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The Just Dance series has been cleaning up for a couple of years now over on the Wii, with would-be hot-steppers using their natural body motions in conjunction with the Wii remote to get their groove on.  Just when it was looking like things wouldn’t change for the series, Ubisoft made a startling announcement that Just Dance 3 was going multiplatform, including PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.  This offered some promising ideas for the Move and Kinect, possibly offering players a better way to get into their rhythm.  However, after a few hours with it, we found it’s just the – mind the pun – “same old song and dance”.

Now, if you’ve never played Just Dance before, part three might be your cup of jive.  The game features a wide array of strange dancing characters on the screen, including “smiley mummies”, a dude in a frog costume, whom you must follow with on-screen prompts.  these prompts appear on the corner of the screen, so they stay out of your way while still giving you an idea what move comes next.  The dances range in difficulty, but the game is quite forgiving when it comes to your accepted dance moves.  you can either track just the upper half of your body, or both your arms and legs, if you feel like you’re up to nailing the choreography.

The problem is, while it’s fun to dance along with the right sort of game, Just Dance 3 clearly isn’t it.  Ubisoft kind of missed the point of accurate Kinect tracking with this game, and as a result, it’s way too easy to nail a perfect rating.  you never really learn about dancing because of that, making this an ideal party game – and little else.  even Harmonix’s Dance Central – and its upcoming sequel – offer some sort of learning tutorials so you can understand what these dances are all about.

What’s more, the moves don’t exactly look that hot.  We tried to get through Cee Lo’s “Forget You” by following this guy on the screen, and he looked like he was having muscle spasms, rather than working out a natural routine.  Some folks might be into that, but we were looking for something that chained a bit more naturally, not “lemme jump up here and go into a half lawnmower."

If you CAN tolerate the forgiving gameplay and somewhat iffy dance routines, you’ll probably have some fun here.  Just Dance 3 does support multiplayer, including up to four players in the action through multi-layered stances.  That alone should make Just Dance 3 a must for groups.  What’s more, if you’re REALLY talented (or just need blackmail material), you can record your sessions and share them with others through Xbox Live.

Visually, Just Dance 3 seems a bit prehistoric compared to Dance Central.  The pre-recorded dance routines, while vibrant, aren’t that interactive, and without any indicatiors to tell you how well you’re doing, you’re stuck watching a bland grid of yourself in the upper corner.  still, at least Ubisoft made it worth looking at compared to stoic music videos or, even worse, real dancing idiots.

The song list is mixed with both upbeat hits and disappointment.  We’re not sure what inspired Ubi to throw in Kiss’ “I Was made For Loving You” as a DANCE song (Rock Band, maybe, but dance?), nor Danny Elfman’s “This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas.  Other hits, however, are spot on, including Duck Sauce’s catchy “Barbra Streisand” (which, thankfully, doesn’t actually include Streisand), Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 Dances” (NA NA NA NA NA!), and Bananarama’s surprisingly catchy “Venus” (which is also in Dance Central 2, by the way).  You’ll like some of these songs, but skip others.

Just Dance 3 could’ve really gone a long way had the folks at Ubisoft really involved Kinect interaction beyond other dancing copycats.  instead, it just follows the straight and narrow, and while party people may get a kick out of it, it’s hardly the ultimate dancin’ machine.  something tells us those honors will go to Dance Central 2 when it releases next week.

By Mike Snider, USA TODAY Nov. 12, 2011

Modern Warfare 3 takes occupying Wall Street to the extreme.

At the start of the latest in the blockbuster Call of Duty series (***½ out of four, $60, out this week for PS3, Xbox 360 and PCs; $50 for Wii; ages 17-up), your Delta Force team is trying to take back New York City from Russian invaders. an RPG upends your vehicle, and as your character, Sgt. Derek “Frost” Westbrook, an Army Ranger, scrambles from the wreckage, he looks up to see fighter jets bombing skyscrapers.

The single-player story mode of Modern Warfare 3 wastes no time getting you into the action.

The bigger-than-life plot, which touches down in Europe, Siberia and Somalia, also reconnects players with Task Force 141 members John Price and John “Soap” MacTavish. at the end of MW2, Soap was wounded while dispatching a bad guy, renegade Gen. Hershel von Shepherd.

