Microsoft facing lawsuit over Kinect

Microsoft is being sued by Impulse Technology over its Kinect sensor.

Impulse Technology's lawsuit claims that the Kinect sensor infringes on seven of the company's patents describing a "system and method for tracking and assessing movement skills in multidimensional space".

Prior to Kinect's launch, Impulse Technology contacted Mircosoft regarding a "wide variety of games where the movement of a player is tracked in three dimensions... and certain exercise games where the motion of the player is tracked to effect movement of a virtual avatar, and the exertion of the user is monitored, including where the tracking of the player is done by use of a camera".

The lawsuit also includes eight publishers such as Electronic Arts, Sega and Konami as defendants, citing their games for violating the patents as well. Impulse is seeking a permanent injunction, damages, treble damages, interest, attorneys' fees and costs.

Microsoft has prominently featured Kinect games as a central part of its game lineup, including Kinect Star Wars and Kinect support in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

Microsoft announced yesterday a Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 system bundle that included a Kinect sensor and R2-D2-themed console.