IU Dance Marathon to feature new Xbox motion sensor platform, allow firsthand look through dancing games

Motion sensing technology is beginning to overtake the realm of video games, leaving stationary, corded controllers in the dust.

Students will get firsthand experience with Microsoft’s newest Xbox 360
platform, Kinect, at IU Dance Marathon this weekend.

Kinect uses a motion sensor that allows gamers to control characters on-screen through body movements and spoken commands.

The interface allows users to be the live controller, as there is no handheld controller to grasp while playing games, unlike the Wii Remote or PlayStation Move.
IU is one of 36 campuses around the country to be chosen for the Kinect’s campus
campaign.

At IUDM, Xbox student ambassadors will showcase the platform for dancers to
enjoy, with a focus on female involvement.

“A big part of this campaign is to target women,” said sophomore Kristina Mendoza, an Xbox ambassador for IU.

“The Kinect is supposed to be a platform that introduces video games to women, as well as men, with fitness, exercise and active games.”

IU students first got a sneak peek of the new platform during Alpha Chi Omega’s philanthropy event, “A Walk in Her Shoes.”

This weekend, the platform will feature dancing games to go along with the event.

“My partner and I are really excited to have the Kinect at IUDM because it just came out, and it will be a great opportunity for everybody to see and play the Kinect for the first time,” sophomore Erin Smith, IU Xbox ambassador, said.

“I think everybody will be surprised and excited with what the Kinect has to offer.”

The Xbox ambassadors are hoping for another large and successful exposition during IUDM.

“We know that there will be a huge turnout during IUDM, and it’s an easy way to implement the Kinect,” Mendoza said.

“All the dancers at IUDM will have the opportunity to play with Kinect and see its great features.”

— Lorne Russell