Skyrim Kinect expected to release during week of April 23rd

As most of you know by now, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be getting Kinect support for the Xbox 360 version of the game.  Bethesda announced the free title update – which will feature "more than 200 Voice Commands…including the game's dragon shouts" – yesterday and said it would be coming this month.

According to an interview with CNN, Skyrim Kinect is expected to release during the week of April 23rd.  Although there are plans to include support for five languages – English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish – only the English version is expected to release at first. THe other versions will follow "close behind".

"Working closely with the talented team at Bethesda, they have done an amazing job of honoring the core gameplay functionality fans of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim know and love and using Kinect for Xbox 360 voice control integration to complement and strengthen the core experience without changing the fundamental game mechanics," said GM of Xbox Marketing Matt Barlow.

The new Kinect integration for Skyrim includes voice commands for Hotkey Equipping, Follower Commands and all Menus (Items, Magic, Map, Barter, Container, Favorites, and Skills).  You will also be able to quickly create and load saves during gameplay and access menus and inventories.  In addition, Skyrim Kinect for Xbox 360 support also adds new functionality including special map functions, additional hotkey options, and the ability to sort inventory items by name, weight, and value.

While this was likely the "April surprise" for Skyrim that Bethesda's Pete Hines referred to last month, we are still awaiting what the surprise for Rage will be.  Hines promised, "Some things coming down the road in April for all you Rage and Skyrim fans."

So now that Skyrim Kinect has been announced, what are you hoping Bethesda will unveil for Rage?