There’s still work for Price and Soap to do; the ultra-nationalist Russian force remains on U.S. soil. The game, which involves tracking down the force’s leader, Vladimir Makarov, plays out over six to 10 hours of adrenaline-fueled action.

The game’s developers —Infinity Ward has teamed with newcomer Sledgehammer Games— continually change up the combat. After finishing the first mission on foot, Frost mans a gun on a Black Hawk helicopter in an aerial cat-and-mouse game around the Manhattan skyline.

Next, an underwater detail aimed at scuttling a Russian submarine turns into a frenetic boat escape in a war-torn New York harbor. The area is full of seacraft, and missiles are battering the coast.

The battles take place on bigger stages with more combatants than in past games. Missions in London and Paris are stocked with a larger invading force to take down. Fighting Russians in the streets of Hamburg feels like a World War III scenario, rather than a vignette within a greater conflict.

Other new twists include a bullet-time sequence in zero gravity and a firefight in a blinding sandstorm.

As in MW2, there’s a pregame warning that content in one of the missions might be disturbing or offensive. The scene plays out through the eyes of a man videotaping his wife and young daughter. It’s not a major spoiler — here’s your alert — that the vacationers become collateral damage during the invasion attacks. some players may feel emotionally manipulated, but the plot device has a long history in TV and film.

On the whole, Modern Warfare 3′s single-player campaign brings the current story line to a satisfying conclusion. As the Call of Duty franchise’s following grows, so do the stakes. And with MW3, the developers have met the challenge.

Click HERE for more From the ABC News Gadget Guide.

