Approvals 10/3 ▼
Alexious (3) - 3576d ago Cancel
Volkama (2) - 3576d ago Cancel
crazychris4124 (1) - 3576d ago Cancel
gangsta_red (1) - 3577d ago Cancel
kimblejay (2) - 3576d ago Cancel
luckytrouble (1) - 3576d ago Cancel
220°

The downfall of Kinect: Why Microsoft gave up on its most promising product ever

When the Kinect for Xbox 360 was first demonstrated in June 2009, it looked like the future of technology.

Read Full Story >>
businessinsider.com
Create Report !X

Add Report

Reports

+ Updates (1)- Updates (1)

Updates

Changed from Pending to Approved
Community3576d ago
user99502793577d ago

i just hope that next gen microsoft continues to support Kinect withing the UI. I will continue using mine given the option. Even a kinect lite without motion controls.

note: a headset mic is not the same thing as Kinect.

Army_of_Darkness3576d ago

Microsoft has clearly scrapped the Kinect idea and now have their heads completely up in tha cloudz ;-)

user99502793576d ago

well, as you can see:

http://www.microsoftstore.c...

They are still selling them in the Microsoft store and supporting the peripheral on the Xbox One! I expect that to continue into the foreseeable future, in spite of haters.

Also, if they want to keep their heads in the clouds

http://giant.gfycat.com/Sli...

http://www.gameondaily.com/...

I think I can deal with that =P

ninsigma3576d ago

If they were to continue with kinect next gen they should just keep the new console compatible with kinect 2.0. It wouldn't make sense to have a new iterations for the camera.

BDSE3576d ago

Kinect is basically an eye toy, a really really expensive eye toy.

MeliMel3576d ago

No its not an eye toy. The specs on it alone blow away the eye toy.

DragonDDark3576d ago

I would say its an expensive and improved eye toy.

MCTJim3577d ago

Microsoft has stated there are games in the pipe for Kinect and I will await them... and if they are worth it, I will indeed purchase them.

Angeljuice3576d ago

You'd think that there would be a whole host of amazing Kinect titles out now as Xbox One was "built from the ground up around Kinect integration".

It takes at least 2 years to make a AAA game so where are all the Kinect games that were being readied for the console launch?

Shadowsteal3576d ago

They were all scrapped or converted to regular games like Ryse, or give both options like D4

chrisco84au3576d ago

I hope they continue to support Kinect, there is amazing possibilities.

But, from my experience, if they cannot get Star Wars (LIGHTSABERS!!!!!!! The PERFECT motion control idea) Right, the force is not strong for a turn around.

Continue to support, improve and innovate on it MS but never ever make it front and center for anything XBOX again.

crazychris41243576d ago (Edited 3576d ago )

Did have alot of fun playing the Kinect at my friends house. I could never get one because I have 7 ft ceilings in my basement so I would have to spend thousands on repairs and hospital bills after playing a game. Not going to shell out money just for voice commands, Im gonna want to play some games.

Hopefully the people that have them can get some quality games within a year.

FallenAngel19843576d ago

Kinect is a wonderful device, it just shouldn't be forced on comsumers. Sony had the right idea with making the PS Camera optional.

Bigpappy3576d ago

How is that working out?. Not saying Sony was wrong. Just that I think M$ is still in a very good position to refocus on Kinect if they find something useful to add as they were able to push out a decent number of units in that first year and people are still buying the full package.

Angeljuice3576d ago

Maybe if they supported it you would be right. As it stands they don't do anything with it so why does it matter how many are out there?

81BX3576d ago

@angel you're partially right. I got the day one xbox. I didnt mind paying the entrance fee for a kinect bundle. Now i would never buy a kinect game unless it was mind blowing, and if ms said they would develop for it then they better put something out. I have a feeling it will see some use in combination with holo lens. It also has other uses like in deadrising 3 or bf4 and forza i believe. The majority of my friends use it to navigate the xbox. Not to mention all the annoying kids going xbox record that during mp matches lol. I agree that it should be supported more with games though.

