Most at home consoles are played with a controller while sitting comfortably on the couch; The Nintendo Wii took gaming to the next level through their motion sensor controller. The Microsoft Kinect is going one step further and introducing gaming that won’t even require a controller. The technology will use sensors that detect the user’s movements and bring interaction to an entirely new level. The addition of voice recognition technology will bring gaming into an entirely new area, with an almost limitless potential.
Microsoft is betting big on this new technology and you should expect it to be as spectacular as the innovations brought around by Nintendo’s Wii. Sony and Microsoft have long fought over the hardcore gamer market with their suite of games, while Nintendo went after the non-gamer market with the infectious Wii style games that rely more on having fun and moving around, than pinpoint joystick accuracy. The Kinect will be Sony’s entrant to compete in that market and if the products works as well as preliminary tests demonstrate, then Sony will be a major contender for those consumer dollars. If the Kinect’s recognition sensor technology is as successful as they claim it is, then you can expect every other manufacturer to quickly start on a similar device for their own systems.
The Microsoft Kinect will allow a player to interact with their game console in a way never before realized. Of course, the more interactive style of gaming is preferred by many groups as they get children up off the couch and moving around. The Kinect is scheduled for release at the end of 2010 and is expected to be sold out immediately and remain on back order for some time. Expect to see the lines of people camped out in front of stores days in advance.