LOS ANGELES — Cliff Blezenski was initially hesitant to think of “Gears of War” as a trilogy. the design director at Epic Games and mastermind behind the chainsaw-slicing video game shooter series knew that gamers were a particularly judgmental bunch, especially when it comes to the interactive industry’s gluttonous strategy of constructing franchises from the ground up.“I think if you come out and say, `This is the start of a trilogy,’ gamers get defensive, cross their arms and say, `We’ll see,’ ” said Blezenski. “You have to play it game by game. We had ideas of where each game could go in the series, but until we had confirmation, we never really started work on a sequel, except for coming up with pie-in-the-sky ideas.”Churning out three “Gears of War” titles over the past five years paid off.“Gears of War 3” sold more than 3 million copies in its first week and was the second best-selling game in September behind “Madden NFL 12,” propelling the entire Xbox 360 series past the $1 billion mark, according to Microsoft Corp. and NPD Group, which tracks retail game sales. Microsoft also said more than 4.5 million gamers played it online since it debuted.“For some reason, three is the magic number,” said Blezinksi of the omnipresence of trilogies in pop culture. “I can’t explain it. Narratively, they make sense because you’ve got that `Lord of the Rings’ vibe where there’s a definitive beginning, middle and ending. There’s something about that contained pack-of-three that’s just incredibly gratifying.”other game developers and publishers seem to agree, too.Sequels have always been an important part of the gaming world, but with the release of “Gears of War 3” last month and games like superhero brawler “Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds,” first-person shooter “Killzone 3,” horror shoot-’em-up “F.E.A.R. 3” and alien blaster “Resistance 3” earlier this year, it seems 2011 is the year of the threequel.the trend continues this holiday season — or should that be holiday threeson? — with the arrival of such third installments as the epic action-adventure title “Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception,” bawdy open-world gang war saga “Saints Row: the Third” and explosive first-person military shooters “Battlefield 3” and “call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.”For some of this year’s threequels, the third outing is less about the story moving forward and more about the technology leaping ahead. “Battlefield 3” from developer Digital Illusions CE will be the first game to utilize the Frostbite 2 game engine, promising players more realistic graphics, fuller sound and amplified environmental destruction.“ `Battlefield 3′ is the true next-generation successor to `Battlefield 2,’ ” said DICE producer Patrick Liu. “We’re utilizing the latest technology with our new Frostbite 2 engine. It’s by far the most ambitious game we’ve ever made. It’s a bigger game with a single-player campaign, co-op and multiplayer. It’s the most pressure we’ve ever felt making a game.”Six years have passed since Electronic Arts inc. deployed “Battlefield 2” for the PC, although there have been other entries in the 9-year-old series. this time, the publisher is positioning “Battlefield 3,” which will be available for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on Oct. 25, as a combatant to “call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” from Activision inc.the marketing campaign for “Battlefield 3” cleverly suggests that the game goes “above and beyond the call.”the original “Modern Warfare,” which was developed by Infinity Ward and released in 2007, transformed Activision’s aging “call of Duty” series into the most successful gaming franchise. “Modern Warfare 3,” which is due out Nov. 8, is expected to top the previous two installments, as well as last year’s top-selling “Black Ops” edition from Treyarch.“from a commercial standpoint, as far as `Modern Warfare 3′ is concerned, it’s a one-shot kill,” said Scott Steinberg, CEO of game consulting company TechSavvy Global. “the competition is not in a good position because millions and millions of players have been playing `Call of Duty’ online with their friends and are already hungry for the next installment.”“Modern Warfare 3,” “Gears of War 3,” “Resistance 3,” “Uncharted 3,” “Saints Row: the Third” and “Mass Effect 3” are among the threequels on the same platforms as their predecessors, a striking difference from past gaming franchises that spanned consoles. Steinberg blames a combination of the economy and “dumb luck” for the one-two-three punch.“Traditionally, you don’t see three iterations of a series on the same console because previous sales cycles and technical evolutions have moved more quickly,” said Steinberg. “In the past, publishers used console launches as a reboot point for new installments. this longer cycle has given developers the chance to eek more horsepower out of the systems.”Steinberg thinks the third time on the same platform will ultimately charm gamers because developers have honed both their technical talents and storytelling skills without the burden of figuring out how to create games for a completely new system, an issue developers tackled when transitioning from such consoles as the Xbox to Xbox 360 and the PS2 to PS3.“When you’ve got a stable technology platform underneath you, it’s nice because you can focus on design elements and storytelling aspects,” said Aaryn Flynn, general manager at developer BioWare. “I think anyone who has developed multiple games on these platforms is doing what we’re doing — honing their craft and getting better and better each time.”Flynn and his colleagues at BioWare are currently preparing for the launch of “Mass Effect 3” next March. the third chapter of the intergalactic sci-fi saga centers on the ominous alien Reapers invading Earth. Flynn said the trilogy, which features a highly customizable protagonist named Commander Shepard, was always envisioned as a three-part series.“certainly, when we first imagined ‘Mass Effect’ as a story for Commander Shepard, we did think of it as a trilogy,” said Flynn. “that said, we’ve made tweaks and adjustments all the way along as we’ve heard from fans what they want to see, but certainly the story has been building to the Reaper invasion and to Shepard’s ultimate battle against them.”In addition to “Mass Effect 3,” other threequels expected in 2012 include Ubisoft’s open-world shooter “far Cry 3,” Blizzard’s fantasy title “Diablo III” and Rockstar Games’ third-person shooter “Max Payne 3.” As long-running franchises like “Super Mario,” “Final Fantasy” and “Resident Evil” have proven, the third time out doesn’t always mark the end.“When it comes to video games, never say never,” said Steinberg. “Players aren’t dense. they realize that as long as there is interest left in a franchise, it will make an inevitable return. There’s usually so many holes left open in a plot, that it’s of no consequence when you reach the end of a trilogy. there are a thousand other stories that can be told.”Online:“Gears of War 3”: gearsofwar.xbox.com/“Mass Effect 3”: masseffect.bioware.com/“Saints Row: the Third”: saintsrow.com/“Battlefield 3”: battlefield.com/battlefield3/“call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3”: callofduty.com/mw3/“Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception:” naughtydog.com/games/uncharted/  

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A look at results from selected companies in the video games business:

Oct. 20: Microsoft Corp. says revenue from the Xbox 360 products and services grew 7 percent, led by higher revenue from the Xbox Live service and offset by decreased revenue from video games and fewer consoles sold. Microsoft says video game revenue decreased because the same period a year ago had strong sales of “Halo Reach.” Microsoft says it shipped 2.3 million Xbox 360 consoles during the latest quarter, compared with 2.8 million a year ago.

