Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer got the company’s 2011 CES Keynote address underway by touting the success and future of Kinect for Xbox 360.
Approximately 8 million Kinects have been sold at retail through its first 60 days of availability. Microsoft had originally set a goal of reaching 5 million sales during that same time frame. Not too shabby for a motion-controller that costs the same amount as a Nintendo DSi XL portable gaming system.
Moving forward, Microsoft unveiled a couple new features coming to Kinect this spring. First up is the rumored Avatar Kinect that was revealed to be a virtual chat room where participants could use Kinect to interact with one another. Kinect will pick up not only full-body movements and translate them on-screen to the Avatar, but facial expressions and mouth movement as well.
A total of 15 virtual worlds will initially be available when Avatar Kinect launches. You’ll need an Xbox Live Gold membership to gain access.
As originally demoed by Microsoft last year, this spring Kinect will offer motion-control and voice command support for HuluPlus and Netflix. This was one of the most sought after features when Kinect was originally unveiled and should be a big hit for Netflix or HuluPlus subscribers.
