120°

Xbox One Kinect – Will Big Brother Be Watching Us?

Gi - Recently, Peter Schaar, the Federal Data Protection Commissioner for Germany called the Xbox One Kinect‘s upgraded features a “twisted nightmare”. Given the recent government scandal concerning PRISM, the Xbox One’s Kinect poses some interesting privacy concerns to potential consumers.

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gamingillustrated.com
Dobgamers3928d ago

No, microsoft have denied that!

s8anicslayer3928d ago

Of course they're going to deny it, then it wouldn't be "Spying" if they told you they were allowing the FSA to do so..don't ya think? I hope you don't believe everything your told.

GameCents3927d ago

Let them watch! I mean goodness sake do people think they are so interesting that everybody wants to spy on them??
So tired of these articles. Lets just agree that they'll be watching your unfit and unkept slob of a body play games and jerk off.

xHeavYx3927d ago

What I would like to know is;
Can you use the One with Kinect not pointing directly to you?
Can you cover the camera and still be able to play?
If MS answered those questions, then most of the rumors would disappear

n4rc3927d ago

Especially when your only told it by conspiracy theorists.. Right?

This whole kinect is spying on me is the most idiotic subject I can imagine..

u people want ms to fail.. If you actually bothered to do a tiny bit of research (not reading comments sections!) Then you would know the actual facts..

Ie.. Kinect CAN be turned off

Wagz223927d ago

So when you play watch dogs, your watching big brother as big brother is actually watching you O.o its like the twilight zone.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3927d ago
JokesOnYou3928d ago (Edited 3928d ago )

"The Kinect data collection can be used to monitor users for breaches of software and console policies. This means that if a user violates an established Microsoft policy, Microsoft can collect the evidence of that violation and put simply, use it to charge you extra."

-So she says concerns like the 24hr checkin, drm, and Kinect always being on recording you have been addressed but she then says when its on that it will check to see "if a user violates an established Microsoft policy", 1st What policy is she talking about?, 2nd Where's the proof that Microsoft will be actively using this to charge you? These blogs love to make up shiii for attention.

s8anicslayer, yes they denied it, so in America its called proof. Microsoft actually has done a lot fighting in Congress for consumer privacy rights and are rated highly as one of the better companies protecting your data https://www.eff.org/who-has... because the govt makes tons of requests to huge companies like micro who have a lot of consumer data, but in reality they can just subpoena or use other means to get any info they want. The FBI even publicly said they don't need a warrant to spy on your emails. http://www.zdnet.com/fbi-sa...

camel_toad3927d ago

If Big Brother ends up watching me all I can say is that I feel really sorry for them. I apologize in advance, and my animals gave me full consent.

komp3927d ago

I can assure you that no matter what any company / person says about the whole Prism/NSA/GCHQ spying scandal... IF they are involved in it then the NSA would have enforced that no one could ever admit or deny it exists.

So you will have to come to your own conclusions as to what that means to you / everyone else.

If the government have nothing to hide then why the secrecy?

pompombrum3927d ago

To be fair, Microsoft and other companies are trying their hardest to be given the rights to be more open about these things. This whole fiasco though is a PR nightmare and won't stop anytime soon.

orakle443927d ago

Just put some black electrical tape over the camera, no more watching you. :)

LackTrue4K3927d ago

You just can't believe all they say...they have been Caught lying several times last month.

JoySticksFTW3927d ago (Edited 3927d ago )

Just real quick since I'm on my phone, I think he means things like...

Announce that drm can't be turned off during Angry Joe interview then turn off the 24 hr check-in a few days later, is one

Cloud makes certain games possible; but now those games are perfectly fine offline after drm policy reversal

Announce No supply issues, but why the limited number of launch units, might be another (but really, why announce you have supply issues so buyers just go preorder the competitor's console)

There's more but can't type with these things

LackTrue4K3927d ago

@ funky town,
Are you new to gaming, do you not read up on gaming news? N4G/IGN etc etc...

n4rc3927d ago

Hey joysticks..

1 isnt a lie

2.. Cloud and DRM have nothing to do with one another

And 3.. You don't know stock numbers.. Nobody does.. Everything from production issues to limited availability are rumors.. Not fact by any stretch

JoySticksFTW3927d ago

Yeah, whatever you say rep management. LOL

Join date 19 days ago :D

I believe you ;)

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3927d ago
stage883927d ago

Yeah it's not like Microsoft have done any spying before....

Oh wait, they directly monitored millions of personal Skype calls and conversations.
http://www.mactrast.com/201...
http://www.fourwinds10.net/...

Have fun with this spy box in your house.

