MInes on order with Game - should be here by Christmas. I think the only launch title of any promise is Dance Central IMHO. The rest look like poor workout videos and Sports Sims.

Not for me, ta. I look foolish enough in day to day life, I play games to escape from this fact, not to highlight the issue.

This is definately on my List of Things to Buy Before the Year Is Out....although saying that, a Shelby GT is on that same list but this is far more realistic.
Looks a good little gadget with loads of potential. I sway more toward the hardcore side of gaming but when you've got a few mates around for beers before going out on a weekend then this sort of thing is ideal.

I'm not interested in this in the slightest. Bad launch titles, gimmicky gameplay, having to have at least 6ft in front of the TV - all terrible turn-offs for me.

I predict this will flop massively. I hope to be proved wrong.

6ft? Cripes, our sofa is barely 2ft from the TV.

Once they release some proper games for it instead of shovelware then I'll think about it. And the price'll have to come down as well. In short I'll need a LOT of convoncing before this becomes a good idea

I do think the space needed to use Kinect fully is going to be a big issue for some people. If i look back at when i lived with my parents, the xbox was in the front room but the whole room was arranged by my mum so there would have been no way Kinect would have been able to get a look-in, what with sofa's and tables in the way. My mum for years tried to battle consoles out of the front room and into my room (no way would Kinect have worked in there) but myself and my dad put up a united front due to the fact he loved Gears of War, Halo and Half Life.

I love gismo's like this sort of thing, it's pure innovation. It's what the games industry is all about, if these guys stop being creative then i'd probably be forced to try and create something myself out of pure boredom.... i'd invent a car, a car that changes colour when rain splashes on it, with windscreen wipers linked to itunes that only play x-factor songs and an exhaust that shoots beans out of it, with a horn that fills the car with laughing gas and a bag of rocks instead of an airbag.....
You see, if i'm left to be creative then that's what will happen, the world would be awful. If actual inventors are left to it then they come up with things like Kinect.....If bad inventors are left to it then they go to JML. If i'm left to it then the world ends.

Not really too bothered by it. I suspect the typical 'hardcore' gamer isnt the target audience anyway - it's gamers who are a bit tired of the Wii.

...also, cost will be an issue, although i do see the cost of it as fair, considering you have to buy one kinect system, wii and ps move may be cheaper for one component, but when you total the cost of all the bits and bobs for multiplayer, batteries or chargers etc then there's not that much cost different.

I'm not picking one up, but interested to see how it does and how the games develop.

To be honest, I don't think the space in front of my TV is big enough. Also, the space on/around my tv is also an issue - I've got a speakers, a Wii sensort bar and a PS Eye there already - god knows where I would put Kinect.

@ Rex
re

' I suspect the typical 'hardcore' gamer isnt the target audience anyway - it's gamers who are a bit tired of the Wii.

'

Glancing at the advert on the front of today's Metro (which, at first glance, looks like a GAP advert)...I suspect you are correct.

It's promising tech for sure - but in its current state, especially with the software, I'm holding back my money.

I suspect there will be quite a number of returns post Xmas due to people not realising its difficulties in operating in somewhat more confined living rooms.

Other thing to note is the 'contest' to publish open source drivers for the device which will allow use of Kinect outside the Xbox. Would make for an interesting controller for PC's...

Have had a text from my better half to tell me it's at home waiting for me.
I've bought it because, though I'm not usually an earlier adapter, I find this really promising. It'll be buggy at first and then they'll patch it or probably release a newer model.
Knowing this I chose to spend my hard earned cash on the closest thing to minority report style controls that I've seen so far. I find the whole facial recognition/Speech control and body mapping thing fascinating. I'm hoping that game devs really put some thought in to developing titles, which takes true advantage of its current and future capabilities, and that they deliver something truly special.
I've never used Move, but I've used the Wii and I find both of them very different beasts to Kinect. The only comparisons may be the decrying of "Not for hardcore gamers!" I play an average of 4 hours a night on my 360, I LOVE gaming, but I don't consider myself a "Hardcore gamer". Games are games, they come in two categories, games I like, and games I don't. I like to dance (Dance Central), I link to sing (Lips) I like to rock out with my cock out (Guitar Hero) and I also like to sit on my fat arse shooting things online.
Any criticism of the system should surely be based on whether you've enjoyed using it. How many critics of Kinect have owned it and given it it's proper due?
I'll post my thoughts on the gamesblog tomorrow, after I've used it.

in the post... tracking with TNT

Amazon for the first time managed a pre-order ontime (cant have sold many)

Completely uninterested to be honest. It just looks so limited in what it'll be capable of, and what little it is capable of just isn't for me, and even if it was, it seems like it entails a lot of expense, inconvenience and hard work for no more rewarding an experience than I could get from using a regular controller. Camera based controllers really feel like something we should have left behind last generation, but I dunno, maybe there's still a niche market somewhere for it. We'll see.

