In what looks like an effort by Microsoft to simultaneously one-up Nintendo and bring interaction capabilities on Xbox Live to a whole new level, Microsoft is bringing out a Live Vision camera; essentially a $40 webcam that has the software capacity to interpolate user movements. Microsoft announced at Gamefest in Seattle that they're releasing the new hardware in September and bundling it with a game called Totem Ball, where the player uses hand gestures to guide a wheeled totem Pole through levels, collecting items and trying to get to the exit before time runs out. There's also supposed to be capabilities to interact with games like World Series of Poker, so you can see the people you're playing against and the ability to add photos to your GamerTag.

There's certainly a history of weird gaming peripherals out there on the periphery of console history (remember the Nintendo R.O.B.?) and it's possible the Live Vision will join this vaunted group without a bunch of gaming support. Of course, it could also be the next big thing in online gaming (although why you'd want to watch a bunch of unwashed gamers on a video screen in beyond me).