LOS ANGELES - MICROSOFT Corp has struck a deal with Walt Disney Co's ESPN network to broadcast live sporting events - for free - into US living rooms through the Xbox 360 games console, bypassing traditional cable providers.
Live games will be broadcast through Microsoft's Xbox Live service, and will be offered at no additional cost, executives said at the E3 games convention on Monday.
Microsoft's ambition - despite its spotty track record of engaging consumers outside of gaming - is to make the Xbox, which competes with Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii and Sony Corp's PlayStation, the nexus of household entertainment.
It already offers Netflix movies and Zune music and videos through its Xbox Live online subscription service.
There has been talk that it will announce a deal to add Hulu TV shows to the service at E3. -- REUTERS
The new slim Xbox console features a 250 gigabyte hard drive, built-in high speed wireless connectivity and is priced at US$299 (S$418). -- PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES - MICROSOFT on Monday began shipping a slim, more powerful version of its Xbox 360 videogame console to US stores.
The announcement came as the US technology giant announced that its hotly-anticipated motion-sensing 'Kinect' controllers for Xbox 360 consoles will be available in the United States beginning November 4. 'Kinect' is the name for the new game technology developed by Microsoft under the code name Project Natal.
The potentially revolutionary device uses a 3-D camera and gesture recognition software to let people play videogames using natural body movements instead of hand-held controllers. The new slim Xbox console features a 250 gigabyte hard drive, built-in high speed wireless connectivity and is priced at US$299 (S$418), the same as its predecessor.
During a press conference held on the eve of the start of a major Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Microsoft showed off an array of games for its new Kinect system. At least 15 titles for play using Kinect will be available when the hardware add-on to Xbox consoles becomes available, according to Microsoft.
No price details were disclosed at the presentation, which provided glimpses of how Kinect lets players control on-screen characters with natural gestures instead of hand-held controllers.
'You interact with things the same way you would in the real world, with your moves and your voice,' said Kinect creative director Kudo Tsunado. 'Anyone can jump in and play.' Players can tell consoles what to do with simple commands such as 'Xbox play music.' Microsoft games tailored for Kinect include 'Kinectimals' that lets children play with and train virtual wild animals and a sports game with sprinting, the javelin throw, the long jump and more track events. -- AFP
