XBox Kinect: Motion Control That Moves You
Since video games first found their way onto the market, parents have complained about the fact that their children just “laze around all day playing video games and never seem to get up and move around”. However, this all changed around a decade ago when “Dance, Dance Revolution” was released onto the market. Suddenly, this game was appearing in arcades, restaurants and even kid’s play centers. People even began to hail this game as a new way to lose excess pounds. The Nintendo Wii was able to expand on this principle by producing games which implemented body movement. The motion censored Wii remote control and the ever popular Wii Fit balance board helped the Wii to stand out from both the XBox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Clearly, Microsoft was not going to rest on its laurels. It answered back with the XBox Kinect and it clearly was a great move!
The workings of the Kinect are akin to the “Eye Toy” designed for the original PlayStation. Consider it to be akin to a web camera. However, this camera implements the movement of your body into the game. The Kinect removes the requirement to keep hold of a remote or stand on the balance board. The Kinect takes your body movements, records them and mimics them in the game. For instance, you can play the game of Volley Ball using your XBox 360 in exactly the same way as you would play it on the beach. When you move your arms to hit the ball, your character in the game will mimic your movements. That’s right – no longer will you be able to make a few moves with your remote from the comfort of the chair! You really will have to get up and move about!
The advantages offered by Kinect games do not just end there. The Kinect also implements voice activation software into its games and movies. It is easy to pause movies simple by saying the words “XBox Pause” and resume them by saying the words “XBox Play”. That may seem rather trivial, however there are several instances in which this feature comes in very handy. Have you ever “lost” your remote control and then you receive a phone call right in the middle of the good bits? This feature puts an end to frantic searching in moments such as these!
The XBox Kinect is a device which will bring fun, convenience and cardiovascular workouts to the entertainment experience in your home.