14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft, during a rather lavish event, which featured a performance from Cirque Du Soleil built around gaming hardware and the way it can bring a family together, has announced that the official name for its motion project peripheral is Kinect, a combination of “connect” and “kinetic” designed to suggest the way the new hardware will allow future users to better link their in-game experiences with their real life motion.
The software giant talked about its motion tracking solution for a long while under the Project Natal moniker, which surfaced before the E3 event last year. The company mentioned that the name, which was linked to a potential Christmas launch date, was not official but both hardcore Xbox 360 fans, those who follow all the news linked to the console, and some more casual gamers have already gotten to know the Project Natal name and there might be some confusion amongst some of them until the Kinect rebranding sinks in.
Kinect aka Project Natal aims to make gaming more physical. There's no actual concrete controller a player needs to use but the way the gamer moves can be translated into inputs by games designed with motion tracking in mind. Microsoft has shown off a host of new experiences that employ Kinect, among them a river rafting title, a sports compilation and the inevitable dancing-oriented experience.
Mike Delman, who is the corporate vice president in charge of Global Marketing at the Interactive Entertainment Business division of Microsoft, stated, "You are the controller. You simply step in front of the sensor and Kinect sees you move, hears your voice and recognizes your face."
The Redmond-based company has not confirmed that launch date for Kinect but it should be arriving in time for the crucial Christmas shopping season. It has not talked openly about the price of the motion tracking peripheral, denying a number of rumors which said it might cost as much as 200 dollars when it comes out. There are also hints that Microsoft will be bundling Kinect with a new, redesigned Xbox 360 that has a lower profile and uses less energy.