Kinect is more than an Xbox 360 peripheral; it’s the future of Microsoft, or at least a very possible one. It’s the beginning of Microsoft’s plans for natural user interfaces, the step beyond the thing you’re staring at right now.
Well the leaks were right. At tonight’s E3 kick-off party, Microsoft officially pulled the curtain off Microsoft Kinect, formerly known as Project Natal . Kinect! Like “connect” and “kinetic” and “Kin”. Among the first games to be shown off: Kinect Star Wars.
Turns out the recent Microsoft/Foxtel partnership to bring Pay TV to the Xbox 360 has a few fringe benefits, like Fox8 broadcasting Microsoft’s E3 keynote next week live next Tuesday morning.
Microsoft President of Entertainment and Devices – that’s Xbox, Zune, Kin, Courier, et al – Robbie Bach announced his retirement today. And in his exit interview with TechFlash, he holds forth on the once and future Microsoft. So Robbie: What happens now?
So much for that sub-$US100 price we were all expecting. If some early prices from Swedish retailers are anything to go by, we’re all going to be scrimping on the luxury eggnog this Christmas.
A pre-Christmas launch date was always known for Project Natal, but October sounds quite early. Perhaps Microsoft has seen what happens with the Wii every Christmas and is taking measures to ensure they don’t sell out, making kiddies worldwide disappointed?
