Microsoft to launch hands-free Kinect console in November

Four years after Nintendo revolutionized video-games with its motion-sensing Wii console, Microsoft said Tuesday that it will launch its own hands-free gadget, the Kinect, on November 4, priced at 150 dollars.

The Kinect must be used with an existing Xbox 360 console, bringing the combined system to some 300 dollars, about 100 dollars more than the Wii.

The Microsoft system will offer better graphics and a host of exclusive games, as well as an ability to sense hand and body motions without the need for players to hold any controllers, as they must with the Wii.

The Kinect sensor will come bundled with a family game called Kinect Adventures and could become a hit holiday gift, especially for the approximately 40 million existing Xbox 360 console owners.

Meanwhile, Sony is planning to launch a motion-controlled feature for its PS3 gaming system. The Japanese electronics giant will release the Move on September 15.