Oct. 27: Nintendo co., maker of the Wii game console and DS handheld, reports a larger net loss and reduces its full-year forecast, battered by the strong yen and weak software sales. The company says a price reduction has lifted sales of the 3DS handheld, which offers 3D gaming without special glasses. One title, “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D,” sold more than a million units, but the company acknowledged that the 3DS “has yet to have many hit titles.” Wii console sales for the latest six-month period fell to 3.35 million units from 4.97 million units a year ago, while software sales declined to 36.45 million units from 65.21 million a year earlier.

Electronic Arts Inc. takes a hit despite solid results after the video game publisher failed to raise full-year guidance as some had expected. its quarterly loss expanded from a year ago because of higher costs, but revenue grew. The company says such titles as “FIFA 12,” ”Madden NFL 12″ and “The Sims Social” performed well, while “Battlefield 3″ was off to a good start.

Wednesday: Sony Corp. reports an 8 percent revenue decline in the game business because of a price reduction in the PlayStation 3 console ahead of the holiday season.

THQ Inc., a maker of video games, says it lost more money in the latest quarter than a year ago, as the company spent more on development, marketing and other expenses. but its revenue grew and surpassed expectations. The company’s upbeat forecast for the all-important holiday quarter, however, lifted its stock sharply.

Tuesday: Activision Blizzard Inc., Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.

Nov. 17: GameStop Corp.

Electronic Arts’ sales of FIFA series of video games on gaming consoles such as the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii have been increasing steadily by our estimates.

The company launched FIFA 12 last month that hit a record by selling 3.2 million units across all consoles worldwide in less than a week after launch, by their own estimates. [1]

Looking at these numbers, it looks like FIFA 12 will easily be able to surpass FIFA 11 sales, something we discussed in a previous note, “FIFA Soccer 12 Can be bigger Than Fifa 11 For EA.” the growing market for sports genre video games will continue to benefit Electronic Arts in the future.

EA’s main competitors include game developers like Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive Software and casual gaming mainstays such as Zynga and Playdom.

See our complete analysis for Electronic Arts’s stock.

FIFA 12 Sets Historic Record

Electronic Arts has sold an estimated 3.2 million units of FIFA 12 within the first week from its 27 September launch, which the company estimates is an increase by 23% over last year’s record launch. [1]

With astounding features such as Impact Engine, Tactical Defending, Precision Dribbling and the all new EA Sports Football Club and rapidly increasing orders, FIFA 12 could become one of the highest selling franchise game in history for Electronic Arts, beating FIFA 11.

The game has received rave reviews and ratings by critics and news publications like 1UP, USA Today, GamePro and the Guardian. While Gamescom calls it “Best Console Game,” it has also received the prestigious E3 Game Critics award for “best Sports Game” at E3 2011.

Growth in Sports Video Game Genre

According to a report by the Entertainment Software Association, video gaming demographic is becoming more diverse, with people of different ages and gender being attracted to video games. the report also suggests that the sports games constitutes 16.3%, which is the highest, of all video gaming genres in 2010. [2]

This growth in sports genre will particularly benefit EA as the company makes sizable revenues from sales of sports-related video games like Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer and need for Speed.

While we estimate Electronic Arts’ sales of FIFA soccer video games will increase from 11.8 million in 2011 to around 12.5 million by the end of our forecast period, Trefis members expect an increase from around 13 million to 15 million during the same period.

The wait is finally over, the new, and last edition of Halo is now out and tearing up message boards around the world. And it’s understandable as to why, it can easily be argued that Bungie, and Microsoft have saved the best edition of the Halo franchise for the last installment, and it is amazing.

If you are like me however, you are probably having a difficult time deciding what edition to invest in, do you want the core game, and no other bells and whistles, or are you a token, freebie collecting junkie. In this article, we are going to break down the various sets available and hopefully make your decision easier, but probably much harder.

