Microsoft’s new controller-free Kinect system was launched at E3 with a spectacular Cirque du Soleil performance.

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles is now in full swing after a spectacular show on Sunday night from Microsoft as it showcased its new controller-free concept, Kinect.

On the two nights before the annual gaming expo where publishers and developers unveil their newest titles and gaming hardware (15-17th June), Xbox presented a Cirque du Soleil production that brought controller-free gaming and entertainment to life and gave “Project Natal” its real name: Kinect for Xbox 360.

Kinect is the revolutionary control system for video games which was first revealed under its former name, Project Natal, at E3 last year. It makes use of a camera, motion-sensors, microphones and advanced software to allow Xbox 360 owners to play games without using the traditional control pads. Using Kinect is as simple as stepping in front of the sensor – it recognises you, responds to your gestures, listens to your voice, and it works with every Xbox 360.

 Hollywood stars, VIPs, and media from around the world gathered at LA’s Galen Center to witness the “future of entertainment” – an exclusive 45-minute experience, which Cirque du Soleil spent four months developing and producing, followed by an encore performance on Monday.

Along with a 76-person strong cast of dancers, musicians, acrobats, and clowns, show goers were treated to a dazzling setup featuring 25-foot-high projection screens totaling more than a football field in length, a gigantic 9-foot-tall elephant puppet housing projection screens and two artists, and a 40-foot-diameter steel structure that rotates on its axis and weighs as much as 25 VW Beetles.

Now the expo has started, visitors have been able to get their hands on Kinect and try it out. “With ‘Kinectimals’ and ‘Kinect Sports’, ‘Your Shape: Fitness Evolved’ and ‘Dance Central’, your living room will become a zoo, a stadium, a fitness room or a dance club. You will be in the centre of your entertainment, using the best controller ever made — you”, said Kudo Tsunoda, Creative Director for Microsoft Game Studios.

Microsoft and LucasArts also announced that they will bring Star Wars® to Kinect in 2011, along with the Disney brand.

Marc Whitten, Corporate Vice President of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft, said:  “Xbox LIVE is about making it simple to find the entertainment you want, with the friends you care about, wherever you are. Kinect is about making that experience more natural and engaging than ever before. Once you experience your movies, music, sports and games with Xbox LIVE and Kinect, you won’t ever want to go back.”

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