4Sh0w3927d ago (Edited 3927d ago )

And then what happened?

None of your links prove anything, in fact it concludes with Microsoft responding that they complied with legal obligations but they we "reject them if we believe they aren’t valid." That actually goes against your accusation since nowhere does the link say Microsoft was spying only that they "helped the NSA" and by their response it indicates "helped" means the NSA sent specific requests.

Your second link only talks about a patent with the ability to record Skype calls, which recording calls also exist in many other formats doesn't mean there is anything evil going on, Sony for instance developed a patent for drm on used games, yet they haven't used it.
http://www.giantbomb.com/fo...

Nobody has shown that Microsoft spied on them for gain of the company itself and then did anything inappropriate with whatever they obtained.

Then Microsoft is on record saying that the govt sends tons of requests and supoenas for personal data and they are fighting such invasions of privacy through appropriate legal channels.

What more do you want from a very large US company that is subject to legal action by the US govt?

strigoi8143927d ago

Lolz so do you think they will be honest to you? Get outside enjoy life

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 3927d ago
dazzrazz3928d ago

Nobody is gonna be collecting shit from my house... Because I'm jumping to PS4 camp this generation !

TimeSkipLuffy3927d ago

of course. Even if they would try to go against it, if the US government seems to make it mandatory they will just bow their head down... we are speaking about the US! I have nothing against the US (half of my family lives there) but we can't deny the fact that the US government is doing what they want. Even if it is to force to spy on us when it is for the "safety of human kind"...

green3927d ago

Will we be getting "kinect spying" articles for the next 7 years ? Ohh dear lord

Show all comments (44)
20°

Joy Ride Turbo - The Beginning of the End for Xbox Kinect

Joy Ride Turbo launched 10 years ago today. The first title was Xbox Kinect exclusive, yet this sequel failed to support the device at all.

300°

10 of the Biggest Video Game Hardware Failures Ever

Cultured Vultures: "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal, and no matter how much developers might try, some gaming hardware just fails to hit the mark. We’ve compiled a list of 10 gaming hardware fails, and boy did some fail hard."

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culturedvultures.com
Knightofelemia819d ago

I would label the Power Glove, Kinect, and that Tony Hawk skateboard more as hardware addons hardware failure would be like the Virtual Boy and one day Stadia.

Magog818d ago

Kinect was bundled with every Xbox One and inflated the price on an already underpowered and low RAM machine so for the One it wasn't an accessory as much as a white elephant.

CaptainHenry916818d ago (Edited 818d ago )

Definitely the RROD but that power glove had a lot of issues as well. The Kinect just didn't work

818d ago
CrimsonWing69818d ago

Hardware add-ons are more like RAM or a video card, basically components that enhance capabilities or performance of the computer.

If you really want to get technical the Kinect is more of a peripheral device, kind of like a keyboard or mouse to a computer.

ThatsGaming818d ago

The person in this article obviously is not up on their gaming history....

Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Coleco Gemini, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga, Atari 5200, Atari 7800 were all massive failures and in most cases cost their companies participating in future gaming generations.

Gamer79818d ago

Sega saturn (successful in Japan) and dreamcast were not failures.
Seems like you're not up on you're gaming history

septemberindecember818d ago

@Gamer79

How in the world are the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast not seen as failures? They both sold around 8M each, which is much lower than the ~30M that the Genesis had sold before it, and even the Master System before that. They were both the worst selling consoles in their respective generation (PS1, N64 outsold Saturn, PS2, GC, and Xbox outsold Dreamcast). Both of the consoles were incredibly short lived. The Saturn was discontinued in every territory but Japan after just three years. In Japan the console was discontinued after six years. Meanwhile the Dreamcast was discontinued worldwide in 2001 after launching in most territories in 1999 and in Japan in 1998. The failure of the Saturn and Dreamcast lead to Sega pulling out of the hardware market. Which, by the way, all of this occurred when Sega was massively dropping the price of their consoles quickly to compete. Sega was hemorrhaging money at this point.

None of this indicates a successful console. Saying the Saturn was a success because it did better in Japan is like saying the Vita is a success (they both sold around the same amount of units in Japan). Even the Wii U outsold these consoles worldwide.

Magog818d ago

The picture should be the 360 RROD. When I think of gaming hardware failures that's what springs to mind. Kinect and it's bundled price tag definitely hobbled the already underpowered Xbox One though for sure so I would give it a close second place.

porkChop818d ago (Edited 818d ago )

That's not what the author means by failures. It's about hardware that failed in terms of sales (Wii U) or just failed to deliver on its promise (Kinect).