MasterCornholio3576d ago

Its working out for Sony just fine. Those that own the camera are using it to make streams which you can find countless of on YouTube. Also the device itself isnt very expensive so there's that as well. Not to mention its required for Morpheus so I can imagine plenty more will get sold due to that device.

Pretty cool to see the PlayStation camera used in conjunction with Morpheus. That in my opinion is a good way to implement a camera into core games.

kenwonobi3576d ago

Sony is perfectly planning it's camera. if it all works out with VR? This was the perfect Trojan horse to sell their camera with it. VR should have been Xbox plan from the beginning if they wanted to sell kinect as mandatory. Then at their conference explained it is mandatory because of upcoming VR tech added to it's console. Actually Sony could have forced their camera on us explaining this with Morpheus.

chrisco84au3576d ago

@Bigpappy, it is working out fine for Sony, they made it 100% optional, never forced it upon gamers and it works as advertised, it is not as advanced as Kinect but that does not matter to your point.

I bought a PS4 camera, after doing some research and I am extremely happy with it, it provides me with many optional extras I wouldn't get without it. But optional and not forced onto the consumer is the big thing.

So yeah, as an optional accessory that was never needed to be heavily marketed and was only advertised to enhance your PS4 experience without it being necessary at all to enjoy all the core, important and main features and benefits of your PS4, it's working out very peachy for Sony.

ChickenOfTheCaveMan3576d ago

I don't know, the Kinect less began selling more than a year ago. At this point, we've had the Kinect less option for more time than the forced bundle only.

I'm curious about the percentage of XBone gamers that have the Kinect.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3576d ago
MeliMel3576d ago

Not even that, they shouldve had multiple skus for Xbox One. Thats where they screwed up.

Paytaa3576d ago

I had zero interest in the Kinect on the 360 so I never owned a 360 Kinect. However, since I bought the Titanfall Xbox One bundle that came with Kinect even though I didn't think I'd use it, I ended up loving the extra dynamic that goes along with the system. Things like "Xbox record that" or "Xbox play Titanfall" to me is really cool. I don't think it should have been bundled in from the start but I think in the next Xbox they should incorporate the voice control within the system itself and forget about the motion controls. Would make sense since Microsoft is using Cortana in Windows 10 devices and Xbox One is getting it in the NXE update.

Angeljuice3576d ago

"Things like "Xbox record that" or "Xbox play Titanfall" to me is really cool."

I press a share button to record footage, its much faster and never gets misunderstood.

Paytaa3576d ago

I bet I can piss further than you

MeliMel3576d ago

Oh wow he has a share button. I'll send your prize in the mail.

gosukyomomma3576d ago

Not only that but i can say playstation play - and it will play whatever game i say- without the need for a camera

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3576d ago
Show all comments (68)
570°

Microsoft planning “major” Xbox layoffs next week

The cuts are expected to be announced next week.

Microsoft is also planning thousands of job cuts that will impact other parts of it businesses

Read Full Story >>
theverge.com
Create Report !X

Add Report

Reports

+ Updates (2)- Updates (2)

Updates

Changed from Pending to Approved
Community7h ago
Changed: credit url
8h agoReplies(1)
8h agoReplies(1)
Obscure_Observer8h ago

MFs has been beating their chests over great quarterly results and big profits to shareholders while firing people by the thousands just like Sony.

I wonder if at the top of those rumored layoffs they´ll also cancel upcoming or unannounced games while shutting down more studios as well.

8h ago
pwnmaster30008h ago

Always got to throw shade at Sony smh.
Yes we get it,
MS good Sony bad
MS bad Sony is also bad lmao

8h ago
Obscure_Observer7h ago

F* them both!

Just for the record, I don´t care about your victim complex crap either. Find someone else who cares.

blacktiger6h ago

He was talking about both. Why you getting offended when he's using both names

pwnmaster30006h ago(Edited 6h ago)

@Blacktiger

Im not offended , that’s just his formula lol
He can’t help help himself, he needs to bring Sony down when the topic involves MS.
Whether is good news for MS or bad, it some how leads to Sony doing bad lmao.
It’s actually hilarious.

