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Play Kinect This Week (7/15/2010)!

Kinect Fan — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:25:49 +0000

The Xbox Kinect will be available to play on Thursday, 7/15/2010, at 13 different Macy’s all across the country! Hopefully there is one near you, and you’ll be able to actually try it out before you buy it! If you’re not able to make it, then definitely come back to the KinectGames.com website here, and I’ll tell you all about the experience!

Here are the cities with a participating Macy’s:

Herald Square, Manhattan, New York
South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesta, California
State Street, Chicago, IL
Pleasanton, California
Roosevelt Field, Garden City, Long Island, New York
Lenox Square, Atlanta, Georgia
Valley Fair, San Jose, California
Dadeland, Miami, Florida
Tysons Corner, McLean, Virginia
Easton Town Center, Columbus, Ohio
Scottsdale, Arizona
Bellevue, Seattle, Washington
Galleria, Houston, Texas

Kinect Accessories

Kinect Fan — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:58:17 +0000

Various Kinect accessories are currently in the works, to be able to help you to mount your Kinect device in whatever way works best for your current home entertainment center setup.

MadCatz, a popular video game accessories maker is currently planning these Kinect accessories:

Mad Catz Flat Panel Mounting Bracket (MSRP: $49.99)
If you have a flat panel television, then you’ll be able to mount Kinect to either the bottom or the top of your TV using the already standard screw holes that come standard on most flat panel televisions. This bracket features a solid metal construction.

Mad Catz Floor Stand (MSRP: $29.99)
This accessory features a base that is weighted, as well as a 2.5-foot mounting pole with an adapter that is built-in that will allow you to mount the Kinect right on top. If you don’t already have a spot cleared out for Kinect, or your entertainment system isn’t set up correctly for it, then this is definitely a good right-out-of-the-box Kinect mounting solution.

Mad Catz Base Adapter (MSRP: $14.99)
If you’re lacking the free space buy you already own a tripod that you don’t mind dedicating to Kinect’s usage, then you can buy this base adapter that will allow you to be able to hook your Kinect up to any old standard tripod, to allow it to fit securely in place.

Project Natal is now called Kinect!

Kinect Fan — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 07:24:46 +0000

We all knew that the name Project Natal wasn’t going to be the final name. At E3 2010, Microsoft announced that the new name is going to be Kinect. It’s a new way to “connect” to your video games, as well as borrowing the root of the word kinetic, meaning motion. The name definitely suits it perfectly.

Here is a picture of the final accessory build:

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Official Kinect Release Date

Kinect Fan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:39:26 +0000

Microsoft has just announced at E3 2010 that the Kinect release date with be November 4, 2010.

It will be launching with 15 different titles, and here are some of the ones officially announced:

Your Shape: The most popular game shown at E3. It looks awesome! Setting the bar high for Kinect fitness games.
Kinectimals – Train various cats (your kids will love this game).
Kinect Sports – Play beach volleyball, table tennis, soccer, and other games by moving your body.
Joyride – A high speed kart racing game that should be quite fun!
Kinect Adventures – Various outdoor type adventures with obstacle courses, etc.
Dance Central – Dance around without having to step on a board or a pad.

No price was announced yet!

Kinect Lag

Kinect Fan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:58:59 +0000

Kinect lag is one of the issues and concerns that people have had since videos were released of Kinect demos at E3 2009. From those videos, you could definitely see that the motion wasn’t 1:1 but that it was acceptable for the small amount of time that people were playing.

Russ Frushtick, from MTV.com, wrote about Kinect lag, from the private showing of Kinect to some members of the media. He was there with his stop watch, and noticed an average lag time of 0.10 seconds, with the best being 0.08 seconds and the worst being 0.12 seconds. While any new technology like Kinect will have lag, it’s nice to have a 1:1 experience. But, even Nintendo took a few years with their Nintendo Wii to get to a point where they have 1:1, with their new motion sensor addon.

At the E3 2010, Microsoft showcased a Kinect that had a lot less lag time, and even then, they still have a few months before ship date. After that, they’ll be able to release firmware updates in order to improve it over time.

Is Kinect lag, even though it’s minimal, a deal breaker for you? Comment below.

Kinect Updates

Kinect Fan — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:04:30 +0000

Ramon Nuez of the Huffington Post, got a chance to get a sneak peak of Kinect, and got a few details from members of the Kinect team. Most of the details and specs were things we already knew, but it’s nice to have them all confirmed in one spot. Here is the list of Kinect technical details he received:

3D camera
IR camera
Current games will not be compatible with Kinect
[Work in progress] Use voice commands to control services i.e. music, video’s, movies
[Work in progress] Facial recognition
[Work in progress] Use gesturing to navigate the XBOX menu structure
[Work in progress] Distinguishing between the primary player and a spectator
[Work in progress] Suppressing background noise

He also gave us some first hand insight as to what it was like to play Kinect:

“It was a great experience. There I was (without a controller) standing, kicking, swatting, jumping and working up a sweat. The responsiveness of the Kinect system was incredible and very accurate. If I physically moved forward, back, swung faster or slower my dodge ball avatar responded in kind.”

