(Yicai) July 6 -- Skyworth Group and Youdoo, a video game console maker backed by the Chinese consumer electronics giant, will jointly release a new console powered by artificial intelligence motion sensing.

The new Youdoo Box, which will be priced from CNY1,999 to CNY3,399 (USD295 to USD500), requires no gamepad or wearable devices, with users able to play games or control interactive entertainment through body movements, Youdoo said at a launch conference yesterday. In addition, players can also use the device to evaluate whether their fitness movements meet the required standards.

Skyworth Digital invested CNY9 million (USD1.3 million) in Youdoo in April, with the Shenzhen-based company taking an 18 percent stake.

New technologies and market demands are creating new opportunities, said Liu Dan, chief executive officer of Youdoo. The goal is to become the home entertainment console in the AI era, he stressed.

Microsoft launched its motion sensing device Kinect for its Xbox consoles more than a decade ago, Liu said to Yicai. However, it later discontinued it due to a high price stemming from its reliance on infrared and depth camera technology, as well as its recognition accuracy and response speed not meeting the gaming needs, he pointed out.

The rapid development of AI vision, especially in low-computing-power platforms, has made it increasingly realistic for motion sensing tech to enter the home market, Liu said, adding that resources in the gaming industry are too concentrated on mobile devices, creating a good growth point for family scenarios, especially related to the living room. It's a good time to launch the Youdoo Box, he noted.

With the new AI console, Youdoo is expected to complement Skyworth's software and hardware business to fill the market gap in the domestic gaming console sector, Liu pointed out.

Liu served as the general manager of Tencent Tianxing Studio and participated in the development and operation of multiple games during his 20 years at Tencent Games.

"There hasn't been a global video game console to come from China yet," Liu said, adding that the reason why he left Tencent Games to found Youdoo was that he "wanted to give it a try."

Established at the end of July last year, Youdoo focuses on the development of home motion sensing entertainment consoles.

Sales of AI motion sensing devices in China will likely jump to about 500,000 units by next year and over 3.5 million units by 2030, according to a white paper on industry development jointly released by Frost & Sullivan and All View Cloud Data Technology at the launch conference. The country's global market share will climb to 20 percent from about 6 percent over the next five years.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev