Microsoft last night launched its new Kinect peripheral, which hooks up to their monstrously popular Xbox 360 video game console and enables the user to use his body as the controller.

It seems like a fascinating, well-engineered piece of hardware, one that advances the state of the art and will likely fly off the shelves for the holiday buying season. I expect it to be a big success, mainly because there's nothing else like it on the market for gamers. Xbox is huge among dedicated gamers and the Kinect will likely attract more casual gamers and young families who are looking for "lite" gaming activities for their young kids. That demographic has long been the domain of the Wii, which has its own Wii Fit set-up for people who want to work out with their video game console.

All that said, you won't catch me ponying up money for a Kinect ($150 for the hardware or $300 bundled with an Xbox). Why? Because I don't want to work that hard while playing video games.

Call me old school, but all I want is a controller. A simple touch screen is better. When I want to veg out, I play Angry Birds, which involves one, maybe two, finger swipes on a touch screen. Dead simple. No sweat, literally. I have a Wii, but half the time, I feel like I'm flailing aimlessly with the handheld remote. And sometimes I break a sweat.

No, I don't want to have to hit the showers after I play a video game.

No, when I play a video game, it usually means I'm tired, I'm coming off a long day, and I want to think less, and move even less. The last thing I want is exercise. I'm not saying I don't need exercise, I just don't need it in my gaming experience. Why would I want to break a sweat, as David Pogue covers in his New York Times column about the device today.

Plus, you haven't truly gamed until you have callouses on your fingers. What will the young whippersnappers of the Kinect era have to show for their video game prowess? Dislocated shoulders? Broken vases in their parents' living rooms? Lower body fat? Pshaw!

[Image from RedEye]