Microsoft’s E3 2011 was jam packed with upcoming kinect titles from those with full implementation to subtle game play additions. After selling 10 millions kinects, who could blame Microsoft.
I on the other hand believe the kinect could be a better use for everyday life situations rather video games. There are a hand pick of games like Dance central and the recent Child of Eden that stand out but are we really going to be waving our hands in long term. And how many of these games are any good. Why should I spend more than £100 on a device I might play a few times with one game?
Yes you could say it’s not for me but I can’t really think who it’s for right now except for 6 year olds. No insult meant to those who have it.
The games that are out for the kinect are either gimmicky or plain boring. Even the Star wars game demoed at E3 looked bad. If that game was ever out for traditional consoles with game pads, I guarantee it would get poor reviews. Basing my judgement on what was shown at E3.
But think of a future with motion sensing and how we could use the kinect or a similar technology for our everyday lives. Things like face recognition for our laptops and control on computer functions like web browsing. Education purposes like interactive learning for kids which would make things exciting. Think of how you could check out a restaurant’s menu before you walk in.
The possibilities are endless. I know people are currently exploring many crazy ideas which is great but I would rather see Microsoft concentrating research and implementation on other uses rather than the Xbox. If it doesn’t I think it could hurt its position in the gaming market in the long run.
Here are a few hacked Kinect concepts that are cool.