为了重振视频游戏机的销量，微软(Microsoft Co.)推出了重新设计的更轻薄、更小的Xbox 360游戏机，并提供了关于其新体感游戏控制器Kinect的更多细节。
微软是预期在视频游戏行业盛会电子娱乐展(E3 Expo)上首批推出新品的公司之一。视频游戏行业正依靠硬件的更新为销售注入新的活力。
预计任天堂(Nintendo Co.)将于周二宣布推出DS手持游戏机的3D版，同时索尼公司（Sony Co.）很可能将展示一系列新3D游戏，并披露更多关于新款体感控制器Move的信息。
今年的E3对视频游戏行业来说是一个重要挑战，它将检验视频游戏行业能否制造出它所迫切需要的兴奋感。视频游戏的销售受到了经济疲软的冲击，来自智能手机以及Facebook等社交网站上的非传统娱乐和游戏方式的竞争也令其销售承压。
最近一个假期购物季的销售尤其令人失望，除了动视暴雪（Activision Blizzard Inc.）的《使命召唤：现代战争2》(Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)和任天堂的《新超级马里奥》(New Super Mario Bros. Wii.)之外，没有几款游戏卖得好。据行业研究公司NPD Group的数据，视频游戏的销售额继去年下滑8%至196.6亿美元后，今年再次下降近11%。
微软在一个新闻发布会上说，将推出一款“更苗条”、硬盘更大的黑色Xbox 360，其售价和现有型号一样，仍是299美元。这款新游戏机将在本周晚些时候开始销售。微软说，其新体感控制器Kinect将于11月4日在北美上市，同时推出的还有15款游戏。不过微软没有透露上述产品的价格。
Kinect由一个镜头和麦克风组成，它们能够捕捉玩家的动作和声音。玩家可以通过动作和声音指令和Xbox 360进行互动，完全不需要实体游戏机手柄。
微软互动娱乐部门高级副总裁马特里克(Don Mattrick)在一年一度的E3上说，我们推出的是一个全新的娱乐时代。
Microsoft Lifts Wrapping On Kinect
Microsoft Corp., seeking to re-energize sales in the videogame market, unveiled a redesigned version of its Xbox 360 game console that is sleeker and smaller, and it provided more details about its new Kinect motion technology.
The Microsoft unveiling is among the first of several expected from this year's E3 Expo videogame trade show from an industry that is counting on new hardware to rejuvenate sales.
On Tuesday, Nintendo Co. is expected to announce a new 3-D version of its DS hand-held device and Sony Corp. will likely show a slew of 3-D games and provide more details about its Move motion controller.
This year's E3 represents an important test of whether the industry can generate a level of excitement it desperately needs. Sales have been hurt by the economy and by competition from nontraditional forms of entertainment and games on smartphones and on social-network sites like Facebook.
The latest holiday season was particularly disappointing, with few game titles selling well besides Activision Blizzard Inc.'s 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' combat shooter game and Nintendo's 'New Super Mario Bros. Wii.' Videogame sales in the industry have fallen nearly 11% this year, after declining 8% to $19.66 billion last year, according to industry research firm NPD Group.
Microsoft said at a press conference that it will introduce a new, slimmer black Xbox 360 with a bigger hard drive for $299, the same price as the current model. It will be available starting later this week. It also said its new motion technology called Kinect, previously known as Project Natal, will go on sale in North America on Nov. 4 along with 15 launch titles, though it didn't provide a price.
Kinect consists of a camera and microphone that picks up on movement and speech, so users can interact with the Xbox 360 through gestures and verbal commands, without the need for a physical controller.
'We're launching a whole new era of entertainment,' Don Mattrick, senior vice president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment division, said at the annual E3 Expo trade show.