Xbox Kinect ? Virtual Reality Technology or Just another Wii?

For those of you that don’t know, basically Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect motion control system for the Xbox 360 is an attachment that fits on any Xbox 360 system and turns your Xbox into a more sophisticated version of a Nintendo Wii. You don’t need a controller as Kinect includes a motorized camera and microphone alongside sensors that can map out reference points along your skeletal frame, putting you in the game.

When Kinect is released in November it will be released with basic family software like Kinect Sports and Kinect Joyride, which is the same as Wii sports and Wii Resort so as to be widely appealing to families I guess. Strangely you can buy these two games on Amazon already but the Kinect isn’t available until November 2010.

You can pre-order at www.kinectreview.org!

So why should we replace our Wii’s with the Xbox Kinect system?

Being a Microsoft system, Xbox connects wirelessly to your computer assuming you are running Microsoft Windows and have wireless broadband. This makes the transference of pictures and movies possible. So if you download movies for example you can run them on the TV that the Xbox is attached to, which is usually the main TV in the household these days. So you don’t have to buy a video transmitter or have wires trailing across the floor to watch what’s on your computer on your TV.

The Xbox Kinect is more than just a family games console, after all you can do many things that you can’t do with the Wii. The graphics are better and the Hard Drive storage on the new Xbox is far superior to the Wii. There is no need for controllers so less battery and recharging cost. If you have a young family like me, you don’t have to worry about the kids misusing the controllers or dropping them in there juice.

Kinect does have voice recognition so if the kids are getting out of order and reality wrestling rather than virtual wrestling you can just shout ‘pause’ and Kinect will pause. Unfortunately this doesn’t generally work with the kids, well… not in my house anyway. There is no doubt your whole family will have a lot of fun with this system and it is taking interactive gaming to another level.

To be fair, Microsoft were lagging behind a bit recently in the games console world and it’s about time they stepped up to the plate and with Xbox Kinect, they have done exactly that in my opinion. Whether it has bugs or little minor problems remains to be seen and as with all these things, the proof is in the ongoing sales rather than the initial sales onslaught of inquisitive techno-holics who buy any new gadget released.

Personally, I think the boffins that invent these things are just finding more and more ways to make us jump around in our family rooms acting and looking very foolish indeed! But if it is getting us and our kids to exercise more it can only be a good thing.

Kinect Review ? Virtual Reality Technology or Just another Wii?

For those of you that don’t know, basically Microsoft’s Kinect motion control system for the Xbox 360 is an attachment that fits on any Xbox 360 system and turns your Xbox into a more sophisticated version of a Nintendo Wii. You don’t need a controller as Kinect includes a motorized camera and microphone alongside sensors that can map out reference points along your skeletal frame, putting you in the game.

When Kinect is released in November it will be released with basic family software like Kinect Sports and Kinect Joyride, which is the same as Wii sports and Wii Resort so as to be widely appealing to families I guess. Strangely you can buy these two games on Amazon already but the Kinect isn’t available until November 2010.

You can pre-order at www.kinectreview.org in the US but there aren’t any release dates as yet for the rest of the world.

So why should we replace our Wii’s with the Xbox Kinect system?

Being a Microsoft system, Xbox connects wirelessly to your computer assuming you are running Microsoft Windows and have wireless broadband. This makes the transference of pictures and movies possible. So if you download movies for example you can run them on the TV that the Xbox is attached to, which is usually the main TV in the household these days. So you don’t have to buy a video transmitter or have wires trailing across the floor to watch what’s on your computer on your TV.

The Xbox Kinect is more than just a family games console, after all you can do many things that you can’t do with the Wii. The graphics are better and the Hard Drive storage on the new Xbox is far superior to the Wii. There is no need for controllers so less battery and recharging cost. If you have a young family like me, you don’t have to worry about the kids misusing the controllers or dropping them in there juice.

Kinect does have voice recognition so if the kids are getting out of order and reality wrestling rather than virtual wrestling you can just shout ‘pause’ and Kinect will pause. Unfortunately this doesn’t generally work with the kids, well… not in my house anyway. There is no doubt your whole family will have a lot of fun with this system and it is taking interactive gaming to another level.

To be fair, Microsoft were lagging behind a bit recently in the games console world and it’s about time they stepped up to the plate and with Xbox Kinect, they have done exactly that in my opinion. Whether it has bugs or little minor problems remains to be seen and as with all these things, the proof is in the ongoing sales rather than the initial sales onslaught of inquisitive techno-holics who buy any new gadget released.

Personally, I think the boffins that invent these things are just finding more and more ways to make us jump around in our family rooms acting and looking very foolish indeed! But if it is getting us and our kids to exercise more it can only be a good thing.

Projecting Virtual Reality with a Microvision SHOWWX

Projected virtual reality first person shooter, using a Microvision SHOWWX as the display method, a PNI SpacePoint Fusion for aiming, and a Wii Remote and Nunchuk for moving and shooting. The software is a hacked version of Cube, with libhid interfacing the SpacePoint and CWiid interfacing the Wiimote. A writeup and source code are on my blog: eclecti.cc

Wii Controller for Virtual Reality

Head Tracking for Desktop VR Displays using the WiiRemote