Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect

Space, the final frontier

Sorry to labour the point so much, but it's a critical one that excludes so many from Kinect's party. And while it's not fair to downgrade an appraisal by a limitation which is - strictly speaking - outside of Kinect's technological remit, it is worth pointing out that Microsoft has done little to raise awareness of the issue.

Inside Kinect
Source: iFixit.com

Look at the TV ads, for example, and you'll see kids and grown-ups leaping around in unfeasibly - for Blightly - large living rooms, each with much-larger-than-minimum spaces between telly and furniture.

Caveat complete, for those who are invited to the party, Kinect is a surprising success. Paradigm shifts in technology rarely see hyperbole translated into end product, especially where Microsoft is concerned. But, despite some minor software niggles, and wider questions on motion-controlled gaming, Kinect proves not only a technological advancement over the Nintendo Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 Move, but a new threshold in motion-controlled interactivity.

PrimeSense's tech detects players, their movements and their faces

First impressions do little to dispel long-held scepticism over Microsoft's bold claims. To look at, Kinect is the proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing, encased in the same cheap glossy plastic as is the new-design Xbox 360. But a few minutes into the surprisingly simple set up, Kinect begins to bare its teeth.