Just wish Microsoft were as concerned with keeping us regular 360 owners in games as they were with pushing Kinect on everyone. The release schedule between now and Gears 3 does not make for pleasant reading.

Completely uninterested, didn't even know it was out today until I walked past Game this morning - One thing I don't understand is why MS don't provide shops any publicity gear - They've got a shit little hand written sign on the window of Game saying its in.....

I think it'll be a massive failure - Happy to be proved wrong but I just don't see it succeeding in the slightest, and as ehains says I'd love to know how many returns they get before Xmas.....

Am I the only one who would feel a little bit uncomfortable having that many cameras looking at you all the time?

It's only a matter of time before a paper (*cough Daily Mail*cough) picks up on:
1. Its got cameras
2. kids and families might like to play it
3. it can be played online

...to publish a spurious story about how pedophiles can hack into them and perv on kids.

This is possible and might be happening right now. That's not true, but if it were, it would be a fact. It makes you think.

It's only the fact I have a bit of cash slooshing about that I'm considering this.

I love tech and gadgets and am not enjoying much gaming on the 360 at the moment so thinking this might be a good excuse to dust off the xbox.

Really can't see any of the current crop of titles grabbing me though.
Having seen a few fully (i.e. fat) grown blokes playing Dance Central at Eurogamer Expo, I can't imagine that sort of humiliation would be good for the soul.

I'm sure there will be some downloadable games available in the store soon enough which might expand on the fitness games that seem to be prevalent.

I have the cash, I have the space, do I have the desire?
Might do some research on the release schedule before deciding.

I'm in the same boat as Chubster though. I have the space in front of the TV but speakers and a big ass telly don't leave much room to place the thing.
Anyone know if it can clip on top of the TV?

The release schedule between now and Gears 3 does not make for pleasant reading.

Good it'll give me chance to play all the excellent games from the past 6 months that I haven't properly finished plus all the unplayed DLC.

I got mine last night and have had a quick 30 minutes on it before I went to work this morning and this is my first setup and playability impressions:

Firstly attempting to set it up in the room I play my games (bedroom) was a no no so I moved it downstairs, where it is no playable with two people, just...

Setup was easy enough with the 250gb xbox however it does not come with the clip that i wanted to use to place on top of my tv, sold seperately apparently. Hope I wont have to fork out to much for that.

When its up and running after a couple of minutes setup and few tedious loading times moving through the menus and the face recognition is really amazing. Signing me in with a simple wave is something else!

And you do feel like this software really has some potential.

The games however, and I understand the critcism, are pretty lackluster and I only had a go with kinect adventures which is just a software showcase.

But as the "hardcore gamer" as everyone drones on and on about, I had great fun jumping up in a dingy catching big bubbles on clouds, whilst I was happily shooting terrorists 24 hours earlier on Call of Duty.

The only difference was I wasn't getting angry shouting about I shouldnt get killed there by whatever, it was just great fun, also I was suprised at how unfit I am.

Its not perfect, but it never was going to be, in my small South London house I dont think I will ever be able to get the perfect freedom without removing all furniture in the house, and while some loading on the screens take a couple seconds longer than I feel comfortable with, these bugs will be ironed out.

I don't see why this wont appeal to everyone, except for some people that feel so attached to their controller for some reason. And I'm sure sooner rather than later a controller of some kind will be made available.

So there you have it, a hardcore gamer thats happy with no controller and some basic games where not every premise is shoot this or drive there... Its a change!!! Lighten up people!! And I don't care what I look like jumping around like an idiot..

Rant over I suppose

@Muzz3110 "So there you have it, a hardcore gamer thats happy with no controller and some basic games where not every premise is shoot this or drive there... Its a change!!! "

That's how i imagined it'd turn out. There seems to be a school of thought that Kinect is going to replace every good game.
Where as in reality it's simply going to exist along side controller based games.
Games like Gears of War and the likes will still be made, some games will be based on use with Kinect and others simply won't... Some will utilise both features. I can quite easily see a game like Resident Evil using the two, controller for the bulk of the game and Kinect for the puzzles...but again, the controller option for the puzzles will still exist.

