Microsoft’s motion-sensing addon for the Xbox has finally been named: it’s called Kinect. We’re going to pronounce that as kigh-nekt, because we’re cool like that. The device looks much the same as the Natal prototype we’ve seen all along, albeit a little shinier and slightly slicker. Microsoft revealed Kinect at a pre-E3 conference, where they also revealed a handful of games that will be available on release, as well as the marketing goop that will no-doubt be plastered on billboards for the next six months:
“No barriers.
No boundaries.
No gadgets.
No gizmos.
No learning curves.You Kinect, you are the controller.”
Poetic.
Direct from Destructoid, here are the games that have been revealed so far:
- Kinectimals lets you train and play with 20 different virtual cats, including a lion, cheetah and tiger.
- Joyride, a racing game, lets players use their hands to hold an imaginary steering wheel — pull your hands toward you and push back out for an acceleration boost — and their bodies to execute jumps and tricks.
- Kinect Sports has six activities including boxing, bowling, beach volleyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis. To serve a volleyball, you mimic the real motion; in soccer, you can kick the ball or do a header.
- Kinect Adventures includes a river-raft time trial and obstacle course, playable by up to four players. On the raft, playing as a duo, you and a partner must lean one way or another to steer. Jumping helps the raft reach special areas for extra points.
- Dance Central, in development by MTV Games, brings a So You Think You Can Dance experience home.
- Star Wars characters and iconic Disney favorites will be featured in separate new games being developed at Microsoft in conjunction with LucasArts and Disney.