November 10.

We phoned around all day and finally managed to track down a store that had a demo available.

Now I have been an avid follower of all things Kinect since it was announced as “Project Natal” and at long last the big day had arrived.

I must admit though that in the last few weeks leading up to the launch, my faith had begun to waver. After the bombshell was dropped that the machine’s capabilities would be dumbed down, in order to keep the price reasonable for the consumers already skeptical of its abilities, I myself began to wonder if Kinect would truly live up to it’s hype.

Walking toward the demo stand, I was as nervous as a 17 year old girl on prom night. Not knowing what to expect I slowly entered the Kinect’s field of vision and was greeted by an avatar mirror image of myself staring back at me.

Wow.

That is so freaken kool.

The 12 year old in me had resurfaced and had no fear of looking like a complete tool in front of a store full of people.

And that I did. Jumping, kicking and waving my arms like a mad man to help my virtual buddy achieve his goal of becoming the ultimate adventurer.

I walked in there unsure of whether or not I should part with my cash for this unexplored tech. When I walked out though, it was with a brand new Kinect proudly tucked under my arm.

I guess deep down I always knew that this device was a bit too special for me to simply overlook.

So please allow me to introduce you to the next era of gaming…welcome.

NUTS AND BOLTS

SENSOR:
Colour and depth-sensing lenses
Voice microphone array
Tilt motor for sensor adjustment
Fully compatible with existing Xbox 360 consoles

FIELD OF VIEW:
Horizontal field of view: 57 degrees
Vertical field of view: 43 degrees
Physical tilt range: ± 27 degrees
Depth sensor range: 1.2m – 3.5m

DATA STREAMS:
320×240 16-bit depth @ 30 frames/sec
640×480 32-bit colour@ 30 frames/sec
16-bit audio @ 16 kHz

SKELETAL TRACKING SYSTEM:
Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players
Tracks 20 joints per active player
Ability to map active players to Live Avatars

AUDIO SYSTEM:
Live party chat and in-game voice chat (requires Xbox Live Gold Membership)
Echo cancellation system enhances voice input
Speech recognition in multiple

ONE MONTH LATER

So we have been testing this fella for about a month since launch day.

It has certainly been an interesting (and exhausting) experience and one that will continue to invoke more intrigue.

The tracking of human bodies is on point but the extent of its accuracy is dependent on the game being played.

Kinect Adventures, which came bundled with the device, is a great party game but does lack some of the finer details required to hold the attention of more seasoned gamers.

On the other hand we got to experience the Minority Report inspired UI of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, which truly sparked the excitement for what this baby is really capable of doing.

Seeing yourself fully immersed in the gaming environment and being able to interact with the world around you; now that was something special.

You may also have heard from various other sources that you need a massive amount of living room space for Kinect.

It is true that the bigger your joint is, the better your controller-less experience will be. That said, if you have about 5 to 6 feet of open space you are pretty much good to go.

The vocal recognition is also quite accurate. This is surprising in itself as this function was technically only made compatible for the US market when it launched.

Hopefully we will see an update soon that caters for the nuances of the various South African accents, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up on that one.

We haven’t had a chance to test out the Kinect’s functionality on XBL yet, but from what we have seen and heard everything works as promised.

One more thing I’d like to touch on is the object scanning function which was showcased in the first hype videos back in 2009.

I did some research and it seems that Sony managed to snatch up the patent to this tech before Microsoft (even though Sony had no plans of incorporating it in their motion control system).

There is some positive news though, as Kudo Tsunoda has recently announced that this tech will be featuring in future ‘core’ games.

Let’s hope this does not disappoint.

BEYOND GAMING

Within the first week of its launch Kinect grabbed the focus of many a hacker looking to unlock the device’s potential.

From new age puppetry, iPad motion integration, real world 3D mapping and Windows 7 gesture control; the developments made in the short time the tech has been available have been nothing short of revolutionary.

The one which has created the biggest stir is Evoluce’s use of the device to control the Windows interface.

A company that specialises in multi-touch control systems, Evoluce have managed to bring all our sci-fi dreams to life.

And this is only the beginning.

The word right now is that Kinect should be fully compatible with Windows and available to the public by next year, so start getting excited.

CONCLUSION

In the same way that the Nintendo Wii started a new era in gaming, the Kinect has completely revolutionised the way we interact with our on screen heroes.

Where the Move may have perfected the Wii remote, the Kinect has completely done away with it.

This in itself is reason enough to give the device a chance.

It has taken a bold step into the unknown and although the current list of games may be less than inspiring, the potential is undeniable.

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