'Star Wars'-themed Xbox 360 unleashed at Comic-Con

SAN DIEGO — The Force will be with the Xbox 360.

Microsoft Corp. unveiled a limited edition Xbox 360 console at a Comic-Con panel on Thursday that will be modeled after the character R2-D2, with a wireless gold-colored controller resembling his droid pal C-3PO.

The console will make the character's signature beeping sounds when the white-and-blue console is turned on and the disc tray is opened. It will also feature a 320-gigabyte hard drive, the largest available for Microsoft's gaming system.

The "Star Wars"-themed console, available later this year, will cost $449.99 and come with a white Kinect sensor, headset and "Kinect Star Wars," an action-adventure game utilizing the camera-based controller system.

"Kinect Star Wars" developers also confirmed that a pod-racing mode based on "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace," would be featured in the game.

The game allows players to use gestures to drive pods across intergalactic landscapes, as well as wield light sabers and other powers of The Force.