Tokyo: Battling its Japanese gaming rivals on their home turf hasn't been easy for Microsoft Corp. Its Xbox 360 game console runs a distant third in sales here behind Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 console and Nintendo Co.'s Wii.
But the Seattle-based company is armed with a new weapon — its new controller-free Kinect game technology — that it hopes will convince Japanese consumers to embrace the Xbox 360.
The company introduced the highly anticipated Kinect to the Japanese media on Wednesday, touting its ability to broaden the Xbox's appeal to the entire family.
Once known as Project Natal, Kinect stretches the concept of motion capture that propelled the Wii's global success.
But Microsoft eliminated the controller completely. Kinect relies instead on a camera system that recognises gestures and voices, enabling players to control on-screen avatars in action and sports games simply by moving their own bodies.
"All you have to do is play [Kinect], or watch people play it," said Takashi Sensui, head of Microsoft's home and entertainment division in Japan. "It's nothing you've seen, and it's a brand new experience that I think a lot of people will be attracted to."
Until now, the Xbox has been known as the device to play hard-core shooter games such as "Halo." In the US, Microsoft ranks second in console sales after Nintendo, just ahead of Sony.
Microsoft will release 10 Kinect-compatible games by the end of the year in Japan.
