Microsoft 
 
 While the event was short on news, Microsoft did unveil a new name — Kinect — for Project Natal, the motion technology that lets users play videogames and interact with the Xbox 360 console with gestures and spoken commands. In order to reach the event, certain audience members were told to walk into one of many fake living rooms where a family greeted them and pointed the way to the main stage. Everyone was then given a white poncho, with large shoulder pads, and awhile into the Cirque's performance, I looked around the arena and had a definite sense of being part of some sort of religious revival, what with thousands of people sitting and standing together, all wearing identical shimmering white ponchos. These games include: 
 
 
 
 A Yoga/Tai Chi Game (official name to be announced) 
 
 A Soccer Game (official name to be announced) 
 
 Joyride 
 
 A racing game where players can steer using their hands. Standing in front of the Kinect system, the young boy began miming out the movements for a river rafting game, and high on the walls, on digital representations of giant TVs, we saw his avatar riding a raft, dipping and weaving his way down a river of rapids. And like us on Facebook to get our news right in your feed: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Get breaking news and personal-tech reviews delivered right to your inbox. And then we saw a big multi-sports competition game, in which the family faced off in sports like Hurdles (jumping), javelin (throwing), bowling, beach volleyball, soccer and the 100-meter sprint. The Sunday night event, which kicked off the E3 Expo videogame industry tradeshow, was meant to be a way for audience members to get a sneak peek at Kinect. The details about pricing and availability are expected to be unveiled at its Monday press conference.
– Microsoft unveiled its much-hyped Project Natal motion control system—now renamed “Kinect”—at E3 last night, in a performance long on grandiosity and short on actual revelations. After walking through a set of fake living rooms, the white-poncho-wearing audience was treated to a performance by Cirque du Soleil acrobats dressed as cavemen, as a narrator declared that “history is about to rewritten” and a boy, raising his arms, used his movements usher in the new motion-based way to play games, according to the Wall Street Journal. And what was this grand historical event all about? Well, mostly mimicking the Wii, according to CNET. Microsoft’s camera-based motion controller may have potential, but the games demoed last night mostly looked like analogues for successful Wii efforts, including a yoga game, a racing game, and a Wii Sports-esque game titled—wait for it—Kinect Sports. IGN has a full list of launch titles. Microsoft is expected to reveal more details, including pricing, at its press conference today.