JORDAN BOLT
Arts Writer

In the past, Microsoft has largely focused on providing a platform for more mature gamers. This fall Microsoft is releasing new hardware in an attempt to compete in the motion control market.

Nintendo has dominated motion control with the Wii for the past few years. Also, Sony’s new motion controller the Playstation Move was just released in September.

Microsoft’s new product is simply called the Kinect, appropriately a combination of the words kinetic and connect. Kinect is a camera and sensor assembly that recognizes faces, body movements, objects and even voices in order to integrate the player into the gaming environment.

First unveiled at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo as Project Natal, it was advertised as a true motion controller that is an alternative to the standard controller, instead making people themselves the controller. Microsoft is hoping that Kinect will grab the attention of people that in the past have steered clear of video games due to complex control systems.

The technology behind Kinect is impressive. The system contains three major subsystems, an optical, audio and motor subsystem.

“Microsoft is entering a highly competitive area of the gaming industry. Only time will tell if their latest venture will prove successful.”

The optical subsystem is comprised of a depth sensor, depth projector and an RGB camera. The depth projector displays a pattern on the field of view; objects at different depths have different patterns, allowing the depth sensor to detect whether an object is closer or further compared to another object. The RGB camera is able to take pictures of players at appropriate times while playing certain games.

These pictures, often of silly poses, are then shared over Xbox Live or other social networks, like Facebook, at the user’s discretion.

The audio subsystem contains four microphones and an audio processor, which allows Kinect to locate voices in a large area, such as a living room. A neat feature of Kinect is that it has voice recognition and is able to take voice commands. For example, a person might say “Turn off Xbox” and the Xbox would turn off. The voice commands are made possible by noise cancellation technology that allows Kinect to focus on your voice and ignore other noises, such as in-game noise or other people talking.

The motor subsystem is designed to adjust the angle of the camera to detect players better. This feature is very useful in distinguishing between kids and adults, and in some games can auto scale the difficulty, making the game easier for children or harder for adults.

Some other cool features of Kinect are video chat, facial recognition and the ability to scan real world objects, for example a skateboard, that can be used in-game.

Kinect will be available Nov. 4. It will be sold as a standalone unit including a game, Kinect Adventures, for $149. Kinect is also available bundled in with a 250 GB or four GB Xbox 360, priced at $399 and $299, respectively. The system will launch with a library of 17 games that includes sports, racing, dance and fitness games.

Microsoft is entering a highly competitive arena of the gaming industry. Only time will tell if their latest venture will prove successful.

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image: Flickr