Kinect - Gen. Info & Discussion

[quote name='doubledown']So, I hooked this up and regretting opening it. You need at least 8 ft of space if not more for 2 players. Kinda sucks. I also have to find a way to mount it about my LED TV. I may use the PS3 eye clip with 2 sided tape.[/QUOTE]

Square ft?

The package says you need 6 ft 1 in of space from the unit to person playing.


EDIT:
CNET Article about the space requirements. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20021679-1.html
 
8-10 feet is necessary for two-player simultaneous play. Mounting it above the TV helps with that. I got the $15 wall mount and it does the job.
 
Also, I don't think it will pick up two people of different heights too well. I'm about 5'9" and my daughter is 3'6" and it would not pick us up. I had the camera mounted above my TV (makeshift until I find a good solution) and it would not pick her up. A bit annoying. You truly do need 8-10 feet, if not more.
 
I got it for Xmas but haven't hooked it up yet for several reasons - having a clear floor after Xmas is tough when you've got two young kids and parents also a bit lazy about cleaning up :) Also we have to shift the tv over to a corner to fit in a tree and the tree is going to be in the view of the Kinect and I presume will mess it up. Once the tree is out and the TV back to the middle all will be right. I'm probably going to try hooking it up now anyway, but don't have my hopes too high for it working well right now.

We've got Kinectimals and Dance Masters (and Adventures, of course)
 
[quote name='doubledown']Also, I don't think it will pick up two people of different heights too well. I'm about 5'9" and my daughter is 3'6" and it would not pick us up. I had the camera mounted above my TV (makeshift until I find a good solution) and it would not pick her up. A bit annoying. You truly do need 8-10 feet, if not more.[/QUOTE]

I'm 6'3" and play with my 4 and 6 year old nieces often and it doesn't have problems picking me and the little ones up at the same time.
 
I currently have about 4 games for the Kinect (including Adventures), I have Kinectimals, Dance Central and Kinect Joy Ride (don't know how I feel about this one though). I'm thinking of possibly returning it and getting another game.

I kind of wish the Kinect didn't need so much space to play, but they'll probably do something about that eventually. At least I hope they do (so they can get others to play the Kinect that live in smaller houses or have small rooms).
 
Everyone is sold out of the wall mount for some reason. Its only 15 bucks so its a safe buy in my book.
 
[quote name='Droenixjpn']I currently have about 4 games for the Kinect (including Adventures), I have Kinectimals, Dance Central and Kinect Joy Ride (don't know how I feel about this one though). I'm thinking of possibly returning it and getting another game.

I kind of wish the Kinect didn't need so much space to play, but they'll probably do something about that eventually. At least I hope they do (so they can get others to play the Kinect that live in smaller houses or have small rooms).[/QUOTE]

I really don't think anything can be done with the space requirements. I mean, you do move around a lot when you play the games. Well, at least I do. I turn my TV to the side so I have more room. When I am just sitting on the couch there is a lot less space between me and the TV and the kinect works fine in terms of navigating the dashboard.
 
It hasn't had a problem knowing the difference between me [six feet], my wife [5'8"] and my 8 year old [four and change]. We do have a decent open space, and play with the ceiling light on.

The initial set up manual says not to put it on the tv or a speaker. But a Kinect Show on Inside Xbox actually suggested to put it on top of the TV. Is that just to avoid the risk of falling off, or is there some more important reason it shouldn't be either high up, or on a speaker/TV? In my case my center speaker is on the TV, the Wii sensor is in front of the speaker, and the Kinect is on top of the center speaker.
 
I am having a hell of a time finding the 15 fucking wall mount in stores. I wound up ordering it from amazon. All the gamestops around me were sold out and Best Buy only stocked the 40 version.

I am guessing they are doing this on purpose, there is no reason to have a 40 dollar wall mount wall when the "official" one is only 15.

EDIT: Piss on that, I just went and bout a wall black Picture Shelf and put that up there.
 