....plus it's early days too, the developers haven't even scratched the surface of what it's capable of so launch games were never going to blow anyone away

With the casual gamer/family fun target audience Kinect seems to have, it will be a long long long long long time before I ever think about purchasing it... ever.
That being said, my requirements are quite reasonable; one game that I can obsess (sorry If I can't spell obsess) over and at least two games that I'd want to purchase.
At the moment the only thing that might attempt to win me over is Steel Battallion, but I doubt that's going to be a title I'll get hugely into... so maybe sometime in 2011 if the game line-up is good, although I rather doubt it will be.

I'm tempted, but can't afford it. Maybe I could ask the family for it for Christmas. I'm mainly interested in Dance Central and the future potential, not as a controller replacement but something to use WITH it.
My sofa's just out of the Wii's range from the telly, so 6 ft easily.

This looks like a great way to get your kids active.  Remember that government guidelines for kids say to aim for 60 minutes of activity every day.  A game outside, a bike ride, hike, some yard work or dancing with Kinect could get an hour to fly by. If there is time for TV, the internet or video games, there is time for exercise. ---Oh and you should get about an hour of movement a day too.  Make it a family activity. http://blog.mydiscoverhealth.com/

I will be buying one of these basically because I have some ideas for applications of the technology which I can see see improving rapidly. I have seen a couple of short video reviews of the Ubisoft Fitness Evolved software and this looks excellent. It had some fat guy marking it down because the software was confused occasionally by his loose clothing because he obviously doesn't own any closer fitting gear. However, he said this was a random occurrence and it didn't detract from what was a very good piece of home fitness software.

Interestingly, the reason why you need a decent gap between you and the sensor is because it works by filling the room with infra-red beams. The height at which the sensor is placed will determine the angle at which the beams can be sent out and thus the distance required. If it was possible to have the sensor bang in the centre of the TV screen, you'd not need such a large gap. Of course, with us having pokey little places in the UK, it is a problem, but I guess if you wanted to play it with some mates/family it's no different to clearing an area to play twister or the like.

Virtually everyone has at least 6ft in a living room that they can utilise by moving sofas etc back. The playstation move and the Wii actually are only incremental steps forward because you still have to hold something and press buttons. With Kinect, every move is natural and you don't need to be taught to press buttons in sequence or to wield a bit of plastic around.

Over time the software will have a photorealistic representation of you inserted in games and there wll be far better games. I'm interested in developing software for engineering and business applications. I already have three or four ideas and I can see great potential for this.

My housemate got one yesterday, and the experiences are similar to Muz3110 in terms of setup.

We don't have much space in our front room, and 2 player games are going to be a squeeze. Plus I think the people in the flat below ours might get annoyed at all the jumping up and down.

It seems enjoyable enough in short bursts. The football in Kinect sports is pretty fun.

The playstation move and the Wii actually are only incremental steps forward because you still have to hold something and press buttons. With Kinect, every move is natural and you don't need to be taught to press buttons in sequence or to wield a bit of plastic around.

This can be argued either way in all honesty. There are times when "bits of plastic" and buttons are actually more in line with the real thing.

In the various promos for Kinect they have omitted "bits of plastic" completely in favour of nothing. I hardly think holding an imaginary steering wheel with no feedback or any sense of feeling is realistic - the "bit of plastic" that is the Wii Wheel actually makes it more realistic than holding nothing. Same can be said for bats, swords, racquets etc. I know Kinect has that covered by the fact that it can detect objects but that's my point: "bits of plastic" or any other object for that matter sometimes can enhance the experience.

As for buttons, they can feel natural in some settings and I can't see being replicated on Kinect. The trigger button on the Wii Remote is perfectly suitable at replicating the feeling of pressing/releasing a trigger on a gun (be it a light-gun game or FPS). Similarly, the trigger has been used in many games to simulate "holding" - take for example the bowling game on Wii Sports. Hold the button down to simulate holding the ball, release the button to simulate releasing the ball. It's not perfect, but I think it's better than holding nothing and certainly more in line with the "real" thing.

That said, I think Kinect, regardless of whether it succeeds or not, is a step in the right direction and I'm completely in favour of it. I'm not keen on the terms "hardcore" and "casual" as it creates a "them and us" feeling when in reality you can enjoy all games from all genres regardless of some label someone has slapped on it. Wii Sports Resort, Call of Duty: Black Ops - sign me up to both please!

Kinect detecting objects is an interesting point.

So, at somepoint next year, when either Codemasters (if they still exist) release a new cricket game or EA release Tiger Woods 2012, will Kinect be able to detect if I've got a cricket bat or golf club in hand, and would it change the response in any way?