Microsoft's Kinect to cost $US150

MICROSOFT announced on Tuesday that its new gesture-sensing system for the Xbox 360 videogame console, Kinect, will cost $US150 ($A172.80) and go on sale on November 4.

Kinect uses a 3-D camera and motion recognition software to let people play videogames using natural body movements and voice commands instead of hand-held controllers.

Kinect was developed by Microsoft under the code name Project Natal and unveiled at the the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) last month in Los Angeles.

No price was revealed at the time but retailers had begun offering the device for pre-ordering a month ago.

Microsoft said "Kinect for Xbox 360" will sell for $US149.99 and will include the Kinect Sensor and the videogame "Kinect Adventures," which features a river raft ride through an obstacle course.

It said the Kinect Sensor will work with the 40 million Xbox 360s already sold worldwide.

Microsoft also announced that a four-gigabyte Xbox 360 console will include the Kinect Sensor and "Kinect Adventures" and sell for 299 dollars.

It said additional games are available for $US49 ($A56.40) each including Kinectimals, Kinect Sports, and Kinect JoyRide.