I was able to snag a Microsoft Kinect on launch day (thanks to an early Christmas gift from a few great individuals), so here's the breakdown of what is, isn't and what's believed to be happening in the future with this device.
First, the Microsoft Kinect is a wonder straight out of the box. From the first moments you see it start to pan up and down automatically to detect your signature and the floor to sensor-placement ratio to the moments where you start the play the included Kinect Adventures! and see the wonder of the sensor treating your entire body as a controller, it's all awe-inspiring and shows off the real technical prowess that Microsoft has put behind this controller sensor. It instills a sense of the Wii motion controls, only minus the need for an actual controller to hold in-hand to use in conjunction with the sensor. As for the technical aspect, this device hits the ground running and doesn't seem to slow down. Minor technical glitches occur infrequently - when calibration is occurring, the device sometimes is unable to detect the floor to sensor ratio and provides an error message to continue or stop and recalibrate - but these glitches do not hinder a great technical marvel.
Games. Any good console or gaming device will need good games to grow and thrive. Is the Kinect any different of this trend? Absolutely not. We've already seen what the Wii can be when great games are released (Resident Evil 4, Mario Galaxy and Mario Galaxy 2, etc.) and what can happen when bad games are released (almost any third party game since launch), and the same applies for Microsoft's Kinect device. Unfortunately, at release, not many games are available for this device, so it's tough to determine where Kinect stands, currently. As a double unfortunately, this writer has been unable to review the other games released for this device, so specific title reviews cannot be factored in here. However, the good news is it looks like these games have received great reviews from other outlets on the internet and should help to make this device better. Kinect Adventures! is a great starter game and definitely gives a great perception of how this device can be handled and will turn out.
Another cool feature of Kinect is the ability to navigate a special dashboard from within the Xbox 360 (aptly titled the Kinect Dashboard), which gives the user several different dashboard options, such as Kinect Chat and ESPN. Users can control the back and forth through the menu navigation through hand gestures or even voice commands via the built-in microphone. As a side point, the built-in microphone can also be used for Xbox LIVE chat communication - something that may or may not be used, depending on the user, but that is definitely welcome as an option. Foreseen are further abilities in dashboard navigation for Kinect, as this device seems to be built and ready for more commands and navigation, such as "On" and "Off" commands, more dashboard navigation and even the ability to control the Netflix application (as both Kinect and Netflix grow in popularity and expand their user bases, respectively).
Overall, Kinect is a great device and great things can be seen into the future for its expansion and user-interactivity. As of now, a few great titles are available and should be utilized, in order to get the full user experience. Will this device be something great? Microsoft is certainly banking on it - both their Windows Phone 7 campaigns and Kinect campaigns are costing them a cool $1 billion dollars. Time will tell, however, if Microsoft has a winner on its hands with great software titles and interactivity, or if it will be another Wii clone with lackluster titles that do not nearly make use of the technological prowess of the device. It definitely looks like the future could be bright for Kinect. Microsoft may have been struggling in the days of late with their mobile platforms and operating system and internet shares declining, but the Xbox 360 has proven to be their golden goose and Kinect may very well be another golden egg for them.
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