Nearly five months after the release of Microsoft's 3D camera-based Kinect controller for the Xbox 360, which has attracted over 10 million sales so far, Activision Publishing has announced its first title for the accessory, based on a license from the ABC obstacle course game show "Wipeout." Wipeout in the Zone, targeted for a summer release, will allow players to try to dodge 30 different obstacles, including "the infamous Big Balls" and the "Smack Wall Sweeper" from the show, as well as many original obstacles created just for the game, according to today's announcement. "The show is all about absurd movement and well-timed balance, so it's a perfect fit for a Kinect game," said Activision Publishing's David Oxford in a statement. Show hosts John Anderson, John Henson and Jill Wagner will provide commentary for the Kinect title, as they did for last year's Activision-published Wii and DS releases of Wipeout: The Game. "Wipeout" was one of the biggest premieres of 2008's summer TV season, attracting 9.8 million viewers for its first episode. Last week's repeat episode of the show attracted 5.5 million viewers, and new episodes are set to start on ABC tomorrow night. Last June, Activision COO Thomas Tippl told Gamasutra the company was taking a wait-and-see approach regarding support for Kinect, citing concerns over the unit's then-unannounced price and potential installed base. "Move and Kinect, I think, will be interesting new opportunities to innovate certain franchises, but probably not for every kind of game," he said at the time. "So, we'll have to see how much of an install base they're going to develop. A lot of that will depend on the price point they choose."
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