As part of this weekend’s festivities, Spike set up a gaming lounge in one of the suites at the Four Seasons with a couple different systems sporting current titles for our enjoyment. It’s a little odd to try to sit down and play some games with people you’ve literally just met, especially on a console. Console gaming, at least locally, is sort of an intimate affair. You’re right next to one another, can immediately see whether your teammate/opponent is doing well.

Kinect augments this experience tenfold, because suddenly you’re doing these really foolish things in order to control the game. I started on a game called “Kinect Adventures,” which had me jumping up and down and leaning left and right to control a small raft. The camera had a hard time nailing me down at times, and even when it did find me it was a little sluggish. The worst part, though, was that it took pictures of me in these ridiculous poses and then showed them to the room when I finished a run. I’m not a particularly bashful person, but literally no one was willing to give the game a shot after seeing that.

It seems like Kinect could be very cool for a young family or maybe in the right dorm room, but it’s definitely not something you should do with people you don’t know.

The world’s had a little time to digest Sony’s Playstation Move and the speculation is in full swing. Some are saying that this will do again for gaming what the Wii did. Others think it’s just another Wii and because of that no one will buy it. I fall heavily in that second camp. Really, from everything I’ve seen this is Wii HD. The only reason it might succeed is that developers will actually make some content that can be marketed at hardcore players.

There’s a problem with that success model, though; it doesn’t grow. There’s no plan for bringing more people to gaming than ever before. That’s been done. Nintendo did it. If you think the grandmas and the grandpas and the sorority girls and the little kids Nintendo shows in its commercials want a Move and a Wii I think you’re crazy.

A lot of the demos have harped on the accuracy of the Move, but we haven’t really seen that pinpoint accuracy is a big deal to motion gaming’s primary market. It’s more about the fun of the game and whether it basically feels like you’re swinging a golf club or not. The whole appeal of the Wii is that the learning curve is minimal because it’s simple. It gives everyone a chance to play, even if they aren’t gamers. The Move’s level of accuracy might appeal to the hardcore fans, but serious titles scare away the Wii Tennis addicts.

The biggest problem I have with Move is that I have yet to see a truly ingenious “killer app.” As soon as someone can tell me what makes the Move more than a Wii with good graphics I’ll consider taking a sip of the kool-aid. Until then, color me skeptical.