Microsoft surprises and delights with Kinect, blockbuster games and new ways to enjoy movies
Los Angeles – June 15th – Xbox today opened a new era of entertainment for everyone, transforming the way the world plays, entertains and connects with friends and family members. To kick-start the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Microsoft Corp. world premiered Kinect, formerly known as “Project Natal,” in a spectacular live performance imagined by Cirque du Soleil. Unlike anything seen or experienced before, Kinect for Xbox 360 opens a new world of controller-free games and entertainment so everyone can have fun.
In addition to Kinect, Xbox showcased new and easy ways to enjoy movies and games with friends and family. It also demonstrated that Xbox 360 is the only place to play the three biggest blockbuster games: “Call of Duty,” “Gears of War 3” and, what is potentially the biggest game of 2010, “Halo: Reach.”
“At Microsoft, we believe fun is a universal magnet, uniting us and connecting us all together,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “We believe interactive entertainment is the greatest form of all entertainment, and it should be open and approachable to as many people as possible, and it is this belief that led us to remove the last barrier between you and the entertainment you love. By making you the controller, we will transform how you and your friends experience games and entertainment.”
The year we all “Kinect”
Kinect for Xbox 360 brings roaring rapids, wild tigers, mountainous obstacle courses and zooming race cars to living rooms in North America on Nov. 4 and will roll out to the rest of the world thereafter. Uniquely magical and instantly fun, Kinect for Xbox 360 tracks your body movements and gestures. It even understands your voice.
By taking technology out of your hands for the first time, Kinect lets people who have never picked up a game controller join in the excitement. See a ball? Just kick it. Want to learn how to dance or get fit? Just follow the moves. With Kinect, all you have to do is be you — no controller required.
Kinect also puts your favourite movies and music videos at your fingertips, turning ordinary entertainment into an extraordinary experience.1 Jump right into a movie in instant-on 1080p HD2 by simply saying “Xbox, play.” Kinect instantly makes playing games and watching movies more fun and interactive than ever before, and it is available only on Xbox 360.
The new Xbox 360
Microsoft also surprised the world with a new Xbox 360 console designed for the future. Back in black, the new Xbox 360 is sleek, quiet and sexy. Connect in seconds to the always-expanding world of Xbox LIVE through built-in Wi-Fi N and store twice as many games and entertainment on a 250GB hard drive.
The newly designed console is whisper-quiet, so the silent tension of a game or movie is never broken. The new Xbox 360 system also comes with everything you need to get started, including an Xbox 360 wireless controller, Xbox 360 headset, HDMI input, USB flash drive storage capabilities and more, available in Australia from July 1st and priced at $449 RRP*.
Entertainment for everyone
Xbox LIVE connects you and your Xbox 360 to a world of fun, friends and interactive social entertainment, with the best in games, movies, TV, music, sports and community experiences all in one place.
- Video Kinect – Share a smile and a wave with far away friends and family as you come together from living rooms across the world, no headset required3. Video Kinect pans to follow your movements and adjusts automatically to make chat on Xbox LIVE more intuitive and easy-to-use than ever before.
Next year, Microsoft will link Video Kinect with Windows Live Messenger, allowing the Xbox LIVE community to have rich, real-time video conversations with hundreds of millions of PC users around the world. It will also integrate custom news feeds, weather and videos from Bing, sparking conversation just like you’re in the same room reading the paper or watching the news together.
- Global expansion – This holiday, Xbox LIVE will roll out service to nine new regions — Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Russia and South Africa — delivering the core gaming and community features that have made Xbox LIVE the world’s premier online gaming destination.
Earlier this month it was announced that Australians will soon be able to watch live television and a range of video-on-demand programming on Xbox LIVE from satellite and cable TV provider FOXTEL with no set-top box required. FOXTEL by Xbox LIVE will allow Xbox 360 owners in Australia to access FOXTEL channels including FOX Sports, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Disney, MTV, and other leading channels via their Xbox 360 entertainment console, without the need for a FOXTEL set-top-box.4
The year of blockbuster games
Larger-than-life characters. Emotional storytelling. Groundbreaking gameplay. This year, the Xbox 360 is the only place to play three of the biggest blockbusters — “Halo Reach,” “Call of Duty” and “Gears of War 3.” In addition to these highly anticipated titles, games like “Fable III,” “Metal Gear Solid: Rising” and “Kingdoms” are on the way.5
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Should you have any questions or comments please contact:
Danny Wong, Pulse Communications: (02) 8281 3826 / daniel@pulsecom.com.au
1 Xbox LIVE Gold Membership required.
2 Users will need an HDCP compliant 1080p display, an HDMI cable and broadband speeds greater than 3–4 Mbps for instant viewing at 1080p and 5.1 surround sound.
3 Xbox LIVE Gold membership required for “Kinect” Chat.
4 Xbox Live Gold subscription and Foxtel by Xbox Live subscription required.
5 Check the Classification closer to launch date
* Recommended Retail Price. Actual price is set by the reseller
About Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is a premier home entertainment and video game system. This holiday, with the addition of Kinect, Xbox 360 will transform social gaming and entertainment with a whole new way to play — no controller required. Xbox 360 is also home to some of the best and broadest games as well as a large on-demand library of standard- and high-definition movies, and digital games, all in one place. The entertainment centre of the living room, Xbox 360 blends fantastic content with an online social network of 25 million Xbox LIVE members to create a brilliant entertainment experience that can be shared at home or across the globe. More information about Xbox 360 can be found online at http://www.xbox.com .