InUrFoxHole1h ago

He's not wrong but im tracking what youre saying. In this case is should just be MS bad. Thats a lot of people fired

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
Tacoboto7h ago

"just like Sony"

Gosh you're insufferable, not everything needs to be both-sides'd. Sony's had layoffs, but nothing like what Microsoft has been doing and is continuing to do.

CrimsonWing697h ago(Edited 7h ago)

I mean, no offense, but this is why you’re not some corporate business person running a major corporation. Big profits don’t mean jobs are safe. Do you understand why things like this happen:

Cutting jobs to maintain or increase profitability, especially in underperforming divisions like parts of Xbox like other gaming divisions.

Corporate restructuring and relocating resources for strategic stability in ever changing markets and consumer behaviors.

Investor expectations and optimizing operations to maintain investor confidence. Whatever boosts stock prices and improves future margins.

And there’s many other factors at play. It’s never as simple as business doing well, everyone’s safe. That’s just you not understanding at all how corporations work and have been working since the beginning. This isn’t something that’s specific to Xbox, you can bet your ass Sony and Nintendo do this and if it’s not clear by now, game development is not a stable job nor has it ever been for many. A lot of developers are contractors and guess what happens when a project is done?

Ganif6h ago

Nintendo said they have no plans for layoffs, and you can't seriously claim that the scale of Sony's layoffs most of which involved Bungie which is self managed as even close to the same scale as what Microsoft has done since they purchased Zenimax. And that significantly less layoffs would have happened if those publishers had stayed independent. Keep in mind that much of these layoffs have been due to redundancies specifically related to these buyouts.

CrimsonWing695h ago(Edited 5h ago)

@Ganif

Nintendo:

https://gamerant.com/ninten...

Sony:

https://gamerant.com/playst...

https://techxplore.com/news...

I don’t think it’s realistic to treat Sony’s layoffs as somehow outside the norm for the industry right now. Even if Bungie is self-managed, Sony’s cuts went far beyond that like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, London Studio being shut down completely, and multiple teams across the globe took hits. These weren’t just minor adjustments.

Nintendo, I had to look up and you’re right. They seem to be an outlier, but rest assured at some point it happens. And even then there’s been layoffs, albeit a smaller amount and contractors.

Would fewer layoffs have happened if studios from acquisitions stayed independent? Maybe. But even independents have been hit hard and look at what’s happened with Embracer’s fallout, or smaller devs like Digic, Roll7, or Volition. This isn’t just a “Microsoft problem” or strictly tied to acquisitions; it’s a broader correction happening across the whole industry, and unfortunately, layoffs are a big part of that process right now.

Ganif5h ago

From your article:

"According to reports, Nintendo of America restructured its testing operations, leading to layoffs of about 120 contractors, part of a strategy for global integration.

Nintendo of America, publisher of iconic franchises like Mario and Zelda, is shifting some contractors to full-time roles for better development integration."

Contractors are not employees, and even if you want to count them as that, it's 120 people vs around 7500 since Microsoft purchased Zenimax.

In an era of game industry layoffs, Nintendo is hiring more people
https://automaton-media.com...

Nintendo Announces 10 Percent Pay Raise For Devs Despite Lower Profits
https://kotaku.com/nintendo...

Nintendo CEO’s refusal to layoff staff goes viral following industry-wide cuts
"Satoru Iwata took pay cuts to ensure staff didn’t have to be let go"
https://www.nme.com/news/ga...

And as for Sony you're comparing less than 1000 total jobs to an estimated7500

Has the industry faced layoffs, yes, but that still doesn't account for the mass layoffs due to redundancies that was easily predictable, or that fact that at least 1/3 of Microsoft's layoffs and studio closures happened before the industry downturn.

thorstein4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

Take the L, Crimson.

People hate Nintendo, but Ganif proved why they deserve support.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4h ago
-Foxtrot6h ago

It's like banging your head off a wall, he just can't help himself.

