“ another centrepiece is Kinectimals, a virtual pet simulator which lets children play with cuddly imaginary tiger cubs and the like. You can talk to the tiger cub, tickle it under the chin, dance for its amusement, or hide behind the sofa and watch it whimper morosely until you jump back into view. You can do virtually anything with the cuddly not-there critter, apart from taking the only sane course of action: screaming “BEGONE, VILE WRAITH!” while stamping on its head. If you try that it’ll just stare at you, blinking vacantly every 2.3 seconds as prescribed by its software, until you admit defeat and crumple weeping to the carpet – at which point it’ll detect your despair and do a funny little handstand to cheer you up, and you’ll catch sight of it and momentarily smile through your tears despite yourself and THUS KINECTIMAL IS THE VICTOR.
