Is Microsoft abandoning Kinect?

Wave goodbye to motion controls.

Microsoft’s motion-tracking Kinect 2.0 sensor was supposed to be what differentiated the Xbox One from the competition. It was more than just a way to talk directly to your console: it was a tool designed to transform the game machine into a social and media hub, the tip of the spear in Microsoft’s fight to take over your living room. More than anything, it was supposed to be way, way better than the first Kinect.

[XB1_PS4]

I hope so, it's nice to talk to but that's all i want to use it for.

[denawayne]

There'll be Kinect games. Spencer put a hold on anything Kinect because of the backlash from core gamers. And the only ones buying the new systems right now are core gamers. Once there is a bigger install base, we'll see more Kinect games. I'm looking forward to them because I have young kids and we had a blast with Kinect 1.0. Whether people agree with me or not on here, there is a market for the Kinect.

[Testfire]

There's a market for everything. Question is, is it worth it to invest time and money into a device with a small market? If MS put Kinect games on hold that means no games for a couple years as it usually takes that long to make a game. I don't think 3rd parties will be making games outside of Dance Central and the like. I also don't think 3rd party devs will be wanting to implement Kinect features either.

Imo, Kinect is dead. Sucks for people who like it, but that's life.

[denawayne]

@Testfire -

"I don't think 3rd parties will be making games outside of Dance Central and the like."

"Imo, Kinect is dead."

Which one is it? Dead or marketed to casual gamers? Because I did say that games will be made when more casual gamers buy the system. Also, when I said Spencer put the Kinect on hold, I didn't mean he's given up on it. I would bet that there are Kinect games in production that have been put on hold for the moment. Possibly see more Kinect stuff next E3 when the install base is bigger and the hardcore have already decided which system to buy so seeing Kinect at E3 won't have such a negative impact.

[donthate]

Kinect was and is truly the one revolutionary game input mechanism we have had in ages. Wii started it with the wii mote, and Kinect carried the torch further.

Really saddened to see this amazing technology de-emphasized.

I hope Kinect makes a come back!

[TruthInsider]

Got news for you, it was abandoned the second they made a Kinect-less bundle.

[iamnsuperman]

Yes. Look the Kinect is an interesting bit of kit but as a gaming peripheral it is fundamentally flawed. We saw it with the last generation the limitations and this generation Microsoft seemed reserved to just let it try and replace the tv remote. The issue with the latter raises the question is the expense really justified for something that doesn't fundamentally make things any easier than what we do now. Voice commands, which seems to be what Microsoft were pushing with the Kinect 2 can be done in a less expensive way (it is everywhere)

[Gazondaily]

Gotta agree here. There was potential for the device but the lack of 1 to 1 tracking and then the removal of the device from the bundle just ensured that it was relegated to the sidelines as a gaming peripheral. Its a shame really.

The voice commands and other features are genuinely brilliant though. It made the experience 'feel' more next-gen in terms of new consoles when you walk in and say Xbox On and then it signs you in just by clocking your face. In the mornings I would wake up and eat breakfast and navigate using voice commands (I didn't talk with my mouth full...the Kinect would explode trying to decipher what I would say if I did that).

But yeah. The Kinect has been abandoned as a gaming device as a result of its technical shortcomings and lack of any real well thought out commitment from Microsoft.

[strangeaeon]

They should have had a separate sku from the start and marketed the Kinect for it's gaming AND user interface capabilities.

[qwerty676]

pretty much, if i had to say one thing i like about the kinect is its the voice controls

its easy to just have that built into the system.

[fonger08]

I'm glad I got the kinect bundle. I have really little to zero interest in it's actual gaming controls, but the voice commands and skype features have been fantastic. Switching from TV to Youtbue or Netflix while your kid is screaming for the Mickey Mouse hotdog song, because you can't find the controller she hid... is god sent.

[The Meerkat]

Its the Gummi Bear song in my house.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...

[Buff1044]

I can't imagine that Harmonix (Fantasia dev) is pleased with this.

[Lannister]

Everyone else is so they might as well.

[qwerty676]

what microsoft should do when the next xbox releases.

is make a cortana type problem build into the console for voice controls. they just release the kinect sold separately.

[mochachino]

They already did...

To think, they spent all that money and time focusing their xbox strategy around something that is completely irrelevant now. And lost so much good will among gamers because of it.

Should have listened to the core when it was revealed who said Kinect would never work for games and they just wanted some more regular 1st and 2nd party exclusives.

The most Kinect ever was on xone was an expensive voice control device. They could have achieved that with a $10 microphone.

[DivoJones]

Any time you force additional hardware on consumers, especially the kind that watches and listens to them at all times, there's going to be backlash. The initial inclusion of kinect with all XB1's was clearly to overcome the biggest hurdle that kinect 1.0 dealt with.. low adoption rates. So their goal was to get 100% adoption rates.. but the lack of games and the forced price hike along with 'big brother' fears really killed their corporate talking point of how it benefits the console so greatly that everyone should have one.

[SteamPowered]

Rule #1- if you're going to build a gaming peripheral included with a console, make some friggen games for it. Microsoft crowed high and loud about this "game changer" and then didn't even support it themselves. The kinect was a burden from day one and yet Xbox pushed it hardcore...for about 6 months. Then They pulled the plug. This was a mistake from the start.

[gfk342]

It will not completely die, but will neither see its true potential. They will release some games later (or very late) just to cover their a$$e$ from the consumers anger.

[DuneBuggy]

I like my Kinect, and I think down the road they COULD do somthing with it to make me love it. But they havent.....even nine months later. MS needed a killer app for it at launch.

[SliceOfTruth888]

i will tell you what.....you give Hideo the kinect and tell him to do something with the PT demo with it and i guarantee that alone would make it worth it. Imagine the kinect takes your picture without you knowing it and a ghost with your face flashes on the screen, or the kinect can keep track of what your doing and where you are positioned to know where to put a loud sound at through your stereo or it knows your laying down playing so it will do something to mess with you.....possibilities are endless when the right minds are on it. It doesnt have to be motion controls for the kinect to be awesome

[miyamoto]

Identity Crisis: This is what happens when your primary goal in the video game business is the failure or stoppage of its market leader- Sony PlayStation.
All you are after is power and more power over the other instead of drawing from your own inner self; your own original identity.

Like what they did versus Apple in the early days, Microsoft's agenda is to steal from what PlayStation was enjoying : steal identity, steal market share, steal exclusives, steal features like EyeToy motion gaming ; or simply steal what made the innovator, like the PlayStation, a great, phenomenal, and a successful breakthrough product.

PlayStation had something special to share to the world its very own and original material- CD-ROM and the Sony Sound Chip.
Micro$oft has no inner view of itself because there is nothing to look at except its competitor and no vision of where it is going.

[strangeaeon]

Do I REALLY need to make a list of what MS brought to consoles that Sony copied? Sit down before you hurt yourself.

[Moe-Gunz]

Milo where is Milo!? It's still real to me dammit!

[cyclindk]

Microsoft to Kinect: Nah nah baby, it's just... a break, to give both of us space to grow, independently, separately... "abandon..." is such a strong word. Don't text me, I'll text you.

[Gameplay999]

MS didnt kill Kinect, gamers did by crying about its inclusion with the console. I love the Kinect, it brings that nextgen feel to the XB1 as a whole, that the competition cannot touch. The PS4's 'camera' is a failed 'me too' attempt by Sony.

[tigertron]

Kinect, PS Move, Wii U tablet...people just want to play normally now and I don't blame them.

There were some great ideas but they just didn't work out. Conventional controllers aren't going anywhere any time soon.