Active Gaming: "Kinecting" Traditional and Virtual Sports

XBOX 360 recently released their new active game "Kinect". Kinect is a sensor based game that allows players to participate in sports virtually. Some already suggest the new active game is nearly "flawless". I have friends that suggest the game is not only fun but immersive and motivating. They feel like they are "really in the game".

I read and article regarding Kinect and the possibilities it may have with all "athletes" being able to participate in sports. This made me wonder about the opportunities physical education teachers may have using this type of active technology in classes. Do some students truly desire to engage in sport play yet lack the appropriate skills to feel successful therefore reframe from participation? Do some students dream about being the next "Michael Jordan" or "Peyton Manning" only to have their dreams crushed due to a lack of confidence or success? Could Kinect be an appropriate compliment to traditional physical activities that allow students to get excited about sport play? Although quality physical education programs do not focus on sport play alone, maybe this innovative, sensored technology could open doors for some students that really do want to be an "athlete". See the article below and here:

Just a few days ago, XBOX 360′s Kinect sensor hit the open market, and luckily I was one of the few that had reserved it at my local Gamestop. For the past few days, I have been playing with the sensor, getting the feel for it with the game packaged with it, Kinect Adventures. Honestly, I am amazed because I have encountered none of the lag or other sensor problems that gaming reporters and sites have worried about. The technology seems to be cutting edge and nearly flawless. It makes me wonder, with such an active technology, what could it do to the casual sports game?

Well, surely the sports game would not be as casual anymore.

One little sensor is changing the way we game, and could cause a revolution in sports games if utilized correctly.

Imagine the fun that could be had for all the people that have always wanted to try and bust their chops in a realistic simulation without the pressure of the real thing. MLB, NBA, NFL, etc, the possibilities spread across every sport, opening an avenue for every athlete and hopeful athlete in the world to get a small experience of the real thing. The chance to take an at bat, throw a pitch, pass a football, shoot a free throw, make a penalty goal or kick… each thing is simply mind blowing to think about.

The career modes for each game would also become much more realistic. Perhaps a pro mode could come into play, like they have in Rock Band. You actually throw the pitch, and its relative to your body movement and the power you put into it. The pass being thrown to you from the quarterback is relative to your arm placement and speed that you are running in place if you will catch it or not. Or maybe you have to be in tune with how well you are dribbling the basketball so that someone like Kobe Bryant doesn’t steal the ball and take it down for an easy layup.

Of course, there are going to be sports gamers that do not want to be so active in their games. Making their games Kinect able is not a death sentence, because you can easily switch to controller if the developer leaves the set up in the game. They are doing it with the new Harry Potter game, and it is planned for the new Star Wars game in 2011. So both the active and traditional gamer can be pleased by a sports game being Kinect enabled and still programmed to accept a controller input.

In the end, it is something that could revolutionize sports gaming as a whole. We have had a little taste of what sports could be like thanks to Tiger Woods PGA Tour on Playstation Move, and Wii Sports on the Wii, but with the Kinect, it could take the activity level of sports much higher; a whole new scale. The possibilities are truly endless.