Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Contrary to popular belief, they make up 97.3% of Microsoft's target audience. Who knew.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

The official Microsoft support page states that you should not connect a Kinect to an older (non slim) console via a USB hub which is directly connected to the console. It should be directly plugged in to the USB port on the back of the console. Any other currently connected USB devices (e.g., the wireless adapter) should be plugged in to the front USB ports.

My question for the more technically inclined folks is why can't the Kinect camera be plugged in to a powered (plugged in to a wall outlet) USB hub?

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

No idea, but the Kinect allows USB devices, including a hub, to be passed through it, so does it really matter?

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

I've had all sorts of random problems trying to use various devices with a powered USB hub and my Macbook Pro. Some devices randomly work and don't work and other devices never worked. Made me realise that 2 USB ports is the absolute minimum for a laptop, 3-4 preferred.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Didn't know that so I guess no. Where is the USB port on the camera located? On the unit or on the back of the cable?

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

It splits from the cable, along with the power supply (for old model Xboxes).

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

I could've sworn the instructions said to plug Kinect into the front USB ports... I have it hooked up to the HD-DVD drive currently and it seems to work fine.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

I saw a scrolling blurb on XPlay last night that stated a Star Wars title is due for Kinect some time next year. I think Move is more appropriate for a SW title, but a well done, mainstream game based on the SW universe could move a ton of Kinects.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Did they have any details on it? I have a hard time imagining a mainstream star wars game with Kinect-only controls... in fact, as much as I like the Kinect I have a hard time imagining any kind of mainstream platforming/action game (I assume that's what the SW game would be, as flying an X-wing with your arms would seem to be counter-intuitive).

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

They demoed it at E3. It's an on-rails, prequel-era (with Vader?), lightsaber swinger.

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Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Ah, thanks for the video. That looks either like it's not going to be 1 to 1 movements and/or the controls would really frustrate me (I wanted to slash right, not do a force push!). I agree that a Move game would be awesome, though.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Maybe the issue is bandwidth rather than power. Maybe the Kinect works best when it has all of the available bandwidth that a system port can provide, and sharing it with other devices through a hub causes problems.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Well.... I suppose it has potential but looks like a letdown to me.

PS -- Amazon has buy 1 Kinect game, get 1 half off right now.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Well, I'm taking my daughters (ages 4 and 3) to the local Best Buy tonight to demo it. If they can successfully navigate and play Kinect Adventures and have fun doing it, then I will most likely get it.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

I have mine hooked up to HD-DVD drive as well. No problems.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

saw it at best buy last night and it's very cool, but i'll probably wait till my son gets a bit older and more games come out. the star wars one looks cool especially if you can go head to head

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Summary of our BB excursion:

Kids = not interested at all in it*
Wife = very interested

Not the way I had envisioned it going but oh well.

*I think part of the problem was they didn't get their naps in earlier in the day so they were tired by the time we got there at night. Also, the Kinect was very laggy and unresponsive though I blame where BB set it up as it was in a terrible location... on the same wall as all the other TV models and people could and were walking behind us which then made the Kinect try to recognize them.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Did they have them in stock at BB? I'm still wondering what the demand is like for these things, and how well it's doing.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Of the (3) Kmarts in my area, 2 did not have them in stock. I picked it up from the third and got a $25 gaming coupon as well as a $15 gaming coupon for picking up a Kinect game. Gamestop in my area had plenty of them.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

both Best Buy and Toys R Us had plenty.

I picked one up for the hell of it, works fantastic in my apartment, much better responsiveness than I expected.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Yes, my BB had about 5 camera units and 4-5 4gig bundles.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

It's sold out all over here. I have a race in one of the small towns one hour from here and went to pick up my bib today, just in case I checked one of the Gamestops there and it seems they had plenty of them.

So far my daughters have only played Kinect Adventures and they have had a lot of fun. 11 and 4 years old. I had fun watching them play.

I think it's amazing that the camera can recognize you, when you use Kinect ID.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

I took my 6 year old son to demo it tonight at BB (kinect adventures) and he loved it. As others have said, it was more fun watching him than actually doing the demo myself. It's like the shitty Wii games but without having to use a controller which is a plus...but you are still playing a shitty game.

My problem is I just don't know how much use it will get at the house. Sure my wife says she is interested in it but she is the kind of person to play something once and never touch it again. My kid likes video games but isn't obsessed by them (I play way more than he does) and I don't know if he would even touch it more than once or so a week. And no game really reaches out an grabs me for my interests. So I just don't know how to proceed.

It seems like fun and it's really not a ton of money but will it get used or become the toy that the Wii now is...lonely and depressed as it sits unplayed with? It doesn't seem like the other uses for Kinect make it worth a purchase either.

And I would also hate to buy it now and then see great bundles for this thing in a month. The Kmart deal is decent but not a must buy. Hmmm... :shrug:

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

Setup a family game night. That's what we do and it works great.

Re: Kinect: Are you buying one?
 

They started playing Kinectimals, so far, 30+ minutes, it's been great. A lot lot better than Eye Pet,

For me, Kinect is a step (or two?) in the right direction. Comparing technologies there are lot of things that are limited for the Move. Not having a controller makes it just fine for non gamers.

We would probably get Active 2, and my wife is also interested in Dance Central, but I'm not sure if that's really going to be played that much, I mean, we are kind of a shy family here :p

Oh, and just to add more about Kinectimals, my 11 years old daughter was playing Viva Pinata before I installed Kinect, and it seems Kinectimals has some kind of RPG-ish elements. My daughter got really excited when she saw that there were some parts that were locked in the island and she needs to complete activities to unlock them.