Halo Reach Limited Edition Xbox 360

The first package looked at is the biggest one found, the complete, Halo: Reach Console bundle pack. It is the most complete, but it also comes with a Xbox 360, specially designed to fit within the Halo Tech universe, so if you are new to the Xbox universe, this is a great place to start. not only do you get the console and the game, but you also get 2 silver, wireless controllers, branded Halo headset, and a limited edition elite armor set download token. not too bad for also getting the console and the game. only includes standard edition of the game however.

Halo Reach Standard Edition

Just as the title describes, it’s the game itself. Nothing much else included except a few notes about Nobel Team and some other goodies.

Halo Reach Limited Edition

Modeled after a data storage unit from within the game and novels, the Limited edition is no afterthought, but contains quite an extensive collection of items and collectables. The game itself is encased in a Black Box to help the game stand out when compared to the other games in your collection, you also receive:

Notes from Dr. Halsey, creator of the Spartan Program

Cortana AI blueprints

Full Color Maps and various other goodies.

Halo Reach Legendary Edition

This is the one that the fanboys and collectors will want to find. Coming in a substantial Space Crate package, it includes:

The entire Limited edition pack inside

But what makes the Legendary edition, truly legendary is the handcrafted sculpture of Nobel Team. And this is no light weight plastic molded action figure set, the craftsmanship and attention to detail in the piece is something to truly appreciate. A replica of the memorial to Nobel Team in recognition of the sacrifice that Nobel Team had to make, and is in limited supply.

You might say 2010 was a bad year for the Wii. with PlayStation 3 releasing is move control, closely followed by Xbox 360 releasing the Kinect (which has been a hit) the Wii appears to have lost one of the main features that made it stand out in the market place. nevertheless 2010 witnessed the release of some outstanding title on the Wii. What Wii games are due for release in 2011? This review looks at 6 top Wii games to look forward to in 2011.

1. Mario Sports Mix: The game is developed by Square Enix and features Mario dressed up for the following Sports: basketball, dodgeball, volleyball and hockey. Mario Sports Mix can be played by 4 players locally or two players per console online and features the following key characters Mario, Black Mage, Luigi Bowser, Slime and Moogie. This Wii game is due for release 4th of February 2011.

2. Conduit 2: Conduit 2 is a sequel to the one of the best shooters game on the Wii platform. The game is developed by High Voltage Software and published by Sega. It appears that one of the main improvement in this game is the development of multiplayer play while improving on the key features that made the first installment a success. The Conduit 2 Wii game is due for release February 15, 2011.

3. Kirby’s Epic Yarn: This game is the tenth installment in the Kirby video game series and is developed by Good-Feel and HAL Laboratory. The game is completely different from other games in the series in that it is played with Wii Remote control held sideways. Gameplay centres around Kirby who eats a metomato unknowingly belonging to a mysterious wizard. The wizard in anger sucks Kirby into a magic sock where everything is made of yarn. Kirby’s Epic yarn will be released on the 25th Feb 2011.

4. Pictionary: Is a board game and best suited for those that love drawing. Gamers play the game by drawing clues on a pad using a stylus which then appears on a television screen. to enjoy your gameplay you will require a minimum of 4 players. Pictionary will be released 3 April 2011.

5. Dood’s big Adventure: The game is a puzzle platformer In Dood’s big Adventure, there are 60 levels spread across four gameplay modes. Players make use of the uDraw peripheral to customize Dood. Gamers need a combination a of creativity and problem solving skills to be successful at this game. Dood’s big Adventure will be released on the 3rd of April 2011

6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters: Gamers can now experience the excitement of playing the Masters Tournament on the Augusta National grounds and win the Green Jacket – the most coveted prize in professional golf. The game was initially due to be a PS3 exclusive but will now be available on the Wii and Xbox 360. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is scheduled to be released 1st April 2011.

I can not wait to buy my copy of Red Dead Redemption; it is going to be the best game out there it comes out May 18th, 2010. Red Dead Redemption is for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The follow up game to the 2004 hit Red Dead Revolver that was for the PS2. Players will take on great adventures across the American frontier as former outlaw John Marston.

