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Xbox has revealed the release dates for the much awaited Xbox hands free motion control system – Kinect. Kinect will now become available for sale on 5 November in the United States (US) and 10 November in the United Kingdom (UK). The new device will make it possible for users to control Xbox game play by using their body movements and voice instead of the traditional buttons and triggers thereby rendering the Xbox controller obsolete. It functions by using 3 cameras and a microphone to register movements which are then translated into game play.
The announcement was made ahead of Gamescom 2010 – Europe’s largest video game conference in Cologne, Germany – by Xbox vice-president, Chris Lewis. The organisation hopes that the launch of Kinetic will boost the sale of Xbox games and Xbox consoles. There is already a high level of expectation in Europe and America with sales of the Kinect-ready Xbox 360 250GB hard drive (hdd) said to be creating an all-time record weekly market share and Kinect games such as, Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Joy Ride, Dance Central, Your Shape Fitness Evolved and Kinect Sports, expected to sell in high numbers. Perhaps, it won’t be long before the excitement generated by Kinect begin to spread on the Internet in the form of Xbox (360) reviews,cheats, cheat codes, emulators, walkthroughs and so on (as is normally the case when new game products are released in the market). Gamers who already have the Xbox console will be able to buy Kinetic for around £129.99 with a bonus of one free game.
Stiff competition is expected to come in from Sony whose new control system PlayStation Move should go on sale in September and Nintendo whose new 3DS handheld console is expected before Christmas. Meanwhile, Xbox Live games is expected soon on Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft will be unveiling Age of Empires Online and a new Flight Simulator game (Microsoft Flight) in any moment.
Talking Point
Do you see Kinetic as a game changer for the Xbox?