Microsoft Kills Off Kinect for Xbox

[btarunr]

Microsoft has discontinued Kinect, the gesture-tracking accessory for Xbox which was all the rage a couple of years ago. The company has stopped manufacturing Kinect, and at its last count, sold over 35 million units of it (including standalone units and bundled with Xbox consoles). Gesture and voice recognition flourished as Kinect formed Microsoft's answer to Nintendo Wii and its WiiMotion controller, that enabled sports games in the living room. Kinect added another dimension to it, by taking input from not just your hands' 3D spatial orientation, but also that of your entire body. The accessory also doubled up as a web-camera for your living room. Microsoft plans Windows Mixed Reality headsets to succeed Kinect, as they combine several of its functions with VR and AR.



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[erixx]

so sad again this policy, and I have never used or seen it.

 

[Chaitanya]

finally... didnt see anyone using it much as it was quite expensive purchase in India.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

I tried Kinect on the 360, but it just didn't work well for me, so I stopped using it. Heck, our Wii has been in its box for a long time, too, as the controls just never felt very precise on it either. When I play a game, I prefer to take a seat, not flail around in futility.

Kinect really hurt everything MS had attained with the 360, as the Kinect hardware being bundled by default on XboxOne caused them to make sacrifices in console power in order to meet an already too expensive price point. Sony just walked all over MS this round.

 

[dj-electric]

Good riddance

 

[Gralorn]

I am sad about this. I bought XBOX mostly because of kinect. Me, my family and my friends had a lot of fun playing games with it.

 

[dozenfury]

In hindsight they'd probably have left it off from the base unit and knocked off $50 at original XB1 launch. Just Dance was about the only thing it was ever useful for.

Microsoft does have an opportunity to gain back some ground on Sony with an excellent VR/AR implementation. I have Sony's PSVR and it's great, and it has a decent sized library already, so Sony has a bery big head-start. But it is a bit bulky and "1.0" feeling with all of the connections and size. Coming in this much later, Microsoft has a chance to bring a 2.0-type VR/AR experience that is smoother with less bulk. Whichever company has the first real must-have VR big hit will do well. RE7 was close, but I still haven't seen a must-have console VR game yet. They need an Uncharted/Zelda/(good)Halo/Last of Us tier kind of VR game that is a great game on it's own merits, and not just leaning on the VR tech to impress in a short demo. Until then the install base will be small, and it's a catch-22 since game devs aren't going to bet a lot of resources on a great VR game for a small customer base.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

In hindsight they'd probably have left it off from the base unit and knocked off $50 at original XB1 launch. Just Dance was about the only thing it was ever useful for.

Microsoft does have an opportunity to gain back some ground on Sony with an excellent VR/AR implementation. I have Sony's PSVR and it's great, and it has a decent sized library already, so Sony has a bery big head-start. But it is a bit bulky and "1.0" feeling with all of the connections and size. Coming in this much later, Microsoft has a chance to bring a 2.0-type VR/AR experience that is smoother with less bulk. Whichever company has the first real must-have VR big hit will do well. RE7 was close, but I still haven't seen a must-have console VR game yet. They need an Uncharted/Zelda/(good)Halo/Last of Us tier kind of VR game that is a great game on it's own merits, and not just leaning on the VR tech to impress in a short demo. Until then the install base will be small, and it's a catch-22 since game devs aren't going to bet a lot of resources on a great VR game for a small customer base.

I suspect VR will be another segment that isn't wildly popular. It's not that it doesn't offer something great, but I suspect motion sickness and disorientation will be significant hurtles for many people, as well as the idea of having to strap on head gear as part of recreation. 3DTV never took off, and all that required was a pair of glasses!

As for launch price, I bet MS could have matched Sony's $399 without the Kinect bundle and possibly even added things like GDDR5 to close the performance deficit. Kinect was an expensive pack-in item. Sold separately I believe it was over $100.

 

[natr0n]

They make ghost and spirit detectors with them and the sdk.

I saw on a show called Ghost Adventures a few times.

 

[neatfeatguy]

They make ghost and spirit detectors with them and the sdk.

I saw on a show called Ghost Adventures a few times.

I find those moments to be the most entertaining on Ghost Adventures - you see some random stick figure on screen just doing odd movements, flailing limbs, rapidly shooting across the screen or climbing the wall/ceilings. I don't know if those images actually hold proof to ghosts/demons or whatever, but I get a good laugh every time I see them use that device.

Hopefully they stocked up on them just in case.

 

[natr0n]

I find those moments to be the most entertaining on Ghost Adventures - you see some random stick figure on screen just doing odd movements, flailing limbs, rapidly shooting across the screen or climbing the wall/ceilings. I don't know if those images actually hold proof to ghosts/demons or whatever, but I get a good laugh every time I see them use that device.

Hopefully they stocked up on them just in case.

lol flailing limbs is exactly how i remember it very comical.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Good riddance

Right? Took them long enough.

I am sad about this. I bought XBOX mostly because of kinect. Me, my family and my friends had a lot of fun playing games with it.

You would be in the severe minority. And as this is your only comment, you kinda come off as a Microsoft shill.

I suspect VR will be another segment that isn't wildly popular. It's not that it doesn't offer something great, but I suspect motion sickness and disorientation will be significant hurtles for many people, as well as the idea of having to strap on head gear as part of recreation. 3DTV never took off, and all that required was a pair of glasses!

While I agree about 3DTV, VR is different. It's already very cool and some offerings are very well done. Further refinement will likely make it much more mainstream and effective. I've tried out the Occulus and was very impressed with it.

 

[phanbuey]

Sad... this is what made Dance Dance a revolution.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

No one the wiser! Nobody remembered Kinect had been hacked so everyone can watch you and your family act like idiots for everyone else on the internetz.

There once was a farfetched rumorconspiracy theory that the NSA/USG madeforced m$ make these as spy tools.

 

[StrayKAT]

It came with my XOne, but I never really had the space for it. It was only useful for doing some voice commands (it still may be good for that, if I try hooking it up to Windows, I guess).

 

[timta2]

Another thing to add to the list, of things Microsoft announced, was excited about, and then let wither and die.

 

[StrayKAT]

Another thing to add to the list, of things Microsoft announced, was excited about, and then let wither and die.

I never thought it had hope to begin with, no matter what they did.. Even though I bought a day 1 Xbox, they would have been better off not bundling Kinect (among other things).

Same goes for all of these companies pushing for VR. Few people even asked for it... and therefore it will fail.

 

[Prima.Vera]

What's recently with all this VR crap?? I don't want to wear a giant heavy helmet when I'm playing games and get dizzy after 15 mins.... Screw that.

 

[cyneater]

What's recently with all this VR crap?? I don't want to war a giant heavy helmet when I'm playing games and get dizzy after 15 mins.... Screw that.

VR is some buzz word.
Gets thrown around now and then
other than that seems to be 15 year olds wet dream...

has been around for years... although now available in 4k...

VR dosn't have that killer app or standardization