Microsoft Japan's mobile Kinect demo trailer is bigger than most apartments

Kinect is doing terribly in Japan, but that's not stopping Microsoft from trying. The company’s latest gambit, a mobile Kinect demo space housed in a trailer, can be found in Yurakucho, a neighborhood just a few stops down from Tokyo's video game paradise, Akihabara.

Above: The address numbers and porch light are a nice touch, aren't they?

The trailer is one of nine that make up the “Kinect Demo Caravan Car Event,” as Microsoft is calling it. Passersby can step inside to try out the various Kinect games, and when they leave, they can imagine what it's like to have a house with enough space to support the motion control device.

Above: No, seroiusly. We've seen hotel rooms in Japan half this size.

Judging by the pictures, the event isn't bringing in that many people, which is a shame, because Microsoft is using the response generated in Yurakucho and one other location to decide whether to take this show on the road in order to showcase Kinect to the rest of Japan.

Above: Color-matched outfits on the avatars: creepy or cool?

Our advice? Microsoft is going to need to either adjust Kinect so you can play while standing only three feet away, buy everyone in Japan a larger apartment, or start lobbying Square Enix for some kind of motion-controlled Dragon Quest game.

Source:Game Watch

Dec 18, 2010