190°

Xbox watching your every move

Brands will soon be invading your lounge room and monitoring everything you do, from bathroom breaks to funny facial expressions in order to communicate better with you. This is the future of advertising and it’s a lot closer than could be imagined.

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allformats3933d ago (Edited 3933d ago )

Man this isn't good. Microsoft should abandon Kinect after the massive and shameful leak which revealed that the firm had given access to private citizens conversations, both video and chat, to the NSA, CIA and FBI.

This is serious. Next thing you know the government is in our living rooms courtesy Kinect.

Campy da Camper3933d ago

Screw the alphabet agencies, I'm not selling drugs or children so I don't care. What I DO care about is some ahole at MS's IT dept doing some perv vouyerism on me, all trying to peek my B-cups.

And those douche bag criminals using it to see if I'm home or not.

Ads, whatever. Hackable camera with MS holding all security for it? HELL NO.

georgeenoob3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

Sony fanboys and their conspiracies. I always wonder how far these fanboys have to go before people stop taking them seriously.

Now let's looks at this logically. Say MS sells 80 millions consoles as they did with 360, do you really think that MS is going to sit there and watch 80 million people individually sit there staring at a TV with a controller in their hand.

N4G: where no logic exists. This is just sad.

HammadTheBeast3932d ago

@Georgenoobe

Well they were happy to listen to the hundreds of millions of Skype calls.

MysticStrummer3932d ago

"I always wonder how far these fanboys have to go before people stop taking them seriously."

No one takes you seriously. At what point do you think that happened?

"Now let's looks at this logically. Say MS sells 80 million console as they did with 360, do you really think that MS is going to sit there and watch 80 million people individually sit there staring at a TV with a controller in their hand."

You're the one not using logic. MS reportedly handed over email and chat data for tens of millions of users (80 million qualifies as "tens of millions" by the way) to the NSA, and who says anyone has to sit and watch the Kinect feed? It's just data that can be run through a software filter.

XabiDaChosenOne3932d ago

"Screw the alphabet agencies, I'm not selling drugs or children so I don't care." Outside of obvious crimes we really don't know what action the government would see as "suspicious activities".What you do in your daily life in which you consider to be normal, the government may see it as suspicious. Food for thought.

@georgenoob I really hope your an adolescent because if you are an adult with that much ignorance nestled in your brain you should be ashamed of yourself. Have you ever heard of the record feature? Its this magical little app found on most video recording machines and/or cameras. Its convenient in which someone does not necessarily have to watch an activity or person for information to be recorded. It would be right there in the respective storage medium. Just throwing that out there.

georgeenoob3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

@Mystic

"It's just data that can be run through a software filter."

Ok, so if it's automated THEN WHAT'S THE BIG FUS ABOUT LOSING PRIVACY?

NatureOfLogic3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

@ georgeenoob

Wow, what a MS shill you are. You're saying It's logical and ok because not all 80 million will be spied on. That's some logic./s

You're just another blind fanboy(or shill) unable to look beyond this childish console fanboy warz to see the truth. You're a known fanboy who don't even know the meaning of logic with your M$ glasses on 24/7. There's people like you signing that petition to take away your rights because you're either too young, a fanboy or a shill to see past brand loyalty.

JokesOnYou3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

lol, listen to all the secret agents trying to remain hidden on n4g.

lol, my kinect has been on for the past 2 yrs, so where are all these lawsuits from real people who have been secretly recorded in their underooos....pffft you guys are too funny.

n4rc3932d ago

Sure thing fanboy.. Just make up more shit..

They are monitoring millions of people eh? Must be tons of info in that ass of yours.. Since you just keep pulling shit out of it..

They granted access to video feeds of specific people that were under investigation.. But reading is too hard, easier to just make it up

Lvl_up_gamer3932d ago

LMFAO....

Google maps on your smart phone record data of your location and is available to the government yet nobody is worried about that.

You sony fanboys crack me up.

Tyre3932d ago

Just in How Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages Nobody should support them anymore => http://www.guardian.co.uk/w...

omi25p3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

I do hope you are joking?

Do you HONESTLY expect Microsoft to be paying someone to sit and Watch you playing games?

Nobody give a damn about you that much.

Honestly the whole idea of this is ridiculous.

