JULY 21, 2011 • Microsoft Corp. will release a special edition Star Wars Xbox 360 for $449. The console will come modeled after the R2D2 character from the film series, including the signature beeping sound effects the droid is known for. The package comes with a Kinect motion sensor, a Kinect Star Wars game, and a 320GB hard drive.

Impact: An R2D2 themed Xbox 360 console is an intriguing product as the complete package, with the kid oriented Kinect Star Wars game, is priced well above a typical Kinect bundle.  It would seem the optimal consumer for this product is a gen-X Star Wars dad with kids old enough to like action games but young enough to still like the Star Wars prequel movies. Too bad for Microsoft that Star Wars: The Old Republic is PC only.