Microsoft Corp. on Monday said that its motion sensor Kinect will start shipping on November 4, 2010, along with fifteen game titles. The device will cost $149, which is equal to the new price of the Xbox 360 Arcade game console.

The Kinect sensor can be plugged directly into any Xbox 360 and features a camera, audio sensors, and motion-sensing technology that tracks 48 points of movement on the human body. Kinect has the abilty to recognize faces and voices. Kinect can perform full-motion tracking of the human body at 30 frames per second. Initially Kinect will be available in North America for $149, product launch in Europe and Japan are expected to take place at a later date.

The price of Microsoft Kinect motion sensor for Xbox 360 seems to be surprisingly high. An accessory that costs the same amount of money as Xbox 360 Arcade and slightly lower than Nintendo Wii game consoles does not have a lot of chances of becoming popular. Moreover, casual gamers – who currently own and use Nintendo Wii – will likely find the price of Xbox 360 with Kinect (over $300) too high.

This holiday season there will be 15 titles of different genres that are supported by Kinect motion sensor, including “EA Sports Active 2”, Deca Sports Freedom, “Dance Masters”, “Adrenalin Misfits”, “Zumba Fitness”, “Sonic Free Riders”, “The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout”, “Motion Sports”, “Game Party: In Motion”, “Kinectimals”, “Your Shape: Fitness Evolved”, “Kinect Joy Ride”, “Kinect Sports”, “Kinect Adventures” and “Dance Central”.

Tags: Microsoft, Xbox, Natal, Kinect