For the frequency of the news about Kinect hacking I get the feeling that the homebrew software for Kinect will soon boost with much more professional features than the official software, esp. since it's pushed with games.
As Microsoft sells these things highly subsidized to claim profit with on the games I see lot's of conflict potential.
Of the roughly $56 BOM, about $17 is attributed to the cost of the PrimeSense reference system, including the cameras, microphones and processor, UBM TechInsights said. Microsoft is planning to retail the Kinect system for $149, and stands to make a healthy profit on each unit, UBM TechInsights noted
I can see indie game developers using Kinect to do realistic motion-capture in games.
I recall seeing this issue pop up in the 'making-of' DVD for Alan Wake by Remedy. When they made their first big game, Max Payne 1, they did the storytelling in the form of a comic due partially to budget constraints. Using a hacked Kinect and cheap PC hardware, game developers could capture a huge range of motions and use video editing software to overlay the required graphics onto the captured motions.
The point of the parent post was using these things in creating games, not as a game interface. That is, to make animation more realistic. Then again, given commercial motion capture systems are in the 5-10k range for pretty good stuff, I don't suppose that's a major concern for a game studio.
As Microsoft sells these things highly subsidized to claim profit with on the games I see lot's of conflict potential.