Microsoft can do no wrong, Sony sucks at everything and Nintendo is bigged up because it's less hassle than trying to defend Microsoft all the time

What's going to happen when Microsoft finally turn completely third party, then what?

anast6h ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts6h ago

Did you know that the first n4g was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program.

Tacoboto5h ago

I wouldn't be surprised at this point if anast and osbcure were both alts for the Admin.

We know how Obscure especially drums up additional comments and clicks with his spam-worthy remarks that somehow never get moderated

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5h ago
Profchaos3h ago

Thats business present a strong front to your shareholders while your company burns around you.

Keep shareholders happy at all costs andnif not happy keep them numb to the reality of you organisation

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
7h ago
Show all comments (70)
260°

AMD CEO Shares Vision Behind Xbox Partnership and Next-Gen Chip Roadmap

AMD CEO Lisa Su talks about the Xbox AMD partnership, next-gen Ryzen + Radeon chips, and AI rendering tech coming to all Xbox devices.

Read Full Story >>
clouddosage.com
Create Report !X

Add Report

Reports

+ Updates (1)- Updates (1)

Updates

Changed from Pending to Approved
Community5d ago
Obscure_Observer5d ago

AMD is really building hype around their unique partnership with Microsoft to help and build an advanced and seamless Xbox ecosystem across all Xbox consoles and devices.

I wonder what she meant by "full roadmap of gaming optimized chips" though? Seems ambitious.

Next year´s Xbox Showcase already looks promising and exciting. Here´s hoping they deliver.

InUrFoxHole4d ago

They had best show 3yrs in a row. Heading for another

VenomUK4d ago

Obscure_Observer said “I wonder what she meant by "full roadmap of gaming optimised chips" though? Seems ambitious.” To me, I interpret this to mean rather than having a couple of X/S products for launch and a handheld there is a longer term plan to release new products with higher specs at timed intervals. I’m speculating of course, but this could mean a spec bump every year or two, so that even if the PS6 or Steam Deck Home is released a year after ‘Xbox’ Microsoft can release an updated model that has a higher spec.

Agent754d ago

But Microsoft forgot the games.

KwietStorm_BLM4d ago

It's X3D chips for console. Everyone knows this. And it's been rumored in the PS6 forever.

Ganif4d ago

Correct.

"Sony's PlayStation 6 reportedly will feature an AMD semi-custom APU with a Zen 5 CPU and UDNA GPU, capable of 4K 120FPS and 8K 60FPS gaming. The console will include X3D cache and advanced AI upscaling technology."

https://www.tweaktown.com/n...

Obscure_Observer4d ago

"It's X3D chips for console. Everyone knows this. And it's been rumored in the PS6 forever."

I doubt that AMD´s CEO would waste her time making this huge and important partnership announcement over a tech that will be 7 years old by the those next gen consoles will be released.

Notellin4d ago

You should have just lead this comment with the fact that you have zero understanding of technology in the consoles and instead have a Toms Hardware online forum level of education.

Obscure_Observer1d 7h ago

"It's X3D chips for console. Everyone knows this. And it's been rumored in the PS6 forever"

I´d told you were on some bs

https://www.pcgamesn.com/wp...

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1d 7h ago
Agent754d ago

But Microsoft forgot the games

Obscure_Observer4d ago

@VenomUK

"I’m speculating of course, but this could mean a spec bump every year or two, so that even if the PS6 or Steam Deck Home is released a year after ‘Xbox’ Microsoft can release an updated model that has a higher spec."

Very interesting theory. Still not sure how MS would actually make it work.

KwietStorm_BLM4d ago

"I doubt that AMD´s CEO would waste her time making this huge and important partnership announcement over a tech that will be 7 years old by the those next gen consoles will be released."

How old is the tech in consoles? It's not a huge announcement. It's marketing and you know it is.

Obscure_Observer3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

"How old is the tech in consoles? It's not a huge announcement. It's marketing and you know it is."

Dude, what I know for certain is that a tech as old as X3D chips which is actually *older* than both PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, is hardly the reason behind this new partnership between AMD and MS to build new *custom silicon* for next generation of consoles.