People seem to think Microsoft are going to pay trillions and trillions of dollars to have 1 or two people watching 1 person 24.7

People also seem to forget that Microsoft would need an Astonishing amount of servers to hold all that footage.

Lets say for example the X1 sells 5 million consoles.

Thats 43200000000 hours of footage a year. Thats 5 MILLION people watching 5 million people.

Anyone who thinks this is actually happening needs to get over themselves.

MysticStrummer3932d ago

Wow look at all the false arguments.

The gathering of private information isn't cool in any form. Just because it's done already doesn't make a new form of it ok. This is an argument made by sheep, and that's the only way to put it. You can say no one cares about Google or Facebook doing it, but you'd be completely wrong.

No one has claimed that Kinect was used in nefarious ways that should result in lawsuits, but it's an established fact that Microsoft has a history of handing over private information so to say it is impossible with Kinect is ludicrous.

lol @ George's non-answer to what I posted earlier.

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 3932d ago
Mr_Nuts3933d ago

I wonder...how much are MS getting paid for this. I bet they wouldn't of done it for free

Hufandpuf3933d ago

The NSA is a part of the government. They done have to pay for anything. Try just do.

sAVAge_bEaST3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

^^^
Secret meetings, and back room deals.. believe me, both backs are being rubbed.

i.e. -more gov. contracts going M$'s way.

Godmars2903933d ago (Edited 3933d ago )

Its what they've been planning to do since first announcing it. When it was still called Natal.

@Mr_Nuts:
Its all for ad revenue.

They want to make money off of customers, who are already paying them to use their system.

Still, since they had to backdown from always online - and really, the 24 hour check in was meant to promote always online - they wont be able to assure that every XB1 is a connected marketing machine.

4Sh0w3932d ago

Who here thinks they are that important. What are they going to do watch you spew fanboy nonsense on n4g? I'm still waiting to hear what kinect is going to find out about your life thats so important?

pompombrum3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

They shouldn't go as far as abandoning kinect over the Snowden leaks.. that's a little over the top but imho they should at the very least give people the option to completely unplug it and have a working Xbox One. That would be a fair compromise and put those worried at ease.

hankmoody3932d ago

Dude, haven't you noticed how you'll go on some shopping site to browse stuff and then go to a non consumer site and see ads for the same things you were just looking at? It's already happening and in many different ways. Really, all you're hearing about Kinect is just paranoid nonsense. Until I see solid proof that video, voice or whatever else is being taken off of Kinect and used without the consent of those being recorded, I'll leave the panic to other people.

3932d ago
creatchee3932d ago

@allformats

You've already made it perfectly clear in every other Xbox One-related thread that you're not buying an Xbox One.

So whether the Kinect is every bad thing that you and others claim that it is or simply an innocuous motion control peripheral, what are you going to do? Not buy it EVEN HARDER?

Seriously - stop being a hatemonger and trying to scare the kids like Old Man Vickers in Scooby Doo.

RM-TatoTiburon3932d ago

so nokia, apple, samsung should abandon too? don't you have a smarthphone? they track you wherever you go...welcome to the real world

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3932d ago
DoctorXpro3933d ago

I dont think they are interested to see me in boxers...

iGamerZero243932d ago

They watch me play Halo 5 naked ! The NSA will know whet a 12" crank looks like on there live feed.....lol

Hope Kinect has a long lens JK

jXales3932d ago

what if kinect can see what brand boxers you use and make adds and popups of those kinds of boxers etc. What you eat, what you do.

What if kinect profiles your likes and don't.

Thats the whole point of this debacle. But it can be completely abused and give an insight into your privacy to corporations.

BitbyDeath3932d ago

You start seeing ads for new clothes, viagra etc popup on the Xbox then consider yourself wrong. They are interested in anything they can sell you.

BattleTorn3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

"Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you

Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you" LOL

NatureOfLogic3932d ago

@ Thomper, I know, right? As long as they keep releasing dem halos we all good. Lets ignore this and play some gamez./s

S2Killinit3932d ago

Once kinect is adopted and accepted, you will have a storm of devices that will follow this precedent. As these new technologies enter the market, our Rights as individuals are at risk. In the past an employee of Microsoft wouldn't have had the right to come to your house and ask you questions or observe you in your private environment. Now, with these new technologies, our rights need to adapt to stay relevant. If people don't get vocal right now at this very critical point in time we will have a future where new technologies infringe on our privacy rights. Is anyone in congress voicing these concerns right now? I really hope so.

jXales3932d ago

just wait till google glass gets loose...

