Kinect Everywhere: Microsoft Announces Voice and Gesture Control for More Xbox Apps



Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer announced some interesting new Xbox features at the opening keynote at CES 2011 this evening. Most of the excitement is around the Kinect, which Ballmer boasted had sold over 8 million units in just 60 days.

Currently, Xbox users can control Zune music and video discovery and playback using a combination of voice and gesture controls via the Kinect. This Spring, this same functionality will come to Netflix and Hulu Plus on the Xbox.

Also coming this Spring: Avatar Kinect. The sensor will not only be able to track your body movements, but also facial expressions. That leads to avatars that can match your mouth movement and even your eyebrows. We got a taste of this from an avatared Steve Ballmer. It was a little… odd. But the concept seems fun.

It will be free for Xbox Live Gold members at launch.

Beyond Kinect, Xbox users can also look forward to College Bowl Showdown, an app that connects Xbox live users keeping up with college football with their friends. Social interaction, leaderboards, bragging, plus avatars. Check it out now on Xbox live.