A bit late on this, but still makes a good blog post nonetheless. The new Xbox kinect gaming system is now out and available for purchase. If you don’t know what the kinect is, you can view the trailer below.
Microsoft has taken wireless controller gaming to a whole new level, but the question is: will consumers like it? The traditional wired-in gaming controllers give you an assurance that every button you press is registered on your gaming console. The newer Wii-mote gives less assurance due to wireless sensors, but gives a new and innovative experience. And then there’s the kinect, where the gamer is the controller, and the motion sensor detects all your actions.
This kinect system can be argued to give people a more healthy experience to game and exercise at the same time than the Wii, it’s main competitor. But the problem here is, the Nintendo Wii came out a few years before the Xbox Kinect, thus the Wii has a competitive advantage over its new market penetrator. Also, the Nintendo Wii has a wider variety of games because of its foundation made a few years back, whereas the Kinect only has the few limited games that are just released.
Was it a wise move for Xbox to release their Kinect so much later than their competitors’ products? I honestly don’t think so, especially with the PS3 targeting gamers who require extreme graphics, and the Wii targeting families. Who’s left for the Kinect to sell to?