[Update 2] You can find details on the first set of games revealed for Kinect, including that Star Wars game, over here. [End of Update 2]

[Update 1] Get a look at some in-game footage and videos showing off Kinect in action, including a short look at Star Wars Kinect, over here. [End Update 1]

During Microsoft’s interpretive Cirque du Soleil performance on Sunday afternoon, the official name of the company’s motion-sensing, controller-free gaming device, Project Natal, was unveiled for the first time ever.

Project Natal is now known as Kinect, and the device plugs directly into an Xbox 360 and contains a camera, audio sensors and motion-sensing technology that is able to track 48 points of movement on the human body, with the additional ability to recognise faces and voices.

Corporate vice president of Global Marketing for the Interactive Entertainment Business, Mike Delman, emphasised Kinect’s controller-free experience saying:

“You are the controller. You simply step in front of the sensor and Kinect sees you move, hears your voice and recognizes your face.

“Some people don’t like controllers,” Delman continued, “[and] Kinect makes the gaming and entertainment experience more organic and free-flowing, without any of the barriers that can sometimes keep people from participating.”

Further details regarding Kinect’s release date and initial games available for the device (and hopefully a price) will be officially announced at Microsoft’s E3 press event later today.