Tyre3932d ago (Edited 3932d ago )

@S2Killinit Well said, that's why this discussion matters more than anytime in history....It will be banned in Germany at 1st...other countries should follow. People are finally waking up to the consequences of these devices. Microsoft shouldn't have made Kinect mandatory and loaded with 3D HD scanning/biometrics/voice profiling capabilities. Xbot fanboys need to shut the F up! This isn't about fanboyism or gaming this will have dire consequences for everybody in the world. This is the wrong direction and everybody should be against this...we must reverse course and surveillance should stop at the front door. And No fanboys, the argument about laptop cameras & phone cameras doesn't make it any less, because we only use those cameras at our choice and they are not capable of what Kinect is capable of. Consoles should be about gaming only. Shame on MS to cloak a surveillance device in a console and make it impossible to avoid it. Thereby giving customers to wrong choice for the future and lure them in with games & fun. Microsoft takes no responsibilities towards respecting the rights/freedoms of ordinary people, in fact i think all companies use these tech on consumer are punishable by law. I hope the right experts in the world will take a long hard look at this. This must not go by unnoticed.

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80°

6 Games That Genuinely Deserve A Current-Gen Upgrade

Games such as Mad Max, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Batman: Arkham Knight desperately deserve a modern-day revisit.

80°

Hammerwatch II Will Stop Dilly-Dallying and Head to Xbox and PS4 on April 23

"Hammerwatch II's journey to Xbox has been long and perilous. After first launching on Steam in the fall of 2023, the game finally turned up on PlayStation 5 last December. Since then, Xbox gamers who enjoyed the original Hammerwatch and the sublime Heroes of Hammerwatch have been anxiously awaiting their turn at the long-promised sequel. At last, the wait is nearly over because Hammerwatch II will hit Xbox and PlayStation 4 on April 23," says Co-Optimus.

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co-optimus.com
280°

Sea of Thieves Welcomes 40 Million Players

Joe 'Three Sheets' Neate (Executive Producer): "As I’m sure you can imagine, when it comes to Sea of Thieves my days are full of numbers. Development costs, active servers, days until the next update… Sometimes, though, a truly extraordinary number stands out – a number like 40 million, which I’m incredibly pleased to say is the number of pirates who’ve now set sail in Sea of Thieves!"

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seaofthieves.com
darthv7216h ago

Garrr... more people to walk the plank and send to Davey Jones locker.

would have been funny to release this on talk like a pirate day.

Obscure_Observer14h agoShowReplies(3)
TrueRican6911h ago

I pre-order the premium edition for my PS5 today

Crows907h ago(Edited 7h ago)

40 million have set sail...that's great. How many are sailing now? Monthly active users....when it actually matters. How many people purchased the game is another important number.

Gamingsince19817h ago

You don't get numbers like that from MS mouth pieces, they just like to say stuff like "this game was looked at 129 million time, the biggest amount of people browsing a game of this genre on xbox gamepass ever in the last 3 weeks compared to before gamepass was out (small print only 2 million bothered playing longer than 20 seconds and only 100 people are playing it concurrently)

It's all smoke and mirrors

nibblo7h ago

There are usually around 10,000 concurrent users on Steam not counting Xbox or PS but really it doesn't matter as long as there are enough people on the servers to play which there always were and will be for a long time now with the PS players coming on board. Same goes for how many people bought it and how many are on GP, we aren't the accountants of these console companies so why would we care?

Hofstaderman6h ago

Reporting on MAU stats is very misleading. Other companies publish units sold, MS cannot or will not due to Game Pass. We all know that their prior startegies have not panned out so now they have to actually sell games on other consoles. In any case, SoT is doing impressive preorders on PS5 and will very likely motivate Satya to release more games other than the four indicated games on their competitor's consoles. Take note Phil is radio silent....

Abear216h ago

40 Mil across Stream, Windows 10, and Xbox. Healthy numbers for sure, but when PC is the biggest platform, I expected more. It’ll be interesting to see how it does on PlayStation. Very well could be double that player count in 6 months with PS too. It’s crazy for developers to skip the most popular platform, not sure why they’d want to, but they must have had their rea$ons.

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