Microsoft has finally launched its Avatar Kinect software for Xbox 360 users worldwide. Avatar Kinect combines Video and Voice Calling with movement and gestures thanks to the Kinect accessory.
Avatar Kinect is available right now and can be downloaded through Xbox Live as a dashboard update of around 660MB, so be patient!
Once downloaded, users will be able to join virtual chat rooms with their Xbox Live buddies and chat using voice detected by Kinect’s inbuilt microphone. Each chat room is a different virtual environment where you can see your buddies represented on-screen as their Xbox Live avatars, alongside your own. Kinect will detect your body movements down to the finer details such as smiling and nodding and represent them on-screen with your virtual character.
A new feature called Kinect Fun Labs is included within the update and aims to provide a little fun and competition. There are 24 stages in which you and seven other friends can communicate and compete in things like the Performance Stage and the Talk Show Stage. Your performances are recorded by Kinect and can be uploaded later for viewing and social network sharing on www.kinectshare.com.
Microsoft also announced Kinect Sparkler, an add-on feature for Avatar Kinect which tracks your movement and replicates it on-screen with your avatar holding a sparkler. If you’ve ever held out a sparkler in the dark and whizzed it around to spell out your name, you’ll get the hang of Kinect Sparkler in no time. Kinect Sparkler will launch on July 28th and cost 240 Microsoft Points to download.
Xbox Live Gold members will find Avatar Kinect free to download now, while Silver members will be able to use it free until September 8th.
Avatar Kinect was originally launched and demonstrated by our favourite CEO, Steve Ballmer, at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year.
Have you used Avatar Kinect yet? If so, let us know what you think of it by posting a comment below!