"Kinect" motion control for Xbox 360 makes magical debut

Microsoft's hotly-anticipated motion-sensing controllers for Xbox 360 videogame consoles made their debut before an invitation-only audience in a Los Angeles theater on Sunday. This technology developed by Microsoft under the code name Project Natal was re-christened "Kinect."

Microsoft's hotly-anticipated motion-sensing controllers for Xbox 360 videogame consoles made their debut before an invitation-only audience in a Los Angeles theater on Sunday.

HT Image

This technology developed by Microsoft under the code name Project Natal was re-christened "Kinect."

No price details were disclosed at the presentation, which provided glimpses at how Kinect lets players control on-screen characters with natural gestures instead of hand-held controllers.

More information about Kinect and game software made for the device will be revealed at a press conference scheduled for Monday on the eve of the opening of a major Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) here.

Kinect uses a 3-D camera and gesture recognition software to let people play videogames using natural body movements instead of hand-held controllers.

Kinect lets people play driving games, for example, by simply moving their hands as if turning a car steering wheel. On-screen figures in sports or dance titles mimic the body movements of people in the real-world.