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I tried what you suggested the other day, Mr. eastx. I used duct tape to adhere my sensor to the top of my TV, and it definitely helped. Wall mounting will not be feasible, so I have to go with the TV mount. I hope that $12 EyeToy mount will indeed work with minimal alterations.

Oh, and I got Kinect Sports, so we need to play that soon.
 
Ok, here is one thing that is concerning to me. I hope that not all games are following this format but at least with the starting game Kinect Adventures. I dislike how many real life pictures the game takes of you while playing. I found that you can turn this off but I dislike it being on my default.

I dont want my little cousins or nieces having their pic taken without my consent. They might be jumping around half naked and all of a sudden I have a hard drive full of half naked kids. Not cool, not cool at all, Kinect.
 
Finally set up our Kinect and in spite of our current setup not being ideal (will be better once our tree is gone and the room is back to normal), we're having a lot of fun with it. But what did they do to ESPN3 and why?

When run with Kinect I lose all my favorite sports and a ton of content isn't there. Fortunately I can still run the full version from the normal dashboard, but the Kinect version being gimped is a disappointment. Plus if you make the mistake of waving it switches to the Kinect version with no way that I can tell to get back to the full version. Or is there?
 
Picked up the PS3 clip thing today....I will install it and see how it works for the Kinect. I'm hoping to rig it up where I can interchange the Kinect and PS Eye depending on what system I am using. I may use that 2 sided velcro stuff that 3M sells to hang stuff on the wall.
 
taking my 360/kinect with kinect adventures/kinect sports/dance central to a friends house for new years tomorrow

they are all intrigued to play it, I think they will have a blast
 
[quote name='theredworm']taking my 360/kinect with kinect adventures/kinect sports/dance central to a friends house for new years tomorrow

they are all intrigued to play it, I think they will have a blast[/QUOTE]

My wife went and bought a Kinect for us on her lunch break. We are having a get together for New Year's tomorrow, I think it should be interesting, beer and a bunch of goofy white people dancing.
 
So i never really intended to buy a kinect due to the $150 price , but after playing dance central last weekend it is very tempting. Plus i have about about $100 in amazon giftcards to spend. So at the moment is dance central and maybe kinect sports good enough reason to buy a kinect at retail price or will a slight price drop and special bundle deal be released anytime soon?
 
[quote name='rly723']So i never really intended to buy a kinect due to the $150 price , but after playing dance central last weekend it is very tempting. Plus i have about about $100 in amazon giftcards to spend. So at the moment is dance central and maybe kinect sports good enough reason to buy a kinect at retail price or will a slight price drop and special bundle deal be released anytime soon?[/QUOTE]

I got my Kinect a couple of weeks ago and my whole family loves it. My wife, 8yo son, 4yo daughter and even my mother-in-law play the mess out of it. We have mostly played Kinect Sports, but I do have Dance Central as well. I bought Kinectimals for my son too and he loves that. We play Kinect Adventures the least. Kinect Sports and Dance Central are the must haves in my opinion.

I didn't intend to buy it at first either, but the more that I read about how good it was, the more that I wanted it. I don't regret it one bit. My wife was against buying it, but now she has even said that she is glad that we did.
 
I gt my Kinect a couple days ago, and I have a question:


The box and manuals all say that it has to be plugged in to the USB on the back of the Xbox. I have mine plugged into the front, and it works fine. Does it work better if it is plugged into the back or something? I have a wireless adapter on the back, but I could use the extender thing they have in there...
 
Well, the PS3 clip thing works great for my TV. However, I'm still having issues getting two people at the same time. I'm probably a good 7-8' away, but it always loses my 4 year old daughter. I truly think I need about 10 feet of playing space for this to be successful. I think I may just cut my losses and sell it here or somewhere. I'm a bit annoyed with the whole Kinect thing. I thought my 4 year old would love it, but it is causing more headaches than success.
 
Any word on a football type simulator being developed for the kinect? Doesn't matter if it's realistic a kinect sports 2. All these bowl games makes me wonder about the possibilities.
 
