Kinect Sports

Description

A flagship title for the Kinect motion-sensing accessory on Xbox 360. It features six core sports: soccer, bowling, boxing, table tennis, track and field, and beach volleyball. Each designed to showcase the immersive capabilities of controller-free gameplay. Players use their bodies to mimic real-life athletic movements, such as swinging an arm to bowl or sprinting in place to race, with their Xbox avatars reflecting these actions on screen. The game also includes mini-games and a Party Play mode, making it ideal for casual multiplayer fun and family gatherings.

When Wii Sports exploded in popularity thanks to its intuitive motion controls and family-friendly appeal, Microsoft responded with Kinect Sports as part of its push into motion gaming via the Kinect sensor. The parallels were unmistakable: both games offered a suite of sports, emphasised physical movement, and targeted casual gamers and group play. A blatant attempt to copy but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Overall it was a fun experiment but couldn’t replicate the magic Nintendo had delivered.

I stumbled upon a major chain store with what appeared to be left over software inclusions for Kinect cameras. Couldn’t really tell, they were all sealed together. This, Dance Central, and a (stackable) month of Xbox Live all for 1 dollar. There was a large number of them on the shelf for years collecting dust. Needless to say I returned to buy many more, sell the spares and have a few years of Xbox Live at a small profit.