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Microsoft kicked off E3 2010 in unique fashion with their Project Natal for Xbox 360 Experience featuring a Cirque du Soleil crew. Next they kicked things into high gear with their media briefing at the Wiltern Theatre. Ready, set…

The press conference began with a number of game trailers and real-time demos. First up was Treyarch with Call of Duty: Black Ops. It releases November 9. It was announced that Microsoft & Activision signed a multi-year agreement pertaining to Call of Duty downloadable content. Starting with Black Ops in 2010, all Call of Duty add-ons and map packs will launch first on Xbox 360 through 2012.

Next was Kojima Productions with Metal Gear Solid: Rising. It’s being described as a “sword action game” that’s based on the Japanese terms “zan-datzu” which means “to cut” and “to take.” A brief trailer revealed that the game will feature protagonist Raiden slicing and dicing his way past enemies (and watermelon).

Then Xbox’s major blockbusters hit the stage. Epic’s Cliffy B. demonstrated Gears of War 3 which is due out April 5. A new mode called “Beast” will be detailed soon. Then Lionhead Studios’ Peter Molyneux showed off a trailer for Fable III; it releases October the 26th. And things rounded out with a new trailer for Halo: Reach, “the most ambitious game Bungie has ever created.” The trailer was a mix of gameplay footage and cinematic cut scenes. Reach drops September 14. Also thrown into the mix was a new game from Crytek codenamed Kingdoms; it looks like a game based on the move 300. (*Each game title is linked to their respective E3 trailers/gameplay footage.)

Kinect for Xbox 360, formally known as Project Natal, was detailed. “Kinect detects both movement and sound in very sophisticated ways.” An image revealed the guts of the motion-sensing device; it contains two 3D depth sensors, an RGB camera, multi-array mic, and a motorized tilt. “When you combine the power of Xbox 360, the services of Xbox Live, and the magic of Kinect, the result is not just a revolution for your games, but for all of your entertainment.” Enter the Kinect Hub.

To get your Xbox 360 to recognize you, simply stand in front of Kinect, wave your hand, and the software will sign you into Xbox Live and bring up your custom avatar. Wave your hand a second time and you’re brought to a “controller-free menu” designed for Kinect gestures. The Kinect Hub allows you to interact with your games, friends, Netflix, Zune, Facebook, last.fm, and also customize your avatar. Thanks to the built-in mic, voice control is also accessible. Their motto is “if you see it, just say it.” You must precede all commands with “Xbox.” So for example, if you say “Xbox, Zune” the Zune hub loads up and now you have access to Zune Video, and now, Zune Music. Over seven million songs are now available over Xbox Live with Zune Music integration. With controller-free entertainment that’s “natural and effortless” you can also play/pause movies with your voice and rewind/fast-forward them with your hands. To select a piece of content simply hover your hand over it for a couple seconds.

Continue reading Microsoft press conference highlights: Kinect, ESPN, Xbox slim →

With only a few hours left until Microsoft’s press conference at E3, USA Today managed to get a hold of (and leak) the final name for Project Natal. It’s called (drum roll please…) Kinect. Microsoft’s Major Nelson confirms it via Twitter. A number of casual games have been outed, too. Kinectimals lets you play with over 20 different virtual animals; Joyride lets you race with your avatars, controller-free of course; Kinect Sports features boxing, bowling, beach volleyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis; Kinect Adventures is a river rafting game with various obstacle courses to flail your arms and legs through; and MTV Games will make Dance Central. Disney and LucasArts are planned to unveil games featuring characters from their arsenal. In addition, the LA Times outed four games this morning (including Richochet, River Rush, Obstacle Course, and Living Statue) and spilled that “about a dozen more” Kinect-supported games will be unveiled by other developers during E3. It look like release date and pricing details will have to wait until tomorrow’s press conference.

Update: What appears to be a legit Italian Microsoft ad is boasting a new slimmer Xbox 360 console. It was originally spotted at Console-Tribe. The thirteen second spot lists features like a 250GB HDD, built-in WiFi (woot!), and compatibility with Kinect. That last sliver of info makes this ad feel all the more authentic. How could an imposter know about the Natal-to-Kinect transition when news of it just leaked out from USA Today? Interesting, I know. Well good news is that we won’t have to wait too long to see if this manifests itself into something tangible. Look after the break for the commercial.

Update #2: Official press shots of Kinect are out! So sleek and black and shiny. Go ahead, take a closer look in the gallery below.

[Via Joystiq, here, here, here & here; LA Times] Continue reading Project Natal is ‘Kinect’, 5 casual games leak too (Update: Xbox 360 Slim TBA?) →