Where are all the follow up titles for Kinect. I was ok with lackluster starting titles but I figured the games would come rolling out after XMAS but no such luck. I don't see alot of games scheduled to be released and the one that sounds promising (star wars) is not slated to be released until next year at Xmas.

While I guess steel battalion sounds interesting as well but will wait to see how it controls. I find 5 games so far: 1) Steel Battalion Heavy Armor 2) Rise of Nightmares 3) Haunt 4) Project Draco 5) codename d.
 
[quote name='masked lemon']I gt my Kinect a couple days ago, and I have a question:


The box and manuals all say that it has to be plugged in to the USB on the back of the Xbox. I have mine plugged into the front, and it works fine. Does it work better if it is plugged into the back or something? I have a wireless adapter on the back, but I could use the extender thing they have in there...[/QUOTE]

Now it won't work better. It's suggested to plug it into the back so you don't have cords dangling in weird directions.

[quote name='kklems']Where are all the follow up titles for Kinect. I was ok with lackluster starting titles but I figured the games would come rolling out after XMAS but no such luck. I don't see alot of games scheduled to be released and the one that sounds promising (star wars) is not slated to be released until next year at Xmas.

While I guess steel battalion sounds interesting as well but will wait to see how it controls. I find 5 games so far: 1) Steel Battalion Heavy Armor 2) Rise of Nightmares 3) Haunt 4) Project Draco 5) codename d.[/QUOTE]

That's a problem. I think most developers took a "wait and see" approach to Kinect for launch. They saw it as too risky to develop for. Now that they have seen there are many that are sold, even if they decide to make games for it - it takes 1-2 years to make most games.
 
[quote name='doubledown']Well, the PS3 clip thing works great for my TV. However, I'm still having issues getting two people at the same time. I'm probably a good 7-8' away, but it always loses my 4 year old daughter. I truly think I need about 10 feet of playing space for this to be successful. I think I may just cut my losses and sell it here or somewhere. I'm a bit annoyed with the whole Kinect thing. I thought my 4 year old would love it, but it is causing more headaches than success.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure she'll grow. But you could also try increasing the light in the room. That would help it pick things up better.
 
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[quote name='eastx']I'm sure she'll grow. But you could also try increasing the light int he room. That would help it pick things up better.[/QUOTE]

I got all my lights on, window curtains opened....nothing. I think I need about 2 more feet of space. Oh well, I think I will sell it. It appears some friends may want it from me. I think it couldl be fun if I had the 9-10' needed for 2 people to play.
 
The space needed largly depends on placement, the higher up it is, the more you can get away with. Having it at knee level is a bad idea, you'll need a crapload of space for that to work properly.
 
[quote name='blitz6speed']The space needed largly depends on placement, the higher up it is, the more you can get away with. Having it at knee level is a bad idea, you'll need a crapload of space for that to work properly.[/QUOTE]

I have it mounted above my TV. I've tweaked it enough to where I will sell it now and wait until I get a new house ;)
 
[quote name='blitz6speed']The space needed largly depends on placement, the higher up it is, the more you can get away with. Having it at knee level is a bad idea, you'll need a crapload of space for that to work properly.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, 6-10ft off the ground seems like a safe bet. I have mine 6ft up mounted on the wall and pointed downwards and I am barely in the Great space section. Kinda wish I would have mounted it a little higher.

Although that doesnt excuse Msoft for making a product that needed such a ridiculous amount of space. I feel sorry for people in New York, no way in hell there is a non millionare status NY apartment that is going to have an extra 10ft in the living room.

They also made a embarrassing huge mistake by thinking that tons of people want xboxes in their living rooms. Gaming system are still primarily in bedrooms 2nd only to college dorm rooms (which are the same size most of the time) . Yea we know you want it to be a family entertainment system but that is not going to happen.
 
The way the tech works, it needs that much space. If you watch the videos of kinect with IR camera, you'll see it beams out thousands of ir dots and thats how it tracks you. Its why it works perfectly fine in pitch black darkness. I dont know how they'd do it otherwise, as the technique used needs a huge amount of space.
 
