Amazon Mentions 6-Foot Kinect Requirement

Microsoft went on the record to refute an assertion that Kinect would require about 13 feet between its user and their unit, but Amazon.com wants to buyers to allow for at least six feet of play space when they hook up their new devices later this year. As Destructoid points out, the official "Kinect Checklist" doesn't include such a demand, but an FAQ-style write-up on the site does.

"You'll need any Xbox 360 console, a Kinect sensor, Kinect games and 6 feet between you and your television for play space," the listing on Amazon's Kinect pre-oder page states.

That's a significant amount of space, particularly if you live in an urban apartment where square footage is at a premium. Amazon doesn't specify what the performance or health consequences might be if you try playing at a shorter distance, but this is definitely going to be a hot question on a lot of consumers' minds as Kinect's November release gets closer.

The people in the photos at the bottom of the pre-order page do appear to be having a good time in their luxuriously proportioned living rooms though. If you don't have six feet immediately available, perhaps you could consider a living room without a couch, knocking down a wall to annex your bathroom into your Xbox's play zone or even just moving your 360 and TV to the end of a hallway where six feet won't be an issue at all.

Do you have six feet of open space in front your 360's TV? Would the requirement affect whether or not you purchase Kinect? Share your reactions in the comment section below.

Tags amazon.com, kinect, microsoft