In an article posted a scant 1 hour before the Natal/Cirque Du Soleil event is set to begin in Los Angeles, the new name for Micrcoft’s Project Natal was announced. The new, and ostensibly permanent, name of the device is: Kinect.

Along with the name announcement came some details regarding games that are under development for the device. The games include the following:

•Kinectimals lets you train and play with 20 different virtual cats, including a lion, cheetah and tiger.
•Joyride, a racing game, lets players use their hands to hold an imaginary steering wheel — pull your hands toward you and push back out for an acceleration boost — and their bodies to execute jumps and tricks.
•Kinect Sports has six activities including boxing, bowling, beach volleyball, track and field, soccer and table tennis. To serve a volleyball, you mimic the real motion; in soccer, you can kick the ball or do a header.
•Kinect Adventures includes a river-raft time trial and obstacle course, playable by up to four players. On the raft, playing as a duo, you and a partner must lean one way or another to steer. Jumping helps the raft reach special areas for extra points.
•Dance Central, in development by MTV Games, brings a So You Think You Can Dance experience home.
•Star Wars characters and iconic Disney favorites will be featured in separate new games being developed at Microsoft in conjunction with LucasArts and Disney.

No exact release date or price point for the Kinect has been announced just yet, but there will certainly be more to come over the next couple of days, and we will be sure to keep you informed. Any thoughts on the new name?

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