amazon. I kept debating but overall reviews seemed pretty good. I think this may bring in more "Casusal" gamers to Xbox. I like that you stay more active in the game rather then sitting on a couch and playing.


I make "Casual" gamers look hard core in comparison. As part of my job I had a Kinect about a month before it came out. The first night it was pretty cool, my kid loved it and I enjoyed messing with it. By the third night it became just another thing to dust. My kid loves racing games and standing up while pretending to hold a steering wheel just doesn't cut it for him. As for me, by the second day I didn't even touch the xbox. So in my opinion it will appeal to casual gamers for a limited time, at best.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

mystic7 said:


> [...] My kid loves racing games and standing up while pretending to hold a steering wheel just doesn't cut it for him.


I'm curious, if you hold a "prop" steering wheel in your hand, does that throw off the camera tracking?


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Tried it at Best Buy. I really wanted to like it, but I was very disappointed.


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

mystic7 said:


> I make "Casual" gamers look hard core in comparison. ... As for me, by the second day I didn't even touch the xbox. So in my opinion it will appeal to casual gamers for a limited time, at best.




So it's not your thing, and you're not really the intended audience, and you didn't care for it, so it's doomed?

Sales say the opposite.


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## sum_random_dork (Aug 21, 2008)

I have now had my Kinect for a few weeks, as was said the included game is kind of boring to play but it helps teach you how Kinect really works. I think it's a great item for sports games, you are actually now more or less in the game. It keeps you moving and active. I like that it can respond to both body movement and voice commands. I hope to purchase a few more games in the coming month to play with it more. I like the fact you don't have to be holding a stick or something else to get it to repsond. I am really looking forward to some of the future launch games that have been written about.


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## papa_azteca (Jan 11, 2007)

We purchased the Kinect on launch day and Kinect Sports. We have since been "renting" Kinect games from Gamefly to determine which games we are getting our kids for Christmas. We have a range of gamers in our house and a range of ages. Everyone from our 4-yr-old to me enjoy the variety of titles out there. We had no issues with multiple players of varying heights (I'm 5'11" and I played along side my 4-yr-old with no issues in tracking the differences). That being said, some titles fell flat for us. 

The games that were enjoyed best in our house were: Kinect Adventures (own) Kinect Sports (own), Dance Central, Joyride and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. All of these games had great response to all shapes and sizes of player with no tracking issues. 

The games we were disappointed in were: Zumba Fitness and Sonic Free Riders. Both of these games had terrible tracking issues. Zumba Fitness didn't give any feedback responses to what my daughter and wife were doing incorrectly and they got frustrated with just trying to attempt the same move over and over. They decided to do the tutorial and they seemed to get all the steps by just standing than actually moving. Sonic Free Riders didn't feel comfortable for us and felt we had to "lllleeeeaaaaannnnn" in order to control the character. Our 11 and 7-yr-olds got tired of it really quickly and these 2 games were returned within a couple of days of receiving them.

We are awaiting Kinectimals (although we think that our 4-yr-old will enjoy this one more than the other kids), Adrenalin Misfits and Dance Masters to try out before our final Christmas rush to the store.

All of this being said, we as a family, have really enjoyed the Kinect as an addition to our gaming collection. We do own a Wii and right now it is not getting any game time. I personally do enjoy the voice-command function of it and it works quite well (although our 4-yr-old thinks I have totally lost my mind by talking to our XBOX; his looks to me are priceless!). My cousin has one as well and we have tested the video chat and it works quite well and my daughter is looking forward to using this feature after Christmas when her friend in another state receives one.

We don't think that it's for everyone but we do think that everyone should give it a try. And try different games because not all games are for everyone.


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