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Article by Cameron Spink
Microsoft's new toy for the Xbox 360, the Kinect, goes on sale tomorrow. In fact the Kinect is so much more than a toy. It is sophisticated enough to do a number of things you could only dream of. Firstly, the Kinect has been designed to attempt to tap into the Wii market by doing away with the need for a controller. In this regard it goes one step further than the Wii. Instead of nunchucks the user acts as the controller and, in games which allow, all gestures are mimicked on screen. This is pretty revolutionary in itself. Reviewers continually compare this with the precog machine that Tom Cruise uses in the Minority Report. While such a comparison will get cliché rather quickly it is probably the most accurate representation of what this technology actually is. Picture sweeping gestures to minimize and a zoom function that results from flicking your wrist.
Secondly, the Kinect has build in facial recognition. That means it can identify the user by their facial patterns. Such a technology makes you visualize those many sci-fi movie scenes where a soft female voice greets the protagonist with “Welcome home ...”. It also raises privacy issues down the track. Finally, the Kinect is, largely, able to be controlled by voice. It will respond to a lot of simple commands like pause or play. However, the user is required to state “xbox” before each command. Such blatant product placement is sickening but should not deter one from utilizing this new technology.
There are further teething problems with the Kinect. The most prevalent is that one requires a significant living room to use the Kinect. This means that all of you who share leg space with your coffee table will struggle with the Kinect. Furthermore, the Kinect does not deal well with multiplayer games. It seems that the Kinect's accurate sensor has real issues when more than one entity is inside the prescribed area. It is likely that such issues will be eliminated in the future but, as with every sort of new technology, if you want it early then you have to put up with it becoming significantly obsolete.
It seems we are in a technology race. The two big contenders are Steve Jobs' Apple and Bill Gates' run Microsoft. The thing about technological evolution is that it will never stop. First there was video, then there was DVD, then high definition Blu-ray and recently the 3D riding the coat tails of Avatar's success. Of these the DVD was probably the most fundamental, with high definition being a significant step. However, 3D technology is about as irrelevant an upgrade as possible. In-fact some of Hollywood's best director's refuse to use this technology (like Christopher Nolan).
It is in this light that I view Kinect. Maybe it'll be what Microsoft were envisaging in about two generations. Right now it feels like an unwarranted indulgence and, at the price they are asking, is hard to justify. One thing to note is that for serious gamers, yours truly, the Kinect is not a game changer. Many users have commented on the sluggishness of the Kinect's response to movements which will make it practically useless, and frustrating, for those who play fast-paced shooters or RPGs.
The Ipad seems to have a similar irrelevancy. Sure, its a good idea but, like any idea, it has serious short-comings that may see it relegated to the infamous mk I status. Having said that it is certainty a viable alternative to the Nintendo Wii. It is called Kinect as it incorporates the words kinetic and connect. While it does make some features of social communication easier if Microsoft was actually interested in communication they would encourage users to physically interact instead of merely turning on the Kinect's webcam.
In all Microsoft have made a good fist of combining several different technologies into one package that will make the Xbox 360 the best console available. However, for this gamer I'm going to stick to using the provided controllers. Besides how many toys of indulgence do we need?
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