Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and gaming platforms for Windows Phone 7 was the main focus of Microsoft’s latest announcements, rather than Windows PCs, as its announced new games for the mobile OS and some improvements to the UI for some Xbox 360 experiences – but also a new feature for Kinect.
Avatar Kinect will now allow your avatar to mimic your motions – including your mouth movements and expressions – via the Kinect camera. So that means if you nod your head, your avatar will mimic that to the rest of your party. The video package also highlights that you can even communicate with each other and record your own talk show with your friends, viewable to all on Xbox Live.
Avatar Kinect will be a free upgrade to those who are Xbox Live Gold members.
The Xbox Live and Kinect integration will get even better for the United States when Hulu Plus will come to the Xbox Live and will have Kinect integration. Also, Netflix customers will be able to navigate and watch movies and shows with no controller – just simply motion and voice controls.
Windows Phone 7 is also getting some new games, including Fable Gold Hunt, essentially an additional game that will see you collect gold. The good thing, and most attractive reason to get the game, is that the gold you collect from the game will be added to the gold totals on your Fable 3 account. Other games joining Windows Phone 7 include Fruit Ninja, Pac-Man and Zombies!! – the latter obviously a zombie game.
Windows Phone 7 will also be getting an update, that will improve the performance of the operating system – including the games, and will include copy and paste.
You can read the commentary for the Microsoft keynote at our website.