Is Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 Doomed to Fail?

At this year’s E3 in Los Angeles, Microsoft showcased Kinect - the project formerly known as Project Natal. Videos of the new product are now all over the Web. Kinect is essentially a motion-sensing device that that lets players become the game’s controller. I think to pause the game you slap your forehead but I’m not sure… Anyways, while this could forever end childhood obesity, it may be doomed to fail for a number of reasons - not the least of which is its Microsoft origins.

First of all, gaming is typically a sit-down activity. People usually play games while already worn out from a tough day at work. The last thing you want to do is jump around like a pansy. Kinect is never going to catch on with the hardcore (or even general) gaming community for this reason alone. Kinect is also extremely limited by what it can really do. Serious gamers get into exact control with specialty controllers that can perform exact and accurate controls. This will never happen with full-body control, as it would be too hard to make it work properly, and game developers do not have the money right now to spend on that kind of R & D.

Then there is another bad part: hardwood floors. Unless your home has a slab floor of solid concrete (or a really thick carpet), no one is going to put up with the room and house shaking that from this “body controller.” This forces the games to be played on a cement floor. Live in an apartment? Have fun getting evicted.

Have a second-floor gaming area?  You might as well buy your kids a real drum set. Even with thick carpeting, this will be a nusiance to anybody who is not playing, which is most of the people in the house, since it appears the controller can only handle two people at a time.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m sure that Kinect, like Rock Band or a Nintendo Wii, will be fun to have at a party. It will also be a good way to help stay in shape. It does seem like an fairly amusing way to run in place and perform other lame motion exercises.  The bowling game might be interesting (although that horse has been beaten to death with Wii Bowling).  Tai-Chi and yoga fans might warm to this as well.

But when all is said and done, game consoles were invented with game controllers in mind. The Kinect is a gimmick, and as gimmicks go, its popularity will be brief, unless the most compelling game in the world arrives built around it. And I do not see that happening anytime soon.  It certainly wasn’t at E3.