Magog818d ago (Edited 818d ago )

Given that the 360 had a year head start, much easier hardware to develop for, was cheaper, and still ended up in third place I think it qualifies especially when you factor in the frustration and huge losses incurred by RROD.

porkChop818d ago

Selling over 80 million consoles isn't a sales flop. We get it, you don't like Xbox, but that doesn't mean the 360 is suddenly a failure.

Rhythmattic817d ago

Porky....
You know how many people I know bought a 2nd or third 360 due to RROD? Even when MS had to confront the issue with replacement systems, my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in, and waiting for a replacement.,,..,..
If that's how you consider it a win... OK.. but so is having 5 , of which 3 don't function.... Its a win win....mwhahahahaha

porkChop817d ago

"my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in"

You're acting like it would take months. When I sent my 360 in I got a new one literally 5 days later. As soon as MS had tracking confirmation that you sent yours, they'd send a new one to you the same day. No one is going to spend hundreds to buy a new console instead of waiting a week. I swear you guys pull some of the dumbest shit out of nowhere and think people will actually believe it.

Regardless, none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about.

Rhythmattic816d ago (Edited 816d ago )

Porky
"You're acting like it would take months"
Sometimes it could.. FFS.. 'Strya here...
Best turnaround I reckon was 2-3 weeks.....
Either way, My mates experiences still exist.. So Sorry, no point trying to earn Xbox Achievements when it doesn't feature in what was a situation you never dealt with,,,,
3 of my friends would disagree (overall, 10 extra Xboxes purchased)
Regardless.. MS sold a lot of 360's that was due to this reason.. That is sales. Fact

"none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about."
Headline says HELLO !
Oh and "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal," that's enough to pass this on without taking your article bias into consideration.....
As for the rest.... Ok.. But you've actually gone out of your way to give MS a Pass... Fap on.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 816d ago
Aloymetal818d ago (Edited 818d ago )

Yup, and because of that big fiasco MS had to fork out 1 billion but knowing them I think they're very proud of the 360, it's the only time a MS console reached 80mil+ sales, RROD played a big part of that and a record they will never break again.

Rhythmattic817d ago (Edited 817d ago )

So true.. Even when MS accepted they where caught out in the biggest lie of any generation, The wait for a replacement was outweighed by just buying another, and having one be returned as a backup, which, btw, generally failed on first swap.
I own honestly can't believe MS tards are just supporting , or arguing why and what MS did by just dismissing it....

lonewolf10818d ago

Lol I had the Atari Jaguar, surprised its "competition" the 3DO isn't on the list too, both as "popular" as each other.

SullysCigar818d ago

Lol same. Played the crap out of Aliens Vs Predator and Tempest 2000 .... aaand that's about it really!!

lonewolf10818d ago

Sad but true that was pretty much it.

Kurt Russell818d ago

Agreed, I never actually saw a 3DO make it to retailers in the UK. At least the Atari Jaguar was sold for around 6 months.

lonewolf10818d ago

It made it to some my brother got one, fared just as well as the Jaguar so most probably hard to find in general.

darthv72818d ago

3do had way better games. Jaguar not so much. Neo Geo sold less than both and yet isnt considered a failure. Go figure.

LWOGaming818d ago

Stadia is a weird one. It hasn’t sold at all well but in terms of how it works it’s still miles ahead of Xcloud in terms of stability and performance. Xcloud is still a way behind and that needs sorting but it will be in time. Stadia for me is one of those things that will go down as a what could have been moments. With better marketing it could have been a roaring success. I still play it and it remains the best place in my opinion to play CyberPunk 2077. Only platform I have played it on without having any issues at all. The tech is great. The concept is fine. Marketing terrible. Shame really.

Magog818d ago

The sales model was awful. They should have teamed with an existing player to allow for local and cloud access to games or a gaming subscription service.

LWOGaming818d ago

It was a strange mess from such a huge company, as I said, as a system it works really well but without gamers it’s nothing. Such a waste,

LWOGaming818d ago

The Xbox One was Microsoft’s Nintendo Wii U. Undercooked, undersold and just an unholy mess. The thing is with any of these failures is to learn from them and thankfully both Nintendo and Xbox did just that to the benefit of gamers everywhere.

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120°

Pivotal Decisions in Gaming History - Xbox Goes All-In on Kinect

Xbox 360's Kinect had flopped yet Microsoft insisted on mandatory Kinect for Xbox One, driving the price up and alienating their potential customers.

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techstomper.com
darthv72995d ago

the tech was pretty damn good but their focus on making it the centerpiece was not. Had they opted to keep it as a secondary or even tertiary device, it may have found new use for AR/VR.

