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Microsoft unveils Xbox Kinect hands-free control system
15 Jun 2010
Microsoft unveiled its new controller-free, motion sensor system Kinect for Xbox 360 at a launch in Los Angeles.
The device - previously codenamed Project Natal - was shown ahead of this week's E3 games expo, the world's largest gaming trade show.
Kinect packs laser motion and voice sensors into a box on top of your TV and allows gamers to control the on-screen action by moving their entire body rather than bashing buttons on a game pad.
Hailed by Microsoft as the next big technological step in gaming, the American computing giant is hoping its more intuitive control method will introduce a wider audience to gaming, as Nintendo did with its popular Wii console.
Kinect can be used to control games, TV services (including Sky), or even for video chat with MSN users across the world. However, unlike the Nintendo Wii and Sony's upcoming Move device, voice recognition and hand gestures do away with the need for a physical remote control device.
In pictures: Stars turn out for premiere of XBox 360's Kinect
Kinect was given a sneak reveal last night at a celebrity-packed party hosted by Cirque du Soleil. Video game fan and TV presenter Jack Osbourne and Girls Aloud's Nadine Coyle attended.
Coyle said: "I support the Northern Ireland's Children's Hospice and Xbox are awarding them consoles for the kids. And I think it's just fantastic that they can move around and they don't have to fiddle with buttons, and it's just a brand new piece of technology that I'm really excited to see."
Osbourne - who plays Xbox Live games online with his father Ozzy - said: "It's literally a game changer. If you want to slob out and sit down you've got the controller but if you want to get up and move around you can, so it's the best of both worlds."
Microsoft showed off a selection of titles for the Kinect - including a Star Wars game which allows players to wield a virtual light sabre; an instructional fitness and yoga lifestyle title; an urban dance trainer; and a children's game which lets players interact with a pack of playful baby tiger pets.
Microsoft also announced the launch of a new, slimmer and more powerful Xbox 360 console, featuring wireless connectivity for the first time. The new Xbox is being delivered to the first shops this week, priced at 299 (£202).
Microsoft said the Kinect will be on sale in the UK for Christmas but no price has yet been revealed.
In pictures: Stars turn out for premiere of XBox 360's Kinect
