554 days

Winda Benedetti

Gamer down! Kinect injuries are here

I hate to say I told you so, but … I told you so.

The Kinect-related injuries have begun rolling in. And it seems the littlest ones are the first to suffer.

It all started last week with the launch of Microsoft's new motion-controlled gaming device known as Kinect. This gadget, which you attach to an Xbox 360, lets you control and interact with your video games using your body movements rather than a controller.

Let me rephrase that … It lets you control and interact with your video games by flailing about your living room like a goosethat's been set afire.

As was the case when Nintendo launched the Wii and its motion controls a few years back, it was only a matter of days before someone broke their TV while using Kinect. That someone was Phil Villarreal.

And now, as I predicted, actual real live human beings have been injured as well (although only minorly).

So far it seems kids are taking the brunt of things — literally. After all, the little nippers come right up into elbow range. And when you play Kinect, you do spend a lot of time swinging your elbows, arms, hands and legs about willy nilly.

Check out this video to see how a father uses motion controls to Kinect with his son. (Sorry…I couldn't help myself).

And then there's this toddler caught by an errant arm swing during a game of virtual bowling.

Thankfully the little tyke appears to be OK.

But  check the bloody Kinect-related injury photo a gamer sent to Kotaku.com. Ouch.

While I can't help but feel for the folks clocked by overly zealous opponents, I have no pity for the following knuckleheads who repeatedly slam their hands into a low-hanging ceiling while playing a Kinect volleyball game.

In all fairness, it must be said that players are warned before every Kinect-enabled game starts up to make sure that their play area is clear of obstacles and to give their fellow player plenty of room to move. These instructions, it turns out, are the kind of instructions you're actually supposed to pay attention to.

Thankfully for all of us, the parties involved in these early Kinect injuries have been more than willing to share their experiences on YouTube. So, theoretically, all of humanity might learn something from this, right?

Naaaaah.

For more Kinect launch coverage check out these stories:

Kinect vs. Move vs. Wii: Fight!
Kinect games will wow you ... mostly
Xbox Kinect review: It's surprisingly fun 

Winda Benedetti writes the Citizen Gamer column for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.