'Gears of War 3,' 'Halo 4,' and Kinect, Kinect, Kinect: Highlights from Microsoft's Xbox 360 E3 press briefing

Years from now — probably decades, possibly centuries — humanity will likely look back upon the early years of this decade with regard to fully immersive holographic entertainment (i.e. the Holodeck) as we today look back upon the first Victrolas or the ENIAC with regard to the iPod and iPad.
That was the thought that kept running through my head during Microsoft’s Xbox 360 press conference at the Galen Center near downtown Los Angeles that unofficially inaugurated the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo (a.k.a. E3), which kicks into full gear tomorrow through Thursday, June 9. While the event provided more glimpses at highly anticipated games like Gears of War 3, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — an a tantalizing first look at Halo 4 – it was pretty much entirely about the Kinect, the voice-and-motion controlled gizmo that first arrived for the Xbox 360 last year. Microsoft proudly trotted out demos or first looks for at least 15 titles that are either Kinect exclusive — like Kinect Star Wars, which you can read about here in EW’s exclusive first look — or Kinect-enabled, i.e. capable of being controlled at least in part just by voice command and body motion, as well as with a traditional button controller. The overall effect was a fascinating glimpse into the Holodeck-like possibilities of the future — a lot of mind-expanding promise, and a lot of rudimentary kinks to still work out. Here are the highlights: