The kids and I had a total blast playing the Kinect this weekend at the Microsoft store! There are only a few demo units in the country right now, so we made a special trip down to experience it right there in the middle of the mall. It was really great – totally different experience from the Wii, but it will draw a ton of comparisons for sure. Here’s what I thought:

• It is a little disconcerting to not have a controller of any kind
• We played bowling, track and field, and the rafting adventure game
• Kinect tracks everything, it seemed to even recognize finger movement
• It was so easy my 3-year old was instantly in the game
• It seamlessly recognized a 2nd player joining/leaving the game
• You need a fair amount of space to jump around and move
• There was just a slight lag, totally playable and fun
• So excited for my Xbox to literally recognize my face/profile when I walk into the room
• We didn’t get to test voice commands, but loads of potential there for sure
• Brilliant, simply brilliant!

Granted, the first generation of games look very Wii-like, but this could be SO much more if game developers get into it. Really, really exciting future. If this isn’t the future, it sure is on the road there for sure.

JG