Red Dead Redemption features an epic open-world environment for players to explore, just like Grand Theft Auto series, except this is the Wild West for example, there will be frontier towns, rolling prairies teaming with wildlife, and perilous mountain passes – each packed with an endless flow of varied distractions. You can hunt wildlife by yourself or with friends, and sell the pelts from the dead animals. Players will experience the thrill of gunfights and battles in both online multiplayer and offline single player. You will meet a host of unique characters and struggle against the harshness of the wildernesses. You will ultimately pick your own path, good or evil through an epic story about the death of the Wild West.

With Red Dead Redemption, like GTA4, you can log into the multiplayer world immediately through the menu and select the mode you wish to play, so it is a very easy system. like GTA4, you have access to the open world with up to eight buddies. You can raid other players camps or NPC camps (non-player controlled camps, like computer), you can stage impressive bank robberies like in wild west movies Or you can take over armored stage coaches along the trails. You could just go up to the snowy mountains and do some hunting with your pals or by yourself.

Multiplayer has everything that single player has, it has all the computer controlled characters, just imagine how fun that will be. Whatever you can imagine you can do in the wild west, then you can do it there are a lot of unlockable features, so certain mounts and weapons are available after you have achieved certain things, like killing so many people. like for example, call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s ranking system. except this will be in the wild west oh this will be so fun

Watch the introduction trailer here for single player features.

Watch the multiplayer trailer here for online multiplayer features.

Are you looking for a Halo 3 Weapon Cheat? Join the club many xBox 360 users are turning to blogs and internet gaming sites as a means to uncover cheats for a variety of games and gaming platforms. many of the Halo 3 Weapon Cheat codes are kept pretty tight-lipped. but, we’ve discovered these 4 cheats to help you in your quest to become the best Halo player you can be Check out these cheats and see if they help out your game.

When in multi-player or system link mode, as soon as you kill someone make sure you slash their dead body with the Energy Sword. More grenades come out of it when you do

2. Very fast Spartan Laser Fire

For this Halo 3 Weapon Cheat, when in Forge mode, get yourself a Spartan Laser. Then, go ahead and charge it until its almost about to fire. before you fire though, turn into the Monitor. fly around until you get a target. before you turn back into a human form, hold RT to fire within at least half a second (if done correctly). You can use the Monitor’s aimer to aim the laser. how cool is that?

3. Snipe the AA gun on The Storm

In the level The Storm, this Halo 3 Weapon Cheat requires you to grab a sniper rifle as soon as possible to shoot enemies. but conserve at very least 16 rounds of ammunition (a full clip w/ 12 rounds remaining) then, when you get to the part where you have to charge up the AA gun, hang back a bit and scope your sniper rifle. when the gun fires, the bottom pf it will open up, revealing the crystal area you have to shoot in order to destroy the gun. If your quick about it, you can get 3 shots off before it closes. keep on doing this until it explodes Your aim will rise a bit above the crystal if you hit it.

If you are a Spartan or Elite and your ammunition is low and it takes a long time to reload, press Up again while reloading to instantly reload. that should be a big help when you’re in one of those situations that gets a little hairy

Hey, we sure hope these tips have helped you out Hopefully, we’ve provided you with a few Halo 3 Weapon Cheat tips that you didn’t already know Halo 3 is one of the baddest games out there, so why not find a way to be the best at it these tips should get you moving in the right direction

Can you have a second honeymoon, especially if the first one was great?

That’s the question facing Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360, which is ramping up for its crucial holiday season and first anniversary.

The Kinect was a phenomenal success after it launched last November. it set a world record for the fastest-selling consumer electronics product, with 8 million units sold in the first 60 days.

Yet now, as the first batch of its holiday games enters the market, Microsoft is expecting an even bigger year for Kinect and the Xbox platform.

This year, apps are expected to drive the sales: 75 Kinect games are being released, compared with 17 during the past holiday season, including new versions of hits such as “Dance Central” and “Kinectimals.”

Kinect also features heavily in new entertainment services coming to the Xbox this fall, including cable-TV and streaming-video services that will be controllable and searchable using voice commands and gestures.

“You look at all the lineup of games we have for the holidays, we think it’s going to be the biggest ever,” said David Dennis, group manager in Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business.