PrimeVinister995d ago

Maybe. But they were two early for VR and too late for motion control

995d ago Replies(2)
Godmars290995d ago

Their focus was marketing metrics. Information gathering for targeted advertising. Also "event curating" or head counting for special TV events. If MS had had their way with always online and mandatory Kinect pre COVID, as and during it they'd likely be turning into dominant presence in many Western homes. Be getting subsidized by Disney and other streamers as well as the NFL.

Thing was, Kinect as an actual game system, its games, just weren't ready. MS moved on it too soon. Thankfully.

Atticus_finch995d ago

Sorry but it was incredibly bad for gaming. The thing barely worked as intended and the games were broken shovelware. And let's not forget all the lies from Xbox to try and sell it. What happened to Milo?
It's like Xbox it's a perpetual lying machine.

PrimeVinister995d ago

I had almost forgotten about Milo. It looks so unbelievable in retrospect. How did anyone believe it?!

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 995d ago
TheEnigma313995d ago

Kinect requirement, TV focused, DRM, and $100 buried Xbone before it even stared.

PrimeVinister995d ago (Edited 995d ago )

I think Kinect was the worst of the bunch. They reversed DRM overnight and try to play down the TV stuff when they realised it made them look disinterested in gaming.

Kinect stuck around for six months, preventing sales and making more and more people upset when they dropped the Kinect and the price.

Atticus_finch995d ago

Don't forget the inferior hardware which affects their game development to this day.
And the constant boasting and lying that hasn't change very much to this day.

kayoss995d ago

I was kind of excited for the kinect. It had potential. That was until i tried it at one of their Microsoft store. The thing was so laggy and worker who was there, had no clue what he was doing. It kind of made rethink about buying an Xbox One with Kinect.

PrimeVinister995d ago

I had already been turned off of the idea by Kinect for 360. Even when it worked, the games were bad and showed no potential.

Wii made you understand what they were going to do with it within about 10 seconds of Wii Sports. It went on to become a bit of a joke but at least it worked and had a purpose.

Thundercat77995d ago

The damage to the Xbox brand was so hard that til this day they are just the last place brand in the market.

PrimeVinister995d ago

Totally. They haven't been really all that relevant since.

Godmars290995d ago

That has to do with repeatedly failing, having to reaffirm only to again fail at creating a competent flow of decent games.

@PrimeVinister:
Until Game Pass and BC are mentioned. Only for the point to be missed.

kayoss994d ago

thats because they dont know what they want to be. A gaming console, Television, or a gaming service?

Godmars290994d ago

@kayoss:
They wanted, expected, to be Steam. To have everyone coming to them and paying for the privilege. That's the exact mentality on display when they tried to push always online.

brewin994d ago

Its sad because the Xbox one version of Kinect was actually pretty solid. Not for motion games, I couldnt care less about those, but for the other features that are now commonplace in the gaming ecosystem. Things like voice control and optional motion features in games. Stuff that Sony did with the PS camera was pretty sweet and they could have done some of that stuff with Kinect.

The tech was pretty sweet when implemented right though. Who remembers the implementation in Dead Rising 3?! You could lure zombies away by saying stuff into the kinect, it was a bit hokey at first, but it actually enhanced the game significantly once you learned all the different voice commands. There was and still is nothing else like that!

The focus on TV seemed to be an issue for people, but the TV pass through had some real potential. They could have had cable companies giving the XBone out instead of cable boxes! I understood what they were trying to do, but they needed to show the games too, and thats where they lost the core gamers. Being able to jump right to a sports event or TV show with out leaving the console was actually a pretty cool thing. I spent many nights switching between NHL games or TV shows and jumping right back into my games seamlessly, just by telling Kinect to do so. It was better than people care to admit, but I loved it!

People say XBone had no games, but on launch I got Dead Rising 3, AC Black Flag, Watch Dogs, Killer Instinct, Battlefield 4, Forza 5, and Ryse. That was actually a pretty solid lineup in hindsight! Then later on it got gems like Quantum Break, Dead Rising 4, Sunset Overdrive, Gears 4 and 5, the Ori games, Rare Replay, Forza Horizon 3/4, State of Decay 2, ReCore (SUPER UNDERRATED GEM), Halo 5, Halo Wars 2, and all the great 3rd party stuff as well! I dare anyone who sat on the Xbox One to go back and give it a shot now.

It was actually a pretty great console all things considered. Yes the PS4 had better 1st party stuff, stuff that MS just couldnt top or even compete with, but there are some really great games that a lot of people missed out on that they would probably really enjoy if they actually played them. Thats why I recommend a Series S and Gamepass to a lot of people, as its a great way to get an awesome lineup pf games for super cheap!

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