Times Square grinds to a halt for Microsoft Kinect

Last night saw New York’s Times Square turned into a shrine for Microsoft’s Kinect. In an opulent/obscene (delete as you see fit) display of corporate wealth, the company booked the entire square for its launch of Kinect, and put on a spectacular show.

While rapper Ne-Yo led hundreds of dancers through a routine, every one of the jumbotron screens in Times Square displayed Kinect advertising. Traffic through the whole area was blocked, and queues reportedly stretched for three blocks. Those at the front had waited since Monday to be first.

Kotaku has a few shots of the event in progress, so go here for more. It looks like some sort of modern Nuremberg Rally for soccer moms, but you can’t argue about Microsoft’s commitment to force-feeding Kinect to the whole of the civilized world.

Microsoft recently announced it was aiming for 5 million Kinect sales by the end of 2010. On this form, you can actually see them pulling it off.

[Via Kotaku]