Microsoft Kinect: From the box to the living room

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(I won't bother readers with boring details about the box and its contents. Check out IGN, Gamespot or Engadget for that.)

Where's the beef?

Let's cut through the chase, the device is awesome and works very well. I do have a big living room, so I spared 10 feet of space no problem. I do have good lighting conditions as well, so I had to do close to no calibration. My kids loved it and the 4 year-old has been sweating while playing. As a health-conscious parent, this was critical for my purchasing decision, I wanted my kids to be active. I have a two year old and she already has the Kinect expectation, she believes that the TV can “see” her and she waves at the game to play it. The only real thing it lacks at this moment is the game selection. It has great games, started with nicely. But I want to see the next blockbuster, which I suspect will come sooner rather than later. Other than this, we have witnessed a game changer, our kids will most likely laugh at us when we show them a controller device 20 years from now.

Wish List

Games I wish would come out (*hint*) for the Kinect that would definitely be blockbusters on my head:

  1. Grand Theft Auto Kinect Edition – Come on, you can run, punch, kick, shoot, drive with the device. This is only a natural for this thing.
  2. Kinect Star Wars – Thankfully, this is already in the works. I can imagine myself buying two small light sabers from a toy store and wielding them for the ultimate Jedi experience.
  3. Martial Arts Trainer – We have enough zumba, Tai-Chi and dancing, let’s do Karate and Judo!
  4. RPG – Come on, chanting spells, and making hand gestures to throw a fireball have definite appeal.
  5. Shooter – I realize that these will probably require a hybrid approach, so someone needs to come up with a simple hand-wrapped controller
  6. Power Glove – Okay, it’s not a game, but how complimentary to the whole experience would THAT be? I’m thinking about the Nintendo Power glove. You can do analog and fine-hand controls, maybe add in a fire button, even better trigger motion!