Xbox 360 camera to ship with free game
Microsoft has announced new details regarding its Live Vision camera for the Xbox 360, which is expected to ship this September - complete with a free gesture-control software title.
Announcing its plans at the Seattle Gamefest event this week, Microsoft's Jeff Stone confirmed that the peripheral will be shipped together with Totemball, a new game developed by UK firms Strange Flavour and Freeverse.
The peripheral will track user's arm movements, challenging them to guide a wheeled totem pole around various environments, collecting items and attempting to avoid obstacles to reach the goal within a specific time limit.
Both Strange Flavour and Freeverse have a history in the development of gesture control, having worked on several titles for Apple's iSight peripheral for the Macintosh. Stone confirmed that additional titles are currently in development, although no specific games were announced at this point.
Rivalling Sony's EyeToy camera for the PS2 and PS3 - which also shipped with a compendium of gesture control titles called EyeToy Play when it first launched - Microsoft's Live Vision camera will also be utilised for video chat and face mapping in titles such as Uno and Activision's World Series of Poker.
Microsoft stopped short of announcing a price point for the device, although US retailer GameStop has the Live Vision camera listed at US$39.99 with a release date of September 19th.
