Microsoft’s Kinect Launching November 4 with 15 Game Titles

Well, it’s official. Microsoft’s heavily-anticipated motion gaming product, Project Natal, will be launching this coming November under the name of Kinect. Similar to the Wii, a motion bar of sorts will be required, but that’s where the comparison to Wii ends. Kinect’s bar features three different cameras, and can be used with no extra controllers at all.

At the same time of Kinect’s announcement, Microsoft also unveiled a brand-new Xbox 360 design, one that’s sexier and caters more towards Kinect support. If you use this “slim” model, you will be able to plug Kinect straight into it, but if you are stuck with a current version of the console (aka: everybody at the moment), you will need to use a separate power adapter in the wall.

To help kick Kinect off right, Microsoft also announced that fifteen games will be available at launch. Of these, four come out of Microsoft Game Studios, including Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Joy Ride and Kinect Sports (rather generic titles if you ask me). Third party support includes Sonic Free Riders, The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout, Zumba Fitness, EA Sports Active 2, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and more. Yes, like the Wii, there will be much focus on workouts with Kinect.

For those who will own Kinect, spotting appropriate titles in the store won’t be that difficult, as Microsoft has rolled out special packaging to make them stand out. Rather than green, the boxes will be purple, making them easy to even spot at pretty much any angle.

I’m still a bit skeptical of Kinect, although I do appreciate how it vastly improves upon the Wii’s motion support. Still, I’ve never been a big fan of motion gaming, and it’s actually caused me to stop playing games in the past, but I’m willing to wait and see just how well Kinect works, and also see whether or not game developers make better use of it. With the Wii, I found the entire setup to be a bit finicky, but Kinect looks far more accurate. Come November 4, you can purchase one of your own, but it looks like we’ll have to wait closer to that date to get some pricing details.

The date was nailed down at the Microsoft E3 2010 press conference, after showing off several of the titles coming to the system. Interestingly enough, no price was given for Kinect, so we’ll continue to hem and haw over how much we’ll pay for the ability to play Sonic the Hedgehog with our bodies.