Kinect space saver on its way
Reverse Tardis effect
The problem with Xbox Kinect - aside from a decent range of top-drawer titles - is the inability to play without a large living room and yards of space.
Gaming accessories manufacturer Nyko seeks to change all that, though, with this badboy accessory.
The Nyko Zoom for Kinect reduces the space required to play Kinect by up to 40 per cent. By my calculations, that means the recommended distance required to stand away from the sensor can be lowered from 8ft to under five.
The Zoom clips on top of the sensor without any modification and effectively makes Kinect look the wrong way through a pair of binoculars.
It also comes bundled with iBoutique Zoom Lens Cleaner, a brush-like device of which the name is fairly self explanatory.
The Nyko Zoom will see its UK release on 31 August. Amazon is now taking pre-orders for £36. ®
COMMENTS
M$
If such a simple mod like this actually works, it makes you wonder why this kind of functionality wasn't just built in. I know a few peeps whom have passed on getting Kinnected because of lounge real estate concerns. Seems M$ have been needlessly deterring customers with this kind of oversight. Hopefully any potential K2.0 will include it. :-)
Nope
It will reduce the /apparent/ size of what the kinect 'sees', which is what you want, because you are going to be standing closer, which makes your apparent size bigger again to compensate. Using it without moving closer to the device would, of course, do as you suggest, but that is not the point.
A better analogy than 'binoculars backwards' would be macro-mode on a digital camera - it still has the same k-pixels in the image, but the subject has to be a lot closer to the lense to fill the frame.
This has parallels...
This has parallels with the oversized controllers the Xbox 1 had at launch. I guess Americans must have bigger hands and bigger living rooms than the rest of the world, not to mention....
correct me if wrong, but...
wouldn't making "Kinect look the wrong way through a pair of binoculars" also reduce the resolution and therefore accuracy of detected motion? Not trying to be a smart-ass. Inquiring minds really do want to know...
Shirley, looking thru binolulars the wrong way
Means it ought to be called the Nyko Mooz.
Will it track me getting my coat?
