Nearly a year ago I was standing in a line that wrapped around the Galen Center in Los Angeles to witness the unveiling of Kinect for Xbox 360. The atmosphere was uniquely memorable as Cirque Du Soleil performers sounded large drums as we walked in to the arena and interacted with us as we waited for the show to begin. We watched a giant mechanical elephant carry us to a new dimension and we were all given white capes that would end up leading a coordinated light show. The entire event was a symbol of innovation that was both primal and progressive.
The experience was honestly surreal and I sincerely bought into the hype that Kinect would enter us into a new dimension of gaming. The message was simple, Kinect was the center of a new evolution of human interaction with technology. It fed directly into my intense desire for the video game industry to become more and more immersive with its audience, it was love at first sight.
In almost the same passion I came to care about Kinect I could not have fallen more out of love with the device since its launch last November. I counted the days for the release of Kinect to be rewarded with experiences that could only be characterized as Wii-like without the nunchuk. Only Harmonix provided any substance to the launch with the excellently crafted Dance Central which still remains focused to a particular subset of potential gamers out there like my 12 year old sister and my boss (watch this video for a laugh).
Without question, Microsoft's focus on expanding gaming to the casual market is something that should be commended. The more gamers the better! The Kinect message was supposed to be more compelling than just capturing a new demographic though.
It is up to the developers, the artists and kings of our industry to make us once again realize what Kinect represents. It is with this hope that the Kinect page turns with the upcoming release of Child of Eden from the brilliant mind of Tetsuya Mizuguchi. Though playable without Kinect, the first-person-dual-hand controls are unique and responsive when using the fastest selling consumer electronics device in history.
I could not be more honored than to announce that Tetsuya Mizuguchi will answer questions FROM YOU about his new launch of Child of Eden here on KmartGamer!

Please read on for more details: