When Sony and Microsoft saw that Nintendo’s Wii was both wildly popular and incredibly fun, they realized that they had to cut into the market of motion-controlled gaming. Sony developed the Move for the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft made the Kinect for the Xbox 360. The Kinect strives to take gaming to a new level of virtual reality, only without the clunky mask. It uses some complex technology and is designed to work with the new version of the Xbox 360. A number of quality games were released to compete with Wii’s options, too.
The Kinect uses a 3D camera that can differentiate a person’s body from its surroundings and follow the movement of your limbs. Your body becomes the controller. Some Kinect games use the camera to take photos of dramatic moments or record videos of vibrant sequences. Many make recordings using the built-in microphone, which can also be used to replace your headset in Xbox Live communication.
Microsoft designed the Kinect to accompany the new Xbox 360 Slim, which has a special auxiliary port to accommodate both the USB and power requirements of the Kinect. It is still compatible with the older version of the Xbox 360, but it requires an extra power cable to operate if that’s how you’re using it.
Microsoft released some games for the Kinect right off the bat to compete with Sony and Nintendo. Kinect Adventures features a number of fun mini-games for the whole family; Kinectimals lets players interact with animals on-screen; Kinect Sports includes soccer, track, table tennis, bowling, boxing, and volleyball; and Your Shape: Fitness Evolved includes a number of fitness games and classes to challenge the Wii Fit. More recently, Star Wars Kinect is a very popular title, since players get to play as Star Wars characters, using their body to fight enemies with a lightsaber.
The Kinect is a hugely popular addition to the Xbox 360, expending the console’s lifespan by a few years, at least, giving Microsoft time to come up with something really revolutionary for the next generation. In the meantime, it has some really fun games and makes playing more interactive, which is good for your health, too.
