In case you’re still on the fence on whether to spring for the Kinect motion-control kit for the Xbox 360, here’s all you need to know: the games are fun as heck, and there’s a chance that you could hurt yourself. At least that’s what we got from the reviewer shown on the video above. What else did we learn today? Well, A) this dude has balls. You gotta love the fact that he didn’t edit the best part of the game review (at around 2:47). B) Watching people play Kinect games can be just as entertaining as playing the games yourself, and C) if you’re going to play motion control games, make sure you have enough space to move around. One more “Kinect fail” video after the break.
Besides the fact that this is Oprah’s last season, giving you a deadline to sit in a studio that’s filled with a hefty female-to-male ratio if you haven’t already, here’s another reason: free stuff is good. What could be better? If said free stuff is a free Xbox 360 console bundled with the new Kinect motion control kit, which amounts to $300 worth of motion-controlled fun for your living room. The Kinect bundle hasn’t been launched yet (it’s set for a November 4 release), so we don’t know if the studio audience already got theirs or if they just got vouchers for claiming their free Xbox 360 kits on launch day. Smart move for MS though. Oprah’s audience is certainly an untapped gaming market. Nevertheless, if we were in that audience at the time, we’d probably be easy to find. We’d be screaming the loudest.
If you thought batting around the Wii was fun, then you’re probably pretty hyped up about Microsoft’s Kinect that’ll let you use more than your arm to move around a game world. So here’s the important part (in case you missed the title up there): The Kinect will officially start shipping on November 4th in North America. For everyone else on the fence, you might want to catch the Kinect Experience mobile demo tour they’re going to be holding this summer, where they’ll let you fool around with “Kinect Sports,” “Kinectimals,” “Kinect Joy Ride,” “Kinect Adventures” and MTV Games’ and Harmonix’s “Dance Central” in case you want to try it out first.
Check the demo tour schedule, along with a couple of old videos of a Wii-playing dog after the break, just so we can all remember how far we’ve gone.
Microsoft didn’t announce the official pricing when they showed off the motion-sensing Kinect accessory during E3, but it’s been rumored to cost around $150 during the time. An online listing on Microsoft’s online store almost confirms the price ($149.99) when it ships on November 4th. We have to say “almost” because apparently, they’re not so sure about the price either. According to a note on the page, it’s only an estimate, so prices could still change between now and the launch date. So yeah, we’re almost sure that the rumors are true.
Microsoft officially unveiled their Kinect motion-sensing controller during the E3 conference. Previously known as ‘Project Natal’, the new controller pretty much lets you rest your thumbs but will give your whole body a workout—basically, instead of using your thumbs to move a Jedi warrior around a 3D game world, you’d be controlling the Jedi on the screen with your own body movements in the comfort of your own living room. Sort of like a Wii game that you can’t cheat through with cheesy minimal hand movements. Also, yes, they’re actually coming out with a Star Wars game where you play a Jedi, complete with light saber dueling action. It may or may not be as easy as it looks though. For all we know, it’ll probably depend on how much training you have with a light saber.
