14 DAY TRIAL // Xbox 360 owners that already acquired a Kinect NUI sensor can already download and try Avatar Kinect, a new experience pushing interaction between users to the next level.
Provided that they can leverage an Xbox 360 and Kinect combo, users can also download Avatar Kinect, which is free for the next 45 days, and build virtual alter egos of themselves.
Thanks to the natural user interface capabilities of Kinect, avatars from up to seven Xbox owners can interact simultaneously inside no less than 24 pre-defined virtual stages, including one that’s set in outer space.
To celebrate the launch of Avatar Kinect, Microsoft announced a competition dubbed the Avatar Kinect Stand-Up Comedy Fest, offering participants the chance to win an Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle.
“Speaking of entertaining, Kinect Fun Labs has announced an Avatar Kinect Stand-Up Comedy Fest. The Comedy Fest is hosted on Facebook and will showcase some of Hollywood’s funniest stand-up comics. They each have 90 seconds to get some laughs using their Avatar. Check out www.facebook.com/xbox to vote. In doing so, you’ll be entered in to a draw to win an Xbox and Kinect,” Microsoft’s Steve Clayton revealed.
There’s plenty of time for users to enter, seeing as the Avatar Kinect Stand-Up Comedy Fest won’t start until July 28th, 2011 (official rules had yet to be announced at the time of this article).
Avatar Kinect is already available on Microsoft’s Kinect Fun Labs, and as I’ve already said, the gadget can be downloaded free of charge. This will only be valid until September 8th, after which users will need a Xbox LIVE Gold membership in order to get it.
“We think these are very interesting and important capabilities for the platform – if you think about gaming, it’s all about making the experience more immersive,” commented Umaimah Mendhro, a senior product manager for Microsoft Startup Business Group.
“Some of this technology may be realized in games farther in the future, but we worked on these Fun Labs projects to offer a compelling, fun and cool experience that we could deliver today, using the power of Kinect.”