Still, you’d think the novelty would have worn off and that everyone who wants an Xbox or other game console would already have one.

But one in five consumers is interested in buying a game console this holiday season. Specifically, 22 percent of adult consumers in the United States intend to buy a game system, down from 24 percent last year, according to research by the Consumer Electronics Association.

“If you look at consumers’ intentions to buy gaming [products], it’s only down very, very slightly from last year,” said Shawn DuBravac, the trade group’s chief economist and director of research.

The same survey found 21 percent intend to buy smartphones this holiday season, up from 17 percent the year before.

But while the Xbox business is still growing, the current game consoles are entering a low point in their life cycle, with sales and interest slowing until the next models appear over the next two to four years, according to IDC.

“We’re in the middle of a trough. I think it will pick back up by 2015,” said Lewis Ward, manager of IDC’s game research.

Nintendo is releasing its new Wii in mid-2012, following the traditional console schedule of a new model every five years.

Microsoft and Sony are pushing out the life cycles of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with hardware updates and the Kinect and Sony move motion controller, which also appeared last year. Ward expects the next Xbox will go on sale in 2014 with the PS4 to come in 2015.

There’s little urgency for Microsoft to introduce a new console, since it’s now leading the market and has momentum with Kinect, he said. with more than 55 million Xbox 360s sold, it also has plenty of opportunity to sell higher-margin software and services on the platform.

In the meantime, Kinect — like the Siri voice-control feature in Apple’s new iPhone 4S — is gradually introducing a new user interface to consumers, and giving Microsoft and developers a chance to improve its capabilities before it’s extended to more critical applications and mainstream computing.

Testing out a handful of the new Kinect titles last week, I was generally willing to accept the sensor’s occasional hiccups and misfires because the games are so fun. Here are my quick takes on a few notable releases (all except “Dance Central 2″ are already on the market).

“Dance Central 2,” $50: Kinect’s hit dance game, which goes on sale Oct. 25, gets two-player capability so you can dance side by side, trying to match the moves of the groovy characters on screen. Voice commands are added, in addition to the swipe gestures used in the original. the simultaneous multiplayer is a great addition to what’s truly a great social game, but the additional options and game modes made it feel more complicated and a little less breezy than the original.

“Sesame Street: once upon a Monster,” $50: A storybook-themed Kinect game for the preschool set, it has clever, kid-friendly controls such as swipes to turn pages and big tabs on the side of the “book” that you “pull” with gestures to launch a game, as if you’re pulling on the tabs of a pop-up book. the funny narration by Elmo and Cookie Monster keeps it from being scary, and progress requires physical activity such as jumping and mimicking the gestures of an on-screen monster. my 5-year-old game consultant and I tried the demo version, but instead of finishing she wanted to return to “Kinectimals.”

“Kinectimals now with Bears,” $50, or $15 as a bear upgrade to the original “Kinectimals.” I thought “Kinectimals” would be a breakout hit last year. the game lets you adopt and play with adorable, realistic wild cats, such as a baby tiger or lion. “Petting” them and making them purr with gestures are still one of the most striking demonstrations of the sensor, but the original game felt bogged down by a traditional game structure, which was too involved for very young players who just wanted to play with the animals. “With Bears” adds equally charming bear cubs and makes it easier to get playing, without hurdles such as the original’s challenging obstacle course.

“Forza Motorsport 4,” $60 to $80: Microsoft’s ultrarealistic racing game is bright and thrilling, with a few optional Kinect capabilities that feel like tech demos. you can let Kinect track your head and change your view while racing. There’s also a virtual showroom where you can move around, explore cars and call up brochure-type material about different features, but I couldn’t get the hang of the bobbing around needed to get in and out of cars. In short Kinect racing games, you steer by holding arms out and moving hands up and down, but the sensor repeatedly lost track of hands in my smallish, poorly lit room. Holding arms out that way also got tiring after a few laps. I couldn’t wait to stop testing its Kinect features, pick up the controller and get back into the full game.

Brier Dudley’s column appears Mondays. Reach him at 206-515-5687 or bdudley@seattletimes.com.