This is it. The big one. Big like a supernova, a nuclear war, or Digby the Biggest Dog in the World. The Kinect is the fastest-selling consumer durable (not just gadget) of all time. It’s taken motion-controlled gaming and turbocharged it, putting you in the game like never before. With full-body tracking, facial and voice recognition, it’ll soon allow you to control everything in your digital world by waving, talking or gurning. In short, it’s not only an amazing piece of technology but could quite conceivably pave the way for new developments in human/computer interaction.

Price: £119.95 | Microsoft 

 It’s easy to see why: Kinect is a massive technological achievement packaged brilliantly for mass consumption. The controller-less device has brought the entire family back to gaming, even more so than the Wii, with an array of fun and involving movement-mapping games. It’s also outsold its rival the Sony Playstation Move.

Kinect hasn’t even begun to realise its potential yet, both inside and outside the gaming sphere, and with Star Wars and a Michael Jackson Experience dance game headlining 2011’s games line-up, it appears Kinect is just getting started.

Xbox Kinect VS PlayStation Move video