Nerd Word of the Week: Motion gaming

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Motion gaming (n.) - A subset of video games that use the physical movements of the player as the primary basis for game controls. The concept is a crude implementation of a gestural interface. Motion gaming is often more intuitive for novice players, as their physical movements are directly emulated in the game environment, sparing players the need to abstract the game controls through buttons, joysticks, or other conventional input devices. The Nintendo Wii is the first major home video game console based around the motion gaming concept.

I bring it up because: The power gamers just joined the motion gaming revolution this week at E3 2010, with Microsoft unveiling Kinect for the Xbox 360 (formerly known as Project: Natal) and Sony debuting the Playstation Move for the PS3. Both employ some version of the motion gaming paradigm pioneered by the Wii -- though Kinect does so without a physical controller -- bringing us one inching step closer to the eternal dream of a personal immersion holodeck. Call me when the augmented reality gamer glasses get here.

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