Microsoft Kinect versus the Wii

When the Nintendo Wii came out, it completely changed the way people play video games. Now you aren't just sitting around playing, you are standing up, jumping, bouncing, running, and all in all you are moving. To respond to the Wii, many other companies have been developing their own motion activated video game systems. Right now Microsoft and PlayStation have both unveiled their new creations that are designed to finally give the Nintendo Wii a run for its money. Here is guide to the new Microsoft Kinect and how it compares to the Nintendo Wii.

Video Camera
This is perhaps one of the biggest draws to the Kinect. The Wii doesn't currently have a video camera so you can't get in touch with your friends and have video chats. The Kinect has a video camera that is essential to the system. The video camera actually tracks 48 skeletal points of the human body, making it more responsive to your body movements. One of the other cool features of the video camera is that it actually has face recognition software, which allows for better online chat sessions if you want to rendezvous with your friends online.

Voice recognition
The other unique aspect of the Microsoft Kinect is the voice recognition technology. Again, the Wii doesn't have any features where it will listen to what you are saying. The Kinect has a microphone that allows you to tell it what games you want to play and its designed specifically for the web chat sessions so you and your friends can reach each other clearly.

Controller
Want to be impressed? The Microsoft Kinect doesn't have a controller. The controller is you. Since you can talk to the machine and the video cameras detect your every movement, you only move around and pretend like you have a sword or you are driving a car. It's completely new technology and revolutional to the way in which video gamers will play. This gaming system is going to be a great way to lose weight as you need to do all of the movements in order to make the gaming system work.

The Wii of course has wireless remotes that you need to use in order to control the game. The rotational movement responds to what you are trying to do. This can be frustrating as the batteries can die and leave you stuck on the screen until you replace the batteries. The nice thing is, you have steering wheels and other things that make it easier to actually play the game.

Price
When the Wii was first introduced, it cost about $299 or more. Since new technology always gets a lot of hype and everyone wants to participate, it's a given that you are going to pay a pretty penny for the Microsoft Kinect.Current rumors of the estimates for the Kinect place it at about $450. The one nice thing about Kinect is that it actually works with the Xbox 360, so if you already own the Xbox 360 you will just need to purchase the Kinect which runs for about $150 or more.

So when can you get your hands on the Microsoft Kinect? The impressive device is slated to be released around the holidays in 2010. You may need to pre-order the device as the hype around it is starting to build and many Xbox users want to purchase the device to enhance their gaming experience.Right now there are only about 15 games that are completed and ready to be launched with the Kinect so you may want to wait a little while until there are more games for the system.