As great as Microsoft's Kinect is, the thing is pretty demanding. I remember watching my dad set his up; the Kinect was a ton of fun, but only after we'd pushed all of the furniture in the living room up against the walls. This is exactly the common scenario that the Nyko Zoom for Kinect is looking to address.

"Zoom for Kinect" being its proper name, the clip-on attachment features a set of wide-angle lenses for Xbox 360's controllerless motion controller. The result? Shortening the effective range of the Kinect by up to 40%, meaning the six to eight feet or so it normally wants (which feels more like 20 to 30) lands somewhere around a more reasonable four to five.

Of course, we have to wonder if slapping on another set of lenses onto the Kinect messes with its mojo at all. Nyko is currently demoing the technology at E3 and there hasn't been any complaining, and hopefully that'll be the case once this thing ventures forth into the real world.

The Zoom should be out soon for $30.

Nyko, via Geeky Gadgets