Project Natal is Now "Kinect"

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At Microsoft’s E3 2010 press conference Monday morning, they unveiled the new title of their controller-free motion accessory. Once known under the codename “Project Natal,” the new title from henceforth will be “Kinect” for Xbox 360.

Although a price has yet to be set, Microsoft did pin down a November 4th release date for their “you are the controller” motion controller. According to GameStop.com, the speculated price for the motion-tracking camera will retail for $149.99.

Kinect is set to launch with 15 titles which Microsoft showed off some during their live press conference. Some of the games we know about are:

  • Kinectimals: An cute and cuddly pet game with exotic animals, like tigers, as pets in a vibrant and colorful world. Players interact with their pets by petting them, playing fetch, or talking to them. The little girl that demoed the game was simply adorable.
  • Kinect Sports: A grab bag of sports games like bowling, soccer, and track and field events. It looks like it is made for “We” Sports gamers out there.
  • Kinect JoyRide: Revealed last year, JoyRide is now going to be a Kinect launch title for cart racing fans. Players will use their wrists as a steering wheel while Kinect tracks their movements.
  • Kinect Adventures: A theme park inspired collection of mini-games where players can compete head-to-head while jumping, posing, and running to collect more coins and earn the high score.
  • Your Shape: The first announced third-party title for Kinect from Ubisoft. An exercise game that tracks your body parts in real time and tells you when you are not doing the exercise the right way. Seems very intuitive and includes Yoga, personal training, and other gym activities.
  • Dance Central: Harmonix Studios is bringing gamers closer to music in a very big way; through dance! The music-game maestros have a dance game that looks to make dancing fun AND exciting. Their brief demo showed off Bell Biv Devoe’s “Posion” and a dance crew showing you what moves are coming next while Kinect tracks your movements and rates them for high-scores. Think Rock Band, but for dancing.
  • These were just some of the titles at the press event. Look for more coverage from us on the show floor when we get hands(free?) on with Kinect.

STAT BOX
Product
Kinect for Xbox 360
Company
Microsoft Studios
Date
06/17/2010