Insider - the eXpansys staff blog

Microsoft's bid to take over the hugely lucrative video game market has just been revealed in Los Angeles with the launch of Kinect, a hands-free device that lets you control a game without a controller.

Nintendo's Wii has ruled the roost since it was released in 2006, with about 70m of the consoles sold worldwide – 30m more than Microsoft's Xbox 360. But with its new motion-sensing gadget the Xbox 360 has set out its stall to win the gaming battle by focusing on the living room market for easy, family games.

Kinect uses a video camera, infrared sensor and microphone to track players' actions and commands and convert them into on-screen movement. It maps 40-odd points on the body and uses them to control all on-screen actions without any noticeable lag whatsoever.

But the fun doesn’t end there. Voice recognition is also in-built. So, when you want to turn the Xbox on, just say “Xbox on” and the machine starts up. Want to turn it off? Just say “Xbox off” and it obeys.

At the annual E3 Video Games Convention in Los Angeles this week, Microsoft showed clips from several Kinect games, including a sports sim, which sees players running and jumping over hurdles, throwing a javelin and playing football. There was also yoga, white-water rafting and a game called Dance Central, in which players perform moves in time with a pop soundtrack, including tracks by a host of stars like Lady Gaga.

Your front room will never be the same again.

The Xbox 360 is due 21st July and is available to pre-order now for £199.99, click here for more info.

The Kinect wireless controller is available for pre-order, dates and price to be announced shortly, click here for more info.