And yes it´s a huge announcement since AMD is working closely with MS to co-develop custom SoC which will allow backwards compatibility across all MS´s next gen devices allowing seamless integration between devices and full backwards compatibility across all generations of Xbox consoles.

I also know is that this announcement don´t have anything to do with Playstation and their strategy with AMD for the PS6, so stop comparing the two pretending that you know what´s going on, because you clearly don´t.

If Sony is working on something remotely similar, that´s remain to be seen.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1d 7h ago
Fishy Fingers5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Some odd, deliberate wording, no branding, not 'Xbox consoles, Xbox handhelds' specifically, feels and sounds like they're building towards hardware that anyone can be used or licensed to/by themselves and other manufacturers.

Multiplatform software and hardware 'Xbox/AMD APU'.

Obscure_Observer5d ago

I guess you missed Sarah Bond´s next generation Xbox announcement this week, were she clearly states:

"I´m thrilled to share that we´ve established a strategic multi-year partnership with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices, including, *our* next generation *Xbox consoles*."

But hey, I don´t think you´re entirely wrong, maybe MS will build their own Xbox consoles while licencing other manufactures to build and sell their own Xbox branded consoles. Who knows

BeHunted4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I think you watched the wrong video. It's below the description, or you can watch it directly on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/kprpRvsOua...

HyperMoused5d ago

Shares vision....we provide chips for money, this deal will sell many chips, we will make lots of money...good vision

Christopher5d ago

The marketing behind this is so heavy that I worry about the actual outcome. Why are they just not showing us the product, why all this talking in market speak?

Lightning774d ago

Probably because the next xbox isn't ready to release yet?

The marketing and rumors seem to be heavy out of no where. The rumor was a 27 release but it maybe it could be 26 new console launch instead.

Who knows.

Eonjay4d ago

There PR is alrways super heavy handed. No one is acutally buying an Xbox as is.
Also it is very early to be talking so much about a next gen console.

Obscure_Observer4d ago

There´s a lot of people interested on Xbox Next and its ability to run games from major stores like Steam.

We know that the PS6 is just around the corner as well, but so far, no news on what it might improve over the PS5 or PS5 Pro.

However, Sony already made public that their priority and actual focus is the PS6. So its not "very early" to talk about next gen when the very console manufactures are talking about it.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4d ago
Show all comments (40)
210°

Activision Forces Adverts into Call of Duty Black Ops 6 and Warzone Loadouts

With the launch of Call of Duty Season 4, Activision quietly put adverts inside loadouts for Black Ops 6 and Warzone, sparking a backlash in the process.

Create Report !X

Add Report

Reports

✔ Fixed
Add/remove tag
add the Series X tag and the PS5 tag
lukasmain23d ago WhoDisagree(0)Agree(0)
+ Updates (1)- Updates (1)

Updates

Changed from Pending to Approved
Community23d ago
23d ago
23d ago
lukasmain23d ago

Putting Ads in a pay-to-play Premium title? Well done Microsoft. Well done /s This is really scummy.

jjb198123d ago

This game will never change because these sweatlords love buying up all the skins and bundles that become obsolete the following year. They're the ones perpetuating Activision's greed.

VenomUK22d ago

If Microsoft introduces adverts into its other games I hope it can do them without disrupting the immersion of the game world. So for example in the new Fable game it would look out of place if there was a billboard advertising Cadillacs.

A far better way to do it would be to have a wizard conjure a 'dream cloud' in front of your character and then in the cloud you can see the Cadillac car and see the text with price and availability and hear a booming sales voice promoting the car. That would work so well as it wouldn't be a billboard and completely, 100%, fit in with your character's adventuring in Albion. Doesn't that sound so much better?!

crazyCoconuts22d ago

@venom, or how about our of 100 farts in Albion, 1 of them has a Cadillac pop out

VenomUK22d ago

@crazyCoconuts That’s undeniably off-beat - but it could really work!

23d ago
Show all comments (19)