At a press conference earlier this week, Microsoft announced two new platforms that will take kids into the world of Sesame Street and National Geographic via the company’s Kinect for Xbox 360.
Launching next spring, Kinect Sesame Street TV invites children to experience the world of Sesame Street alongside their favorite characters, such as Big Bird, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Elmo. The Kinect for Xbox 360 will allow preschoolers to visually and physically interact with Sesame Street characters on screen while watching Sesame Street episodes. Kids can help characters with tasks, such as finding shapes and counting objects, while playing in areas unique to Sesame Street, such as Elmo’s World. Soho Productions is the developer for Kinect Sesame Street TV.
Kinect Nat Geo TV will also launch next spring, developed by Relentless Software. Kinect Nat Geo TV blends Nat Geo Wild TV show episodes with Kinect for Xbox 360 technology, transporting kids and their families around the world. Through Kinect, not only can kids watch the episodes, but they can also engage, play in, and learn as Kinect Nat TV turns living rooms into habitats and viewers into animals.
Both platforms will allow kids to see themselves on screen as they interact with objects and characters in the episodes.
The Kinect team also introduced Code-named “Rush,” a new title to debut in the spring that allows players to immerse themselves in iconic Disney-Pixar films, including The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up, Toy Story 3, and Cars 2.
Other video games on display were Double Fine Happy Action Theatre, Kinectimals Now with Bears, Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, Puss in Boots, Kinect:Disneyland Adventures, Kinect Sports: Season Two, Kinect Star Wars, Dance Central 2, and Kinect Fun Labs.
