The company's motion-based controller has the goods to revolutionize traditional console gaming. But will Kinect take off or collect dust?

When Microsoft announced plans for a motion-based controller 13 months ago, many gamers -- myself, included -- rolled their collective eyes. Sure, it could change the way more than 40 million Xbox 360 owners around the world interact with their consoles, but it seemed much more likely that Kinect, then dubbed "Project Natal," would backfire, joining the ranks of ill-received videogame add-ons like Nintendo's Power Glove, Sega's 32X, and the Atari Jaguar CD.

Well, I was wrong.

Microsoft's (MSFT) controller hub -- which features an RGB camera, three sensors (one depth sensor, one motion sensor, and one multi-array microphone) -- tracks full-body movement, facial expression, and voice with a precision that makes Nintendo (NTDOF)'s Wii look like a distant ancestor and ought to make Sony, with it's own motion-based Move controller, somewhat nervous. To boot, the company claims that with the Kinect sensor bar attached to a console, it's possible to navigate the entire Kinect Hub interface on your Xbox 360 without touching a conventional 360 controller. In terms of motion body capture, no mainstream consumer tech product has been so ambitious.

More