Microsoft Kinect: Revolutionary or Just Another Wii?
As we all know, Microsoft's newest marvel, Kinect, is going to start being released worldwide next week. Question is, is it really worth our money?
Kinect was first announced on the 1st of June, 2009 at E3 under the pseudonym Project Natal. Not much was said except for the fact that it will be revolutionary, and that it will implement a camera and sensors that would allow you to play without the use of an actual controller.
This is the video demonstration of Project Natal as it was known back then, in action.
Despite the originality that Kinect had to offer, many critics spared no time and immediately shunned it as a "Wii ripoff". It has to be said, Kinect had an eerie resemblance to its Nintendo counterpart.
The main features that separated it from the Wii was the voice control, which allowed the player to give the Xbox simple commands, like turn on, play game, etc. Another was the fact that unlike the Wii, Kinect had absolutely nothing you could hold. It was all up to your hands, contrary to the Wii, which uses a remote and a nun-chuck.
Personally, I'm ecstatically waiting for its release. With a price expected to be from around $100-$200 it shouldn't be that bad. Plus, with a lineup of games already prepared, it seems like it'll have a lasting effect for a while.
So with that being said, only time will tell if Kinect will pull Microsoft out of the gutter, or bring about their potential decline in gaming.
Alan Geday
Reader Comments (2)
1) Kinect WILL BE released starting next week... it cannot start being released.
2) Neither "turn on" nor "play game" are valid commands within Kinect's voice recognition system.
3) The price is confirmed... it will be released at $150 worldwide... a $100 interval due to lack of research leaves readers in budgetary limbo.
4) Add a comma after "$200".
5) Not much of a lineup will make up Kinect's launch titles.
6) And most importantly, E3 2010 killed all insinuations of a Wii ripoff after hands on demos showed clearly no exaggeration in trailers (unlike Wii trailers)
Other than that, charming debut bruv... keep at it :)
no its not another wii. The ps3 one is ANOTHER wii on steroids.