Newsy: Microsoft Unveils 'Kinect'

Microsoft showed off their new and improved XBOX 360 at the E3 expo. Also released was XBOX Kinect, an entirely new form of entertainment.

“When they wiggle their arms around when they jump when they actually see the direct reaction on screen to their persona on screen…you realize you are bringing a whole new form of entertainment to the home. (Music) It's full body game play and its really about getting up, having fun, and playing the way you know how to play.” (USA Today)

Microsoft unveiled its latest gaming product Kinect, formerly called project Natal. The gaming device works with an improved XBOX 360 and is the first system to be completely hands free - controlled only by voice and body movements. In a struggling gaming market many wonder whether the new device can be successful.

We are analyzing coverage from USA Today, The BBC, CNET, and ZDNet.

A technology correspondent for the BBC shows us how the new sensor works – and says developers need it to be successful: “It all depends on this, the sensor that has 3 cameras built in. What it does basically is know where the player is and in effect your whole body becomes the controller. … This is developed by a British developer, rare, and they are all desperate for this to work because an ailing games industry really needs something new to get it moving faster.”

But the sensor does more than just games, it's also a social platform and an entertainment device. CNET brings coverage from Microsoft’s unveiling - which shows some of the innovative features: “Alright now I want to show you my favorite scene, All I have to do is bring my hands up, move it a little to the left… (Applause) It’s simple, its natural, and effortless – that’s how easy it is to control Zune movies with Kinect on Xbox 360. Now what I can do with my hands is just as easy with my voice. XBOX Pause. Now that is pretty slick, right?”

A blogger for ZDNet says Microsoft has the market for the console and compares it to the Nintendo Wii. He says - the game developers - will ultimately make or break the new console: “But does any of this advantage translate into Kinect being a winning product? No. Only one thing does, the games. … What Nintendo did with the Wii was carve out for itself a niche... It worked. What Microsoft is trying to do is a similar thing, only three and a half years later.”

The negative reviews for Kinect say the games experience a bit of lag between movements.

The new XBOX console and device will be released to the public in November with 15 games.

So what do you think? Hit or miss?

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