For any company, a major release like Office 2010 would be considered its dominant news of the week. However, Microsoft's consumer rollout of the productivity suite June 15 seems somewhat eclipsed by the announcements coming from the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, where the company is revealing its new Xbox-related products.

That may be due to the legendary fanaticism of the gaming community, and its online buzz. In addition, the details of Office 2010 have long been known, while projects such as the newly announced Kinect "controller-free gaming device" have the sparkle of the less familiar. Whatever the reason, the prominence of Microsoft's wares at E3, held June 15 through 17, suggests gaming's importance to the company—not only for its ability to contribute to the coffers from which Microsoft draws resources to develop platforms such as Office, but also for its effects on future endeavors in areas such as smartphones.

In addition to a variety of games, Microsoft is hoping to challenge Nintendo and Sony with Kinect, a unit that plugs into the Xbox 360 console and uses a three-dimensional-video camera to track 48 points of movement on the user's body; the user's digital avatar then mimics his or her real-world movements. Picture swinging your arms, and having your onscreen Jedi mirror that movement with a lightsaber. The rumor mill suggests that the device will debut on store shelves sometime in November, with a price set below $200. Microsoft seems to be learning lessons from Nintendo, which sold millions of Wii units thanks to a combination of innovative controls and easygoing games for casual players.

More: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Windows/Microsofts-Xbox-Kinect-Factor-In-Overall-Strategy-733685/