The launch of Kinect for Xbox 360 
was one of the big success stories of holiday 2010. With life -to-date sales of over 10 million units, the motion sensor controller caught the imagination of the casual audience, while boosting console and software sales at the same time.
But the months that have followed have been pretty barren. There have been no major Kinect releases since December and that has consumers getting antsy.
Microsoft is intensifying its
efforts to appeal to both core gamers and non-gamers, announcing two new titles in its blockbuster “Halo” franchise Monday and plans to integrate live television into the console.
Starting this fall, Xbox 360 owners will be able to watch live TV programming though a variety of partners, which have yet to be announced. In addition, the company has unveiled a new service that combines its Bing search service with video delivery providers.
Microsoft is covering its 
bases at this year’s E3.
The company, in its pre-show pres conference, announced a variety of new games and services, designed to appeal to everyone from core gamers to casual gamers to nongamers.
[Gamasutra’s Chris Morris looks at how Microsoft’s 
Kinect has found success despite some shortcomings, and how a well-executed plan for the device is needed, as “the novelty will only take it so far.”]
You’d have to be a fool to argue that Microsoft’s launch of Kinect was anything but a success. With sales of the peripheral already topping 10 million (setting a Guinness record for the “fastest selling consumer device” in the process), it’s one of those rare items that have actually surpassed people’s expectations.
But the more time I spend with Kinect, the more it occurs to me how Microsoft inadvertently followed in Apple’s footsteps with the device – finding tremendous success in a new gaming area despite not knowing exactly what it was doing.
The video game industry got some 
long-awaited good news in February.
Software sales came in slightly better than analysts were expecting, while hardware sales shattered forecasts. For the month, game sales fell 5 percent versus a year ago, according to the NPD. (Analysts had expected a drop of between 6 and 10 percent.) Sales of gaming hardware were up a surprising 10 percent, though.
Gamers went on a buying spree in February, shocking 
analysts and rocketing the video games industry into positive sales territory for the first time in over two years.
Buoyed by an unexpected 10 percent jump in hardware sales and a 22 percent surge in peripherals (led by Microsoft’s record-setting Kinect), video game industry sales are now 4 percent above where they were a year ago year to date, according to the NPD Group.
Within days of its retail release, hackers 
were already finding some innovative ways to use Microsoft’s Kinect motion controller. Now they’re going to get their chance with the PlayStation Move.
Sony has announced plans to make the software development application for Move available to students, researchers and enthusiasts later this spring. The company says it’s hoping the action will lead to increased innovation in gaming and other fields.
You have to give Panasonic credit for pushing 
the envelope. After launching a TV last year that let owners record programs to an SD card, the company has now taken the wraps off of a new set that does away with the remote control.
Customers in Japan can now buy the VIERA DMP-HV200, a gesture-controlled set that allows users to adjust the volume and change channels with a wave of their hands. The 10.1-inch sets will go on sale March 18 for a converted price of $640.
Dance games are quickly becoming the best titles 
of the Kinect crop, but Dance Paradise seems to forget that a lot of the players might have two left feet. It’s a fun game that gets a lot right, but many of the dance moves are complicated and confusing, especially for newcomers. The tutorial sets up the initial premise of the game, but doesn’t help you learn any of the advanced moves. If you’ve got rhythm, though, this might be a good game for you. It comes with a variety of game play modes and local multiplayer lets you play with a friend in the same room. (Multiplayer matches through Xbox Live are not supported.) The visuals, meanwhile, are good and the song collection is robust, ranging from Lady Gaga and Rihanna to Gloria Gaynor and Kool & the Gang. Onlookers will appreciate the music videos that play in the background, but players probably will be too focused on their next dance move to pay much attention.
Heavy metal, mind control…Big Bird? One 
of these things is not like the others — and to Tim Schafer and Double Fine Productions, that’s just the way they like it.
Due this fall for the Xbox 360, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster will let young gamers join Cookie Monster, Elmo and other familiar Muppets in a living storybook via the console’s controller-free Kinect system. Players young and old will interact with characters and solve problems through dancing, jumping and other physical interactions.
Chris Morris: Journalist 