Skip to main content

Microsoft Kinect Available November 4th, Will Launch with 15 Games

Microsoft told the media today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that the Kinect motion sensing product will be available November 14th, and should be launching with at least 15 games out of the gate. The company however, did not mention how much Kinect will sell for as a stand-alone product, but analysts are putting the price tag around $50-200 depending on the package, and what’s included.

Microsoft also announced a new Xbox 360 console which is supposed to be more compact and which includes a 250Gb hard drive, 802.11n WiFi and Kinect ready support. The new game console will be priced at $299 and will be available Monday, June 21st.

The Jury is still out on whether Kinect (previously called Project Natal) will be able to compete with the likes of the Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation Move products, but Microsoft is changing gears and targeting the very same consumer that the aforementioned products are aimed at; casual players and newcomers – not hardcore gamers.

The 15 games that Kinect will launch include some of the following below:

A Yoga/Tai Chi Game (official name to be announced)

A Soccer Game (official name to be announced)

Joyride

Kinect Sports

Kinectimals

Kinect Adventures

Dance Central

Editors' Recommendations

Ian Bell
I work with the best people in the world and get paid to play with gadgets. What's not to like?
Weekend deal: Save $350 on this Alienware gaming PC with RTX 4070
Alienware Aurora R16 sitting on a desk.

The Alienware brand is Dell’s dive into the gaming world, and Dell is coming up big today when it comes to gaming PC deals. The super popular Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop with some serious specs is currently discounted at Dell. It’s marked down from $2,050 to $1,700 and amounts to $350 in savings. This is one of the better Alienware deals you’ll find today and we don’t know how long it will last, so click over to Dell to claim the savings while yo can.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop
There are a lot of great options when trying to ensure you’re getting one of the best gaming PCs, and with Alienware you know you’ll be getting something you can take seriously. The Alienware Aurora R16 is a gaming desktop that offers ultimate expansion and customization options, and it’s where a lot of gamers turn when they’re looking to take on the best PC games. As built for this deal the Aurora R16 has 32GB of RAM and an Intel i9 processor with 24 cores. This is a lot of power even by gaming standards, and the powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card with 12GB of its own RAM is part of the package as well.

Read more
TopSpin 2K25 serves up a fun, but safe tennis simulation revival
Serena Williams plays Tennis in TopSpin 2K25.

The first video game console I ever owned was an original Xbox that came bundled with two games: NCAA Football 2005 and Top Spin. My appreciation for both Madden and tennis games can be traced back to those being two of my first-ever console gaming experiences.

That’s why I was very excited to hear that Mafia 3 developer Hanger 13 and publisher 2K were bringing the Top Spin tennis series back with TopSpin 2K25 after a 13-year dormancy. Unfortunately, I'm disappointed with how underwhelming the overall product is. Even though it’s the series’ grand return after over a decade, it feels like an extremely iterative sequel to Top Spin 4. It’s certainly approachable, thanks to great tutorials and new meter systems to help players learn proper timing, but TopSpin 2K25's light content offering doesn't make for the strongest opening serve.
Top Spin returns
Developer Hanger 13 hasn’t been coy about the fact that it used 2011's Top Spin 4 as the base to build TopSpin 2K25. Top Spin 4 is a fantastic tennis game that people still play to this day, as it perfected the series’ timing-based gameplay. This isn’t like Mario Tennis Aces, where a special ability can shoot you across the court and hit timing doesn’t matter. TopSpin 2K25 is a true simulation, so learning proper positioning on the court, when to release a button to swing your racket, and how to aim your shot properly are all critical to success.

Read more
Embracer Group is splitting into 3 companies. Here’s who owns what
Rise of the Tomb Raider

Embracer, the embattled gaming company that went through a massive restructuring over the past year, just announced that it will split up into three different companies: Asmodee, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.

If you need a refresher, Embracer Group gained a reputation for acquiring gaming IPs and studios, including everything from Borderlands' Gearbox Entertainment to Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics to The Lord of the Rings' rights holder Middle-earth Enterprises. It functioned as one massive company separated into several operating groups. After a deal with Saudi Arabia's Savvy Group fell through last year, Embracer went through a massive period of "restructuring" where it laid thousands of developers off, shut down studios, and sold the likes of Saber Interactive and Gearbox. Now, it seems the saga of Embracer Group is nearing its end, as the company admitted in a press release "that the current Group structure does not create optimal conditions for future value creation both for Embracer Group’s shareholders and other stakeholders."

Read more