Ample Space Needed To Operate Kinect

By Keith Gray,
Had you considered the new Kinect device as a must-have purchase? If so, listen up, because you may want to give it just a little more consideration...

The amount of free space which is required for the Kinect device to operate effectively was examined in independent tests carried out by Kotaku and Joystiq recently. And their findings don't give much to be positive about. I have highlighted their opinions to give a taste of what to expect if you do indeed decide to purchase the Kinect device.

Kotaku's Stephen Totilo explained:

...That set-up, which required no moving of furniture had me standing under seven feet from the Kinect... I was barely at an acceptable distance for Kinect Sports...

...That range didn't leave me enough room to play two-person, same-room games on Kinect nor to try more heart-racing experiences like the workout game Your Shape: Fitness.
The issue sounds even worse judging by the comments of Kotaku's Brian Crecente:

I thought... I'd have plenty of space, but it turns out that the front of my couch is only about 8 1/2 feet from the television. That may sound like a lot of space... but Kinect wasn't always thrilled with what it had to work with...
Joystiq's Randy Nelson continues the bleak theme:

Kinect demands a lot of space.

I have to put this bluntly: If you don't have at least 8 feet of unobstructed space between where you plan to place the sensor and the limit of how far back you can stand, Kinect will just not work right.
Overall, it doesn't sound good!

The issues detailed in these tests are likely to cause even more problems for those gamers who wish to use the Kinect device for multiplayer/family gaming. Due to multiplayer gaming with the Kinect device requiring an additional 2-3ft of free space to play.

So, unless you are fortunate enough to have a massive area of floor space in which to use your console, you are likely to become rather frustrated with your new gadget!

You've been warned...
Keith Gray
Written by Keith Gray
Keith has been contributing to the news on the TrueGaming Network since 2010. He's the resident fan of racing games. Outside of gaming, Keith is a qualified accountant so numbers really speak to him! Other hobbies include swimming and wheelchair basketball.
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