November kicked off with a casual gaming explosion in NYC. Starting on the evening of November 3rd, Microsoft staged launch events for its Kinect hands-free motion controller all across the nation, with Toys 'R Us in Times Square leading the way. The next day, Sonic the Hedgehog took over Bryant Park with an ice skating pre-launch party for Sonic Colors, featuring the Cash Cash Band. Finally on Sunday, November 7th, Nintendo celebrated 25 years of Super Mario Bros. with cake and cupcakes at the newly revamped Nintendo World store near Rockefeller Center.

Surprisingly the biggest event to jumpstart the holiday season was the most lackluster. The Kinect launch came and went with most people still wondering if it's worth the $150 price tag or the half-a-billion dollars Microsoft invested in the technology to get gamers to spend $150. Although this is a gaming add-on, Microsoft is marketing it as much more. In Microsoft's eyes, the Kinect is an entirely new gaming experience and way of socializing.

What other gaming device promised an entirely new gaming experience and way of socializing? The Wii. The console may be chastised beyond recognition by hardcore gamers, but the numbers tell a different story. As the number one selling console on the market, the Wii brought families and friends together. Who doesn't remember the pre-Wii launch commercials? In a Wii-based world, gamers of all agers played games together, while using natural hand and body movements. Sure, it didn't always work that way in practice. Motion controls were more waggle and arm pumping than motion based. It took years before Wii-motion Plus was added, which finally gave games more one-to-one motion response.

Business 101 states, it's cheaper to be a follower than an innovator. Of course, then you lose the first-mover advantage. With the Kinect, Microsoft is trying to be both a follower and an innovator. The marketing campaign for the Kinect, leading up to launch, was a carbon copy of the Wii's launch campaign: families and friends gaming together. The innovation comes in the technology and the slogan.

"You are the controller." Although you'll need a controller to initially configure your Kinect, the device promises the thrill of gaming hands free. Through cameras, the Kinect draws out a skeletal image of your body so that your physical movements are mapped to your on-screen character. Your body movements drive your play, making you the controller.

Now that may make sense to hardcore gamers. Controllers are a way of life. When the Wii launched, every hardcore gamer asked, "Can I just have a classic controller?" Wallah. Nintendo had one ready on launch. However, to the average casual gamer, especially those who only play iPhone games or got back into gaming because of the Wii, the phrase "you are the controller" may be a little too abstract. Why did the Wii-mote make sense? As asinine as it sounds, it's because Wii-mote sounds like remote. Ask the average person if they know what a controller is versus a remote and you'll probably hear more people responding to the latter.

Now, this doesn't make Microsoft wrong. For the past decade the company has been predicting a world where TV, Internet and gaming all become one. Over the past five years, TV has combined with the Internet and the Internet has combined with gaming. Microsoft also pioneered the deal with Netflix that made the console a veritable cable box. However, if they want to rely on the casual gamer as the launching demographic for a new experience they need to take more lessons from Nintendo.

What does Nintendo do right by casual gamers? For starters, Nintendo gives off the impression of being a family company or better yet, the host of a family of characters. For 25 years, Super Mario Bros. has been ingrained into gaming culture. He's the plumber that brings families together. If you stopped by the Nintendo World store for Mario's 25th birthday, you would have seen entire families dressed up as Mario and Luigi. That just doesn't happen with Master Chief. When the Wii launched, gamers knew that even if there weren't any heavy launch titles, they would most likely eventually be able to play Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Pokemon. These are characters who have affected three generations of gaming. What can Kinect buyers look forward to? That's still to be determined.

Perhaps the most curious thing about the Kinect's launch was that Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer sold a 12 percent stake in his company directly after launch. It makes you wonder if he was cashing in a few billion-dollar chips to hedge against a failure. In a world based on dollars and cents, Balmer knows that investors will be paying keen attention to the holiday sales of the Kinect. As for casual gamers, most already own a Wii. Making a switch to the Kinect will require some convincing or some new Xbox franchise players.