Microsoft: Kinect does work when seated

Microsoft has made a definitive statement on Kinect's ability to detect users when seated, implying that the system does work when not standing but that few applications are currently designed for more sedentary use.

"Kinect can be used while sitting when an experience is developed with sitting in mind," said an unnamed Microsoft representative to website Joystiq.

Various reports from E3 2010 had suggested that Kinect could not detect users when seated, including when using the simpler dashboard commands and using video applications.

However, Microsoft now insists that these are "experiences where we expect people to be sitting".

For the majority of applications though Microsoft expects it to be "natural for Kinect games to be designed to get you off the couch: dancing, running, dodging, bending and kicking."

A number of other technical limitations have been reported during Kinect's early previews, including an inability to detect users with certain skin colours and confusion over the total number of possible users supported at one time (now confirmed as two).

In terms of the lag issues reported at E3 2010, developer Rare recently stated that "lag is not an issue" - as they implied that the hardware shown last month was still only a prototype.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...rk-when-seated