Doesnt really matter, they are marketing it to the mainstream public so they should have had their intentions in mind. Unless their research shows that people have an average o 12ft of open space in random rooms of the living quarters.

Its also is advertises as only needing 6ft of space which is clearly a under estimate as to not scare people off. I am sure if they put on the box, "needs at least 10ft better with 12ft people wouldnt have thought twice about it.
 
Just curious people that already have kinect, did most pay full retail or at least close to it for either the $149.99 bundle or with the the 360 bundle? I'm tempted to get one as soon as next week but any chance of the $149.99 bundle dropping in price any time soon or might as well buy it now? Im mostly paying with amazon gift card presents and maybe $40 out of my own money to cover the rest of the amount
 
I needed the stand alone camera as i have a older 360, and the bundles dont include the USB cable to connect the camera to the older 360s. I had some GS credit and paid retail.
 
[quote name='rly723']Just curious people that already have kinect, did most pay full retail or at least close to it for either the $149.99 bundle or with the the 360 bundle? I'm tempted to get one as soon as next week but any chance of the $149.99 bundle dropping in price any time soon or might as well buy it now? Im mostly paying with amazon gift card presents and maybe $40 out of my own money to cover the rest of the amount[/QUOTE]

I got mine with the TRU B1G1 50%. I think the Kinects have sold well enough though that you won't see them on the clearance rack any time soon. Depending on the quality of games coming out over the next year though you might see them on sale next Christmas. It just depends on how well they support it and continue to add features. As far as I can tell there's no market to buy and resell right away.
 
Ours works well where it is now for one player, not so well for two, but you can do it if you're tolerant. It should get better once the Xmas tree is gone and I can move the TV back to the middle. So far I'm real happy with it.

I've been playing the black sheep dance game, Dance Masters and I really like it. I can't compare to Dance Central, but Masters works great and is a lot of fun. I definitely recommend it, especially if you're a DDR fan.
 
At Microsoft's mind blowing boring CES keynote, they did announce Avatar Kinect, and an update that will bring the ability to recognize details on faces, such as smiles, eyebrows, etc, which is used by Avatar Kinect. They also seemed to show finger recogniation, but then never actually mentioned it, so maybe that was just fake. Anyway, avatar Kinect is chat with your Avatar as... an avatar. Looks cute. Probably would never use it, but perhaps the greater detail in recognition will come into play in games as well. Spring was the time mentioned. Oh, and Kinect support in Netflix as well. And Hulu Plus.
 
So is Fighters Uncaged really that bad? Is it worth getting at any price?

Also, anyone here or an upcoming lineup of Kinect games yet? I thought CES would have had something, but now I'm thinking it'll probably be around e3.

EDIT: Found this site with a good list: http://123kinect.com/kinect-games/
 
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[quote name='Soodmeg']
They also made a embarrassing huge mistake by thinking that tons of people want xboxes in their living rooms. Gaming system are still primarily in bedrooms 2nd only to college dorm rooms (which are the same size most of the time) . Yea we know you want it to be a family entertainment system but that is not going to happen.[/QUOTE]

this makes me giggle each time I stop by this thread
 
[quote name='theredworm']this makes me giggle each time I stop by this thread[/QUOTE]

Yeah, mine is in my living room and has been for quite a while, I don't understand that train of thought at all.
 
[quote name='Jabrim']Yeah, mine is in my living room and has been for quite a while, I don't understand that train of thought at all.[/QUOTE]

yeah everyone I know with a 360 has it in the living room, I guess I don't hang out with kids so I don't see them in the bedroom
 
I think just cause he doesn't have a living room, he thinks no one else does.

Speaking of the kinect peering at people in the bedroom, it does kinda creep me out when I'm sitting on the couch.
 
The "random" pictures during the games is a little creepy, definitely wouldn't want them going off if I had them in the bedroom, not that they would, but.
 
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