One of the most highly-anticipated pieces of consumer technology in recent years, the revolutionary Kinect for Xbox 360, goes on sale in South Africa this week – bringing with it an era of controller-free gaming and entertainment.

Kinect and the long-awaited Xbox LIVE service were launched in Sandton last night to more than 200 media, customers, evangelists and fanatics. Both products will be available locally from 10 November.

Unlike any other consumer technology available today, Kinect lets people use their bodies play games and access entertainment, literally turning the user into the controller. It locks onto people and follows their motions. Players activate it with a wave of a hand, navigate menus by moving their arms and then run, jump, lunge, lean and dance to direct their on-screen avatars.

“For us, this is a really big deal,” said Yvette van Rooyen, product manager for Xbox in South Africa. “Kinect literally transforms entertainment and introduces the Xbox 360 console to millions of new people — families, friends and people of all ages. There’s nothing like it on the market.”

Launching along with Kinect in South Africa is Xbox Live, an online service which allows Xbox users to play online against people around the world and get access to premium content and services.

Deemed a “breakthrough innovation” by Popular Mechanics, the “best of what’s new” by Popular Science and awarded the US National Parenting Publications Awards Gold Award, Kinect for Xbox 360 promises to usher in a new era of entertainment.

Kinect removes the “wands, gadgets, and gizmos” that sometimes act as a barrier, making Xbox games and entertainment more approachable, social and interactive so everyone can enjoy them, said Van Rooyen.

“Once it meets you, Kinect recognises you. With just a wave of the hand, Kinect comes to life, bringing games, movies, TV, music, exercise, dancing and sports to your fingertips,” she said.

5 games will be launching with Kinect – Kinectimals, Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports, Kinect Joyride and Dance Central.  In addition, there will be 10 3^rd Party publisher titles in line with the launch too.  These include : Your Shape, EA Active 2, Zumba Fitness, DanceMasters,  Adrenalin Misfits, Motion Sports, Sonic Free Riders and on the 19^th November we will see the launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 as a Kinect ready release.

Kinect for Xbox 360 is great value for the whole family. The all-in-one Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect includes the new Xbox 360 4GB console, Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures,” priced at R3699. For those who have an Xbox 360 console already, the stand-alone Kinect for Xbox 360 sensor is priced at R1999, and includes the Kinect sensor and “Kinect Adventures”.

Sharing the limelight with Kinect at the launch was Xbox LIVE. Speaking at the launch event, Robin Burrowes, Xbox LIVE product manager for Europe, Middle East & Africa, said Xbox LIVE is about “building communities and connecting people to each other and to great content”.

With an Xbox 360 and broadband internet connection, users can now connect and join LIVE for free to access their personal profiles with Gamerscore, Gamertag, Avatar; access the Xbox LIVE Games Marketplace; and access free game demos. An upgrade to Xbox LIVE Gold membership allows users to play games with their friends online, including great new Kinect titles, or video chat with Video Kinect. It also allows users to receive early access to content and exclusive Gold discounts.

An Xbox LIVE Gold 12-month membership will be available for R599. A 3-month membership will cost R199, with numerous launch specials available.

“This is an exciting step forward in the experience we can give our loyal and committed Xbox communities,” said Burrowes. “Xbox fans in South Africa will now be able play the best games in the industry with the 25 million other Xbox LIVE users across the world who have made this their online gaming destination of choice.”

The most anticipated gaming event of the year is here. Starting today, millions of gamers around the world will embark on a mission of courage, sacrifice and valour in “Halo: Reach,” the prequel to the iconic “Halo” trilogy that became a global entertainment phenomenon and defined a generation of gamers over the last decade.

The “Halo” franchise has been dubbed “a pop culture phenomenon” by Variety magazine and hailed as the No 1 game series of all time by the Guinness Book of World Records.

“When it comes to the size and scope of a franchise and especially the dedication of the fans, no game is bigger than ‘Halo,’” said Yvette van Rooyen, Xbox Product & Marketing Manager in South Africa. “With ‘Halo: Reach,’ we’re delivering on our promise to redefine blockbuster entertainment experiences and ultimately help make this year the biggest ever in Xbox history.”

Tens of thousands of retailers around the world are opened their doors at midnight exclusively to sell copies of “Halo: Reach,” as well as “Halo: Reach” Xbox 360 consoles and accessories. Special marquee launch events are taking place in major cities around the world. A jetpacking Spartan descended on Trafalgar Square yesterday to celebrate the launch of Halo: Reach where over 400 stores in the UK opened at midnight for Halo fans to grab an early copy.

“Halo: Reach” tells the tragic and heroic story of Noble Team, a group of Spartans, who through great sacrifice and courage, saved countless lives in the face of impossible odds. The planet Reach is humanity’s last line of defense between the encroaching Covenant and their ultimate goal, the destruction of Earth. If it falls, humanity will be perched on the brink of destruction.

Published by Microsoft Game Studios, the “Halo” franchise of games is exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network, which finally hits South African shores later this year. As evidence of the game’s highly anticipated release, more than 2.7 million players participated in the “Halo: Reach” multiplayer beta in May, making it the largest console video game beta test on record and more than triple the size of the historic “Halo 3” beta.

The “Halo” franchise started with the original “Halo: Combat Evolved” (2001), and has spawned multiple best-selling novels, comic books, action figures, apparel and more. To date, more than 34 million copies of “Halo” games have been sold worldwide, driving more than 3.3 billion hours of gameplay by people connected to Xbox LIVE.

Im looking forward to try it out, and my copy is already in the mail… Will keep you posted!

The recent Consumer Electronics show Sony’s booth only had one playable game, which did not live up to the hype of PS3. Microsoft showcased several new titles as well as new firmware enhancements that will continue to make it hard for the PS3 to make up any ground. Microsoft has sold over 10 million consoles internationally and lead the race against Sony and Nintendo.
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An 18-year-old North Carolina man, suspected of stealing two PlayStation 3 consoles, was shot dead by police executing a search warrant at his residence.

Peyton Strickland was gunned down in his house by deputies as he answered the door, the Wilmington Star News reports.

He was unarmed, according to witnesses. University of North Carolina police had investigated the alleged robbery, and asked the Hanover County Sheriff’s Department to assist in serving the warrant. It was a sheriff’s deputy, not a university officer, who killed the young man. The trigger-happy deputy also shot dead Strickland’s dog for good measure.

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