Xbox 360 Kinect

Gamers from all around the planet are awaiting the Xbox 360 Kinect release date as though it were Christmas itself. Can you remember that almost unbearable feeling of excitement that continued to build until finally Christmas morning arrived? Well, that’s the way Xbox 360 fans are feeling about November 4, 2010.

That’s the day that the brand new, revolutionary Xbox 360 Kinect controller will be released and available to buy. Many afficionados are planning to camp out in front of big-box stores to get their hands on this new equipment. They’ll do the whole standing in line for hours, probably starting the night before, with their coolers of snacks and drinks, just so they can rush into the store the minute it opens its doors. And hope that they’re one of the lucky ones who gets their hands on a Kinect before the store runs out.

But the smart Kinect fans aren’t going to bother with all of that trouble or possible heartache. They’re the ones that are pre-ordering their new Xbox gaming controller online. Internet retailers have gotten smart and are offering to not just ship the Kinect on November 4, but by ordering it with the option of Release-Date Delivery, they’re going to have it in their customers’ hands on that date! Just think, you can be sitting at home and the doorbell rings and it’s your new Kinect. Or even better, you could be at work, and the box shows up for you to show it off to all your friends and co-workers.

As of this writing, it’s only 10 more days until the Xbox 360 Kinect release date. Be sure not to miss out on getting yours by pre-ordering it today.

Mark Wilson, of Gizmodo, recently tried out the new Kinect for the Xbox 360 and found it to be a revolutionary new piece of gaming hardware. As he says, “I’ve never felt that a computer understood me—a flesh-and-bone human—so well.” Here’s what he had to say about the Kinect Adventures and Sports games:

“I can’t remember the last time I jumped so high. Kinect Adventures looked so lame in Microsoft’s press conference just two days ago. But now I find myself leaping and lunging like a stuck lamb to win. I’m frolicking.

Hop to go faster. Dodge left to slide by a bumper. A glance to my right to eye my competition who, a few moments before, had shared a raft with me as we negotiated a path down a river, leaning and jumping in tandem—another unexpectedly enjoyable experience.

My heartbeat quickly accelerating, I realized something: The Wiimote rewards gamers’ proficiency at exercising the least possible physical exertion—indeed, if you get too frantic the Wiimote can stop registering your motions altogether—while with Kinect, I found myself exaggerating everything.

The experience of Kinect Sports is much the same—I underestimated the title’s fun until I actually tried it out. Less like Wii Sports than Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, a track-and-field-style hurdle game requires me to pump my knees high into the air, then jump at appropriate times, then pump my knees some more. While Kinect’s lag means I have to make my leaps earlier than expected, the frenetic and earnest competition (a testament to Kinect’s accuracy and Kinect Sports’ game design) keeps it fun.

There’s something very special about using Microsoft’s Kinect system, something that separates it from every other combination of software and hardware I’ve ever used. Kinect adapts and accommodates the user. I’m not learning it; it’s learning me.

Maybe I’m tossing around the word “learn” a bit too liberally. Kinect actually works because it’s already learned how humans move thanks to Microsoft’s (Prime Sense’s) research—intelligence is built into the box before I step in front of it.”

And the best thing about Kinect Adventures is that now Microsoft has bundled it with the Kinect itself. So you don’t even have to pay extra for it.

Wow! The original price that had been planned for the Xbox 360 Kinect was $299. But the actual price is going to be only $149.99! A mere $150 for the amount of fun that this controller that is not a controller is going to bring is unbelievable.

People who are in the know have already pre-ordered their Kinect so they can be sure they have it on the release date of November 4.  Yep, that’s right, you can actually order the Kinect online and receive it on the release date. And now they’re even bundling the Kinect with a Kinect game called Kinect Adventures.