You may have noticed that I'm not exactly jumping up and down in anticipation of Microsoft's Kinect. The truth is, nothing about the peripheral, from the price to the launch games to the fact that I'd have to rearrange my whole damn living room to use it, has been appealing to me. However, one of Kinect's features might make it a must-have for the hearing-impaired: according to Edge, a patent filed by Microsoft reveals that Kinect will be able to understand American sign language and read lips. If I knew how, I'd sign "that's awesome".

Even though I'm not deaf, I've lost enough of my hearing to make subtitles a must for gaming, but believe it or not there are still a few titles that don't offer this option. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to be a gamer with a disability, and if Kinect can really work with sign language and lip reading, then I think that's a great step forward for the industry. It's still not enough to make me want to buy Kinect, but hey, maybe someday.

[via Destructoid]