If this gets you excited about Kinect, and you want to know as soon as you’re able to pre order it, then sign up for our newsletter below. We won’t spam (I hate spam) but you will find out when the price, and when you can pre order Kinect.

Is Kinect an Accessory or Addon?

Kinect Fan — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:14:26 +0000

I have received a few e-mails already asking the question, “Is Kinect an accessory?” or “Is Kinect an addon?” The answer is yes, Kinect is an accessory for Xbox 360.

When Kinect comes out, you’ll need to buy it, but it will be compatible with any Xbox 360 on the market. That will enable you to play any games that make use of Kinect. My guess is that Microsoft will ship some Kinect games with the accessory, so that you’ll be able to experience the excitement of Kinect, but then you’ll have to pay separately for any games released by other developers.

If you do not have an Xbox 360 yet, then head on over to Amazon via the link below to get an Xbox 360, because they will be harder to get the closer we get to the Kinect launch.

Kinect Lifespan Will Be 5 Years

Kinect Fan — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:37:23 +0000

According to an interview with CVG, Microsoft’s Director of Product Management, Aaron Greenberg said, “The richness of the technology is going to really enable experiences that never had existed before,” he added. “And we’re not just speaking about what we’re doing this year, but I think two, three, four, five years from now as this evolves. Millions of consumers this Holiday will be able to experience [Project Natal] (Now called Kinect) and this is just the beginning of something that will change the way consumers interact with entertainment and change way our publishing partners think about game development.”

Although he wouldn’t really go into a Kinect vs PS3 Motion Controller debate, he did say this: “We obviously could have done a motion controller if we’d have wanted to do that, but we felt that would be a much more interruptive experience. We had an opportunity here to really do something that’s transformative and brings a whole new category of experiences to life. Now we’re saying to creators: ‘We can see when you move your hand, when you move your feet, we can track your body. I can stand in front of this sensor and it can recognize my face and know if it’s me, or my brother or my sister.’”

I am definitely excited about the Kinect possibilities, and what Kinect games will be available. If you want to be in the loop as far as Kinect updates, then sign up for our newsletter below… it is FREE, and you’ll be one of the first to know any hot Kinect news, and when you’ll be able to buy Kinect!

Kinect Compatibility: Existing Xbox 360 Games?

Kinect Fan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:48:34 +0000

Many people who are interested in Kinect are concerned about Kinect compatibility with existing games. Will we be able to use the Kinect controls on existing games? Unfortunately, no. Kudo Tsunoda recently said that it takes a lot of reworking of a game’s code in order to make games backward compatible. These would be too big of changes for quick little fixes and updates to games that could be downloaded.

But, there are many more Kinect games, that are exclusive to Kinect and will feature Kinect controls that will keep people busy. Certain game developers may release sequels to their games and utilize Kinect, but so far nothing has been officially announced yet.

If you want to be kept in the know as to what games will be compatible with Kinect, then sign up for our newsletter below. I’ll keep you in the know as soon as important information regarding Kinect is announced. The best part is, the newsletter is free!

Kinect Pros and Cons

Kinect Fan — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:40:52 +0000

Kinect is the new gaming technology that Microsoft is developing as an add-on to their Xbox 360 console. What is potentially revolutionary about this new gaming system is the promise that games can be played without the use of a controller. Instead players will use their own voices and body movements to control the game. But is this new system all that it is hyped up to be? Here are some Kinect pros and cons to help you decide.

Kinect Pros

No controllers are necessary to play the game. This means there will no longer be a learning curve for having to learn how to use controllers for playing games, which lowers the barrier to entry and will make games more accessible to more players.
Has the potential to revolutionize the gaming experience to make it more interactive and realistic. The gamers become an integral part of the game itself.
Games are ready to play with no need for any calibrations or adjustments.
Introduces gaming to a wider audience than just hard core gamers.
Great for younger children.
Technology has the potential to transform not only gaming but other forms of entertainment, media and computer technology through the use of voice recognition and body movement rather than using controllers, remote controls, etc.

Kinect Cons

Experienced gamers may feel less in control of some games.
Potential incompatibilities with some established games.
People with mobility issues or other disabilities may not have full range of motion necessary to play some games.

Kinect does hold great promise to revolutionize the video game playing experience and make gaming more accessible to a wider audience. Kinect is due to be released at the end of 2010. Only time will tell if this new gaming system lives up to its promising potential.