Gaming is Entertainment - Kinect is Full of Win

With the exception of my son and I, our family is casual gaming.  The only hardcore or serious gaming that has taken place is our MMO experiences.  My nephew, who is a frequent visitor, has done the console thing with my son, playing Halo and EA sports titles.  Aside from all the females playing The Sims – every iteration and incarnation off and on, nothing reigned like MMOs.  The recent addition of a new console, XBox 360, has gotten my girls, brother, sister and other non-gamers into the mix.  As I posted recently, we're playing Red Dead Redemption, which is the first time I've ever seen my sister pick-up a game controller.  My daughter is obsessing over Fable II and Halo: ODST has finally been opened.

They're playing enough now that commercials about E3 caught their attention.  After I finished working for the day we sat down together looking for coverage and highlights.  We ran across the Kinect demonstrations and my house was electrified.  Their voices became loud and boisterous, their movements eager and animated.  They can't wait to get their hands on Kinect and the games that captured their imagination.  Like the Wii changed the gaming demographic and WOW the MMO audience, I think motion is going to redefine what we call games.  Those who consider themselves hardcore gamers might not be happy but I sure as hell am.