page_title: Kinect
section_title: Kinect for Xbox 360 marketing and launch
hierarchical_section_title: Kinect / History / Kinect for Xbox 360 marketing and launch
caption_attribution_description: _DSC0311
context_page_description: Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The technology includes a set of hardware originally developed by PrimeSense, incorporating RGB cameras, infrared projectors and detectors that mapped depth through either structured light or time of flight calculations, and a microphone array, along with software and artificial intelligence from Microsoft to allow the device to perform real-time gesture recognition, speech recognition and body skeletal detection for up to four people, among other capabilities. This enables Kinect to be used as a hands-free natural user interface device to interact with a computer system. Kinect is a peripheral that sits atop the user's display similar to a webcam.
  Kinect originated as a means to eliminate the game controller from Microsoft's Xbox video game hardware, competing with the Nintendo Wii's own motion-sensing capabilities, hoping to draw a larger audience beyond traditional video game players to the Xbox.
context_section_description: Microsoft continued to refine the Kinect technology in the months leading to the Kinect launch in November 2010. By launch, Kipman reported they had been able to reduce the Kinect's use of the Xbox 360's processor from 10-15% as reported in January 2010 to a "single-digit percentage". 
  Microsoft heavily advertised and promoted the Kinect launch. According to The New York Post, Microsoft had a $500 million budget for this marketing. While this claim was widely re-reported, The marketing campaign You Are the Controller, aiming to reach new audiences, included advertisements on Kellogg's cereal boxes and Pepsi bottles, commercials during shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Glee as well as print ads in various magazines such as People and InStyle.
  Microsoft gave away Kinect units and Xbox 360 consoles to all members of the audience at the October 19, 2010 The Oprah Winfrey Show, and similarly followed suit two weeks later for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. 
  On October 23, 2010, Microsoft held a pre-launch party for Kinect in Beverly Hills. The party was hosted by Ashley Tisdale and was attended by soccer star David Beckham and his three sons, Cruz, Brooklyn, and Romeo. Guests were treated to sessions with Dance Central and Kinect Adventures, followed by Tisdale having a Kinect voice chat with Nick Cannon. Between November 1 and 28, Burger King gave away a free Kinect bundle to a random in-store customer every 15 minutes. A major event was organized on November 3 in Times Square, where singer Ne-Yo performed with hundreds of dancers in anticipation of Kinect's midnight launch.
  Kinect was launched in North America on November 4, 2010; in Europe on November 10, 2010; in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore on November 18, 2010; and in Japan on November 20, 2010. Purchase options for the sensor peripheral include a bundle with the game Kinect Adventures, and as a hardware bundle with Kinect Adventures and the redesigned Xbox 360 S console with either a 4 GB or 250 GB
  The Kinect sensor was typical a gloss-black; a Star Wars bundle for the Xbox 360 was released on July 21, 2011 which include the first all-white Kinect unit to match with the themed-console along with the games Kinect Adventures and Kinect Star Wars.
caption: Promotion at E3 2010
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