Microsoft Unveils Controller-Less Kinect, New Xbox 360

The 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles kicked off with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) making a couple of industry shaking announcements, including detailed demonstrations of the new controller-less Kinect, which allows the user to perform an array of interactions through the Xbox 360.

The tech giant showed off six of the 15 games that should be ready for the launch of the new device on November 4, but the question of who is going to play these games remains.

The software demoed for the Kinect at the company’s press conference on Monday started with "Kinectimals," which allows the user to interact with exotic animals in a wide range of activities. This is a simple game clearly directed towards kids. The interactions looked sharp and if the experience shown in the demo is accurate to the gameplay in the home, the title could become popular with young gamers.

Interactive titles for adults included "Kinect Adventures" and "Kinect Sports," which look similar to popular offerings from Nintendo's Wii minus the controller. Players will be able to use the titles to do boxing, run track, ride a mine cart or surf on a cloud.

Microsoft also showed off titles that will allow the player to drive a car, workout and dance all without the use of a controller.

First things first, the technology looks sound and could potentially be entertaining. The added uses for interactions with movies, music and video chat look impressive, but just ask Nintendo about what happens to flashy new hardware that does not have must have title to drive sales.

Additionally, there was no word from Microsoft on the launch price of the Kinect hardware or if the games will carry the same $60 new-release cost of current Xbox games. It would seem exorbitant to price these lean looking titles at that level when gamers will surely have to cough up a sizable sum for the Kinect itself.

Besides the Kinect, Microsoft unveiled a sleek new version of the Xbox 360 console, which will surprisingly ship on Monday. The latest version will sport a 250GB hard drive and internal Wi-Fi for the first time in the device’s history.

The price of the latest face-lift to the console will be priced at $299.

The company showed off some of its pending blockbusters, including "Gears of War 3," "Call of Duty: Black Ops," "Halo: Reach" and "Metal Gear Solid: Rising."

In addition, Microsoft announced a new partnership with ESPN to bring live sports content to Xbox Live, allowing users to access more than 3,500 games in the first year with the majority in high definition.

Microsoft showed its muscle, but left a number of questions unanswered. The company said this year will be the best for the Xbox since it first debuted a decade ago, but style and flash will have to shortly be replaced with substance to achieve that level of success.

"Were transforming the way you play games, the way you enjoy entertainment and the way you connect to friends and family," said Don Mattrick, head of the Xbox group.