Foo - Wii or Kinect?

Which one for primarily a 5 year old?

And an occasional 47 year old kid, too! :D

Wii.

Kinect was one of the biggest failures MS games produced. The controls are laggy and imprecise. I think it will even piss off a 5yo.

Wii all the way.

Wii

Wow. Maybe it's me, but I got to use a Kinect at the office Christmas party a month ago and I thought it was way cooler than the Wii. I had no issues with the controls at all, but I'm a very spatially oriented person. It should be noted that we had it set up in a large conference room so there were no issues with walls, furniture, or other obstructions to confuse it. I was also very pleased that the Kinect encouraged continuous movement (read:exercise) that was enough to slow even me down.

Everybody I know who has used the Kinect loves it. I would recommend going to an electronics store with your kid and using both. And see which games are available for each platform. And of the games that are available for the platform which ones interest your kid.

The wii is going to be far ahead of Kinect in terms of games. But the Kinect is going to be able to do types of games that the wii only dreams of.

I should add that my favorite quote from the office party when the co-worker started demonstrating his Kinect was "Wow, this is going to do to the Wii what the Wii did to everything else."

I've been part of the Kinect camp since the beta testing. The controls have gotten faster over the progression of the system, but they are not as fast as a controller based system. Does this adversely affect gameplay? Not that I've noticed. The games are designed around the system, so there aren't really any that require precision movements. It's all big, sweeping gestures. We brought our to the company holiday party a few weeks ago and everyone loved it, especially the kids.
My only complaint with the Kinect is that very tall people might still have an issue with it unless you have a fair amount of distance between you and the device. Games that require you to jump need the controller to see your feet leave the ground. If you're cut off at either the top of bottom of the recognition frame, then you'll lose action space and jumping won't recognize unless you really pull your legs up high; or for swatting/hitting motions above your head, you might lose a hand above the top edge. But like I said, this is only for really tall people (I'm 6'6"). And now that I have 10' between me and the sensor it's fine. (Most people are OK with 6 - 8' of clearance space)

Just do a YouTube search for "kinect fail"

Just do a YouTube search for "kinect fail"

If you use that as your criterion for something "failing" then you might as well not do anything. In fact I'd be wary of breathing, walking, opening doors or talking to people, because there are probably videos of people failing to breathe, walk, run, open doors, etc.

There's equally and numerous videos of kinect being used successfully, fun and even being hacked to show how advanced the technology is. Unlike the Wii whic, having worked with developers who actually hacked the wii, much to their chagrin the information available and how it was available was extremely limiting.

That being said - there's also tons of videos of the Wii failing, and not failing.

Go to a store that has them on display. Something like Best Buy would probably be a good bet. Fry's if you're lucky enough. Look at the games available for each one and look at which ones are interesting to your kid.

Just do a YouTube search for "kinect fail"
I tried this. I'd rather get elbowed in the face or accidentally kick a cat across the room than send a wii controller through my TV screen.

One thing no one mentioned is that the Wii also has an optional board.
My girlfriend and I really like the games involving the board; and board with remote(s).
We're over 40 and play with our nieces and nephews and always have a blast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9Ck3y1UQ30

If you use that as your criterion for something "failing" then you might as well not do anything. In fact I'd be wary of breathing, walking, opening doors or talking to people, because there are probably videos of people failing to breathe, walk, run, open doors, etc.

Apples and oranges. I'm a hardcore gamer, been living games for most of my life. I am a Microsoft fanboy and have had a 360 since launch. But unfortunately, IMO, and in an overwhelming number of gamers' opinions, the controls for Kinect are utter suck.

Conditions have to be PERFECT for it to even be acceptably good. And even then you can almost never replicate the same control result from one attempt to another.

Selling 2.5 million units globally within 25 days. 8million+ to date.
Almost everybody reviewing it gives it great reviews a 85%+ percentile in most cases.

'Nuff said imho in regards to. I would rather tell people to try them and see which one they like. And which one has the games they want.


It's also apparently cool enough and good enough for MIT and NASA.
Nasa generally does not use junk.

Conditions have to be PERFECT for it to even be acceptably good. And even then you can almost never replicate the same control result from one attempt to another.
I think you fall into the category that I fall into in regards to me using Windows and certain other software. You're too geeky and picky and you notice lots of things the rest of the world doesn't.

I think you fall into the category that I fall into in regards to me using Windows and certain other software. You're too geeky and picky and you notice lots of things the rest of the world doesn't.

This is probably true. But.. when compared to the Wii, I don't think the controls are comparable. But for the casual market that just wants to jump up and down and have fun Kinect seems to be doing well.

Another consideration is the number of games: 22. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kinect_games

I'm really not trying to be anti-Kinect. I just think a lot of its success right now is hype. IMO :D

8 million units is a bit more than hype I think. :p Why i say, go try it at a store, look at the games available and make a decision from there. :p

8 million units is a bit more than hype I think. :p Why i say, go try it at a store, look at the games available and make a decision from there. :p

Buuuuttt also don't be fooled by their perfect setup at the store.

jkjk I do agree.. try it out and if you like it, awesome.

Thanks, everyone. Went with Wii. Figured for my daughter, at 5, it would be the better option. As she grows, Kinect will mature and I'm pretty sure we'll either migrate to or just add a Kinect to the game room down the road. Now to get it all set up... and, of course, don't let the $199 price fool you... you need extra controllers to play as a family, games, battery chargers and more. I think they all cost about the same in the end!

Glad to hear. :) Hope you guys enjoy it.