Kinect voice recognition landing Down Under

Earlier this year, Microsoft Australia announced its intention to bring Kinect voice recognition Down Under before the end of the year.

During a post-Electronic Entertainment Expo conference chat with GameSpot AU, Microsoft Australia product marketing manager Steve Blackburn confirmed that the update would be coming to Australian and New Zealand Xbox 360 consoles "before December 31, [2011]."

The publisher has kept that promise, and today announced that Kinect voice recognition will be landing Down Under in mid-December.

Kinect's voice command is supported through a limited set of "grammars," which are sets of words or phrases that trigger an in-game response.

The motion-control system launched in North America on November 4, 2010, with voice-command features limited to American English, British English, Mexican Spanish, and Japanese. The Kinect launched in Australia on November 18, 2010 without voice recognition.

In September, Microsoft announced a price drop of A$50 on the Xbox 360 Kinect bundle, with a new recommended retail price (RRP) of A$399 for the 4GB Xbox 360 with the Kinect bundle and A$499 for the 250GB Xbox 360 with the Kinect bundle.

Microsoft also announced that it will be bringing its monthly music subscription service Zune Pass to Australia on November 16, 2011. The service gives users access to a database of songs and music videos that can be streamed or downloaded and played on a Windows Phone, PC, or the Xbox 360.

The Zune Music pass will be available in Australia for A$11.99 per month.