A young gamer uses his body to move a giant avatar of himself during the Kinect event. (Microsoft photo)

Posting from Los Angeles: I'm not sure what I just experienced, but I'm pretty sure it would qualify as one of the most elaborate product launches in the history of technology.

Whether it will ultimately be seen as a high point for Microsoft or an industry joke will depend on the long-term success or failure of Kinect, formerly known as Project Natal, the motion-based Xbox 360 control system that was the subject of the whole thing.

The event, staged by Cirque du Soleil, took place at a USC auditorium tonight in advance of the E3 video game convention here.

The first sign that things were going to be different came shortly after entering the building, when attendees were asked to don white ponchos. Microsoft declared it a "technology free" event, asking for no video or photos to be taken. Inside was a tropical setting, with animated Xbox avatars displayed on giant screens overhead. Cirque du Soleil dancers warmed up the crowd with games and tricks.

Then things really got going.

At the beginning of the event, a family on a couch hung some 100 feet in the air in one corner of the auditorium, as a village elder sat cross-legged on the other side of the room, starting things off with a dance and a gesture that brought the couch to the ground. Dancers carried the son of the family, holding a green ball, to the elder.

After some dancing, an announcer's voice boomed across the auditorium, talking about the relationship of man and machine throughout history as a giant Cirque du Soleil elephant led a procession to the stage.

"This time human beings will be at the center, and the machine will be the one that adapts," the voice said.

A boy walked up a series of giant boulders on the stage, playing a succession of old-school games, before reaching the top. A voice welcomed him, and he used his body to control a giant avatar on screen.

A dancer greets visitors outside the Microsoft launch event for Kinect. (TechFlash photo)

"What's your name?" he asked the machine.

"Kinect," flashed the words on screen, officially confirming the product's name. The long shoulder pads in the attendees' ponchos glowed green and white.

From there the performance shifted into intense game demos, accompanied by thumping music, providing a glimpse of the Kinect experience through live actors in an enclosed living room at the top of the rock formation, high above the ground on one end of the auditorium. At one point the living room and the people inside rotated and literally turned upside down, to cheers from the crowd.

The gaming action in the living room was mirrored in strips of big screens on either side of the crowd, high above the auditorium floor.

A racing title was controlled by moving hands in the air as if holding a steering wheel. A yoga and martial arts workout game mirrored the user's actions in a silhouette on screen. A Disney theme and fireworks animation was followed by a Kinect-style Star Wars battle, providing a sense for the content partners Microsoft has lined up.

Later came sports, starting with track and field, with gamers moving their characters on screen by running wildly in place. Then there was Kinect bowling, Microsoft's version of a game that has become a staple on Nintendo's popular Wii console. Volleyball followed, with an announcer making the point that the players were competing from different places, presumably over Microsoft's Xbox Live online system.

Then came an interactive animal game, an instructional dancing game, and a demo of Kinect video chat and photo sharing. The show is slated to air on MTV and related channels later this week.

Microsoft first unveiled the Kinect device, developed under the code name Natal, at the same convention a year ago. It uses a camera and sensors, combined with a microphone array, to let gamers interact with the Xbox 360 and control games without holding physical controllers.

The event itself underscored the way video games are feeling more and more like Hollywood. Hundreds of people waited outside the USC Galen Center in L.A. in advance of the event, as geek celebrities including Felicia Day of the web series "The Guild" were ushered in via red carpet.

A Cirque Du Soleil elephant leads the procession during the Microsoft Kinect unveiling. (Microsoft photo)

At least one of Michael Jackson's children was said to be in attendance.

Prior to the event, an ad on an Italian website and a USA Today blog post confirmed the product name of the device to be "Kinect." Microsoft is hoping to use the accessory to compete more effectively against Nintendo's Wii and fend off Sony's Playstation 3, which is getting its own motion-sensitive controller called Move.

Official details of Kinect are expected Monday morning at Microsoft's media briefing here.