Initially announced as “Project Natal” at E3 2009, Kinect got a new name and a heavy push as the device that’d change gaming forever at an E3 2010 Cirque du Soleil–themed event. When it launched for $150 in November, the final verdict landed somewhere in the middle. The device sold extremely well, but most of the launch titles and early games were met with critical apathy. Outside of games, however, enterprising hackers quickly got busy, and within just a few months post-launch, were drawing out Kinect’s potential to aid such professions as physical therapy and surgery. Here are some of the highs and lows of Kinect in 2010.

High: Project Natal Buzz
Before its reveal, the sky seemed the limit for what the technology was going to be: "Controllers are so 2009!" "It's going to be like Minority Report!" "Get ready for the revolution!" We, too, daydreamed about what this cutting edge tech was going to bring into our lives and living rooms.

Low: Kinect's Reveal
You don't get more grandiose than throwing yourself a massive, Cirque du Soleil-enhanced tribal coming out party that stars a fake family walking upside down and some kid riding a fake elephant. We're still trying to pick through that night's symbolism, but the production ended up a muddled mess, with the overall take away being that Kinect was bringing Wii-type games to Xbox. Luckily, Microsoft made good the next day at its E3 press conference by showing more practical applications for Kinect, unveiling the 360 S, and giving everyone in attendance a free Xbox.

High: Kinect Hacks 
After Kinect's release, a phenomenon began where tech-tinkerers would mess around with the device's capabilities and post videos. The results since have ranged from the goofy to the awe-inspiring, and have began popping up everywhere from surgical rooms to music videos. The whole thing seemed to catch Microsoft by surprise, and seemed to be the impetus for releasing the upcoming Kinect SDK for commercial use.

Low: Kinect Injuries
You remember these.

High: Kinect Sales
Despite some skepticism, Kinect actually sold a ton when it was released, becoming the "fastest-selling consumer device" ever according to the Guinness World Records folks, and ensuring the peripheral would be supported for a long while.

Low: Spotty Kinect Gameplay 
For a lot of early Kinect games, like the frustrating Fighters Uncaged (and unfortunately too many titles even to this day), inconsistent gameplay is all too common a complaint. Examples include your actions either not getting recognized by Kinect or huge lags when they are. It's not a problem that seems to be a player issue either, as some games can completely nail the right balance of Kinect controls for an awesome experience. And since the controls are so integral to having a quality Kinect game, if you're not going to get that right, developers, you're already going to be way behind before your game even gets released. Believe. 

High: Dance Central (OXM score: 9.0)
Far and away the best Kinect game released in 2010, we said, "Ultimately, if you’ve invested in a Kinect, this is definitely the game you must pick up to showcase to your friends and justify your purchase." 

Low: Early "innovations"
The problem with developers releasing a game around Kinect's launch was there wasn't a whole lot of barometers to measure your title's quality. At least, that's what we've tried to tell ourselves to forgive atrocities like Game Party: In Motion and Deca Sports Freedom. Since Kinect's a year old now though, the bar has been raised, and we're absolutely looking for more quality experiences from here on out. 

XBOX AT 10 ARCHIVE:

2001 - The Xbox's Launch Lineup
2002 - OXM vs "The Duke" controller
2003 - A look back at XSN Sports
2004 - Xbox 360 predicition postmortem
2005 - Xbox 360's Launch Wins and Losses
2006 - OXM Reflects on the Red Ring of Death
2007 - A Look Back on the 10's of '07
2008 - The First Summer of Arcade's Hotness
2009 - Why We Miss 1 vs. 100
2010 - The Highs and Lows of Kinect