E3 2010: Kinect for Xbox 360 available in November

James Delahunty
14 Jun 2010 16:22

Microsoft revealed at its E3 Press Conference today that the Kinect motion-control system will be launched on November 4, 2010 in North America. The company demoed using the controller-free user interface for Xbox Live content, including using sound as well as motion as controls. No price details were given yet.
The Xbox console can recognize and sign in a user that simply waves at it. An additional wave launches the Kinect Menu. The Kinect Menu is populated by Kinect Adventures, Netflix, Zune, Facebook, Friends, Avatar Editor and Last.FM.
Using hand controls, a user can select a movie to watch on the Xbox 360, and also use his/her hands to drag a bar to seek through the video content. Simply saying "Xbox: Pause", will pause the video, while "Xbox: Play" will resume it. "Xbox: Stop", will exit the video and go back to the menu.

Just as with movies, you can use your voice and hands to control music content, instructing the Xbox to play music and then using hand movements to go back and forth between tracks or albums. Microsoft's goals is to make all of your entertainment needs controller-free, not just gaming.
Using Xbox Live, Video Kinect was shown where two ladies had a brief conversation and showed off some of its features. First thing to note is that the Kinect camera will move the focus of the camera as you move around a room, always keeping you in view if possible. An included mic means there is no need for a headset to be used.
Two people on video chat can watch the same video content too, including News, Sports, TV, Movies and Music content. You can use video chat for other Kinect users through Xbox Live, or users connected through Windows Live Messenger. Saying "Xbox: End Chat" will exit the video conference.

Games using Kinect were demonstrated at the press conference. Kinectimals allows users to interact with onscreen animals, playing or performing tricks. A young girl interacted with an onscreen tiger (Skittles) as a demonstration, getting it to perform tricks like jumping, playing dead and jumping rope using voice and motion commands. One particularly entertaining moment was the animal performing a matrix-style slow motion flip over the rope.
The title includes 40 different animals. Kinect Sports was demoed next, where two gamers ran in place and jumped into the air to get over on-screen hurdles. Bowling, Volleyball, Javelin, Boxing, Ping Pong and other activities were also shown on screen, but not demoed.
Kinect Joyride was demoed next. The Kart racing game requires the user to use an imaginary steering wheel to control, allowing the user to drift by leaning and thrusting to either side, or push forward for a turbo boost.

Following Kinect Joyride was Kinect Adventures, which requires your entire body to play. In one demo from the title, the demonstrator's avatar was on a moving platform and he had to duck and move from side to side to avoid objects coming for him. When his friend came to join in the game, Kinect recognized him, loaded his avatar in and split the screen automatically.
Another part of the game was a rafting activity where the two demonstrators had to lean to move the raft in a desired direction. There are 20 adventures to choose from in the title.

Now, if one of your hopes for Kinect was to help you lose a few lbs, it is coming with its own fitness game. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved was demonstrated on-stage by a lady as the game scanned her body to calibrate. The game creates a gym around the user's virtual character, and displays a model character for you to work out with. It informs you if you are performing an exercise incorrectly.
One fun looking part of the title was Combat Training, where you smash up blocks that are around your virtual character. A Yoga feature in the program also overlays a model of bones in the virtual player's body to show how the body is moving.
Harmonix was up next, demonstrating Dance Central. Virtual dancers take center stage on the screen while movement instructions are there for the user to follow along. Each move the user makes is shown in real time in a small image on the right of the screen. Extra music will become available to download for the title after the launch.
A "Break it Down" mode teaches a player each routine, as Harmonix says it designed the game so that anyone can play, even though for many people, the thought of even trying to dance is intimidating.

In all, 15 titles will be launched with Kinect. Two titles that can be controlled with Kinect were teased, including a Star Wars title from Lucasarts expected to launch in 2011 and Forza 3, which can be controlled by using your hands to grip an imaginary steering wheel.
One very impressive teaser was the ability to examine a virtual car right down to the smallest details. For example, you can touch the headlights to see a video about the headlights, or open the door, get in and examine the interior.