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New Xbox Team Forms to Push Kinect

StudioTan

Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
You all have to realize that the generation growing up right now is the touch generation & at some point consoles are going to have to cater to them. Kinect / cameras & sensors will enable touch like interface on consoles MS would be fools to just stop working on Kinect right now.


Also VR & MR is going to be big in the next few years you're going to need a natural way to interact with it.

I was going to post the same thing. I'm amazed at how many people have no foresight when it comes to Kinect. While the technology is not there yet is still has amazing potential if they keep iterating and improving.

Take a look at the early tablets that Microsoft released back in the early 2000s, they basically invented tablets but they were clunky and heavy and not ready for prime time. It took a few years and now tablets are ubiquitous but MS fell behind because they didn't keep iterating after their early designs were too cumbersome to be useful to the mass market.

The underlying tech for Kinect is really good, it just hasn't proven itself tremendously useful for most games but that doesn't mean they should abandon it IMO.
 
It would be cool if some kind of Illumiroom related thing came out of this and actually hit the market. I'm not sure how likely that would be though; for what they demo'd you'd need multiple Kinects (or at least one, in an unusual position) and then the projector(s).
 

ElTopo

Banned
They should stop pushing it as a gaming tool. Push it as a remote control, webcam, etc. The public doesn't care about motion controls anymore. Put it on ice and maybe put out cool little apps like a star wars hologram thing and shit like that.
 
I've been very happy with my Kinect on my Xbox One. I use the voice commands all the time. I also use it to Skype with friends. When I first got my X1, it was kinda weird, but I'm so used to it now, whenever I need to do something that I can do with a voice command, I just do it without thought, it just comes naturally. I would miss my Kinect very much if I didn't have it anymore.

Also, as others have said, the Kinect is more than likely going to play a big role in MS's VR technology. Whether it's a full-on VR headset or augmented reality glasses, I'm sure the Kinect will be a vital part of the package. Probably why they wanted to put one in every box. I think X1 owners who bought a Kinect-less X1 and want the Xbox VR when it arrives, are going to be looking at a larger kick in the wallet to get in.
 

jelly

Member
I think Kinect is the sort of thing that would only work well at the top level, for example if sensors were placed around your room and you've got little dots all over your body like they do for films so latency is reduced rather than the latency guessing game and it's completely accurate.

It can only fill in the blanks from it's perspective and unless you use a controller input or put sensors on someone, your not really making solid advancements. Your going over the same ground at a higher spec that leads to the inevitable conclusion, this isn't good enough for what we want to achieve, that is Kinect 2.0 throughout it's life and will be the same for Kinect 3.0 if there isn't major philosophy changes.
 
Kinect is a very interesting technology. It's good they continue working on it.
I was going to post the same thing. I'm amazed at how many people have no foresight when it comes to Kinect. While the technology is not there yet is still has amazing potential if they keep iterating and improving.
Indeed.
In theory it's able to do so, so much. Wide-area, multiple angle sampling and deeply complex motion capturing could be a massive leap forward in gaming. To have, say, a ballroom, office, sidewalk or whatever and its occupants completely captured from all angles could would be huge for interactive VR. Medical purposes are just as interesting and I'm a bit surprised the health care industry hasn't been seeking out more solutions like this that would cut down costs for them in the long term, though I'm sure they'd like over 1080p and 120fps+.

The trouble is that, given how they've handled the thing thusfar for both Kinect 1 and 2 there's zero reason to have even the tiniest bit of confidence on how Microsoft will handle things. They've never officially introduced the technology for anything other than gaming. The perception will always be that its a gaming device with minimal functionality that millions of people have crummy memories of. Microsoft soured Kinect's future by wasting the original tech on the 360.
 

msdstc

Incredibly Naive
This is nothing against MSFT, it's simply against the whole kinect/pseye/motion sensing movement. Let's see where VR goes and how effective it is, but PLEASE let this gimmicky camera crap die. Use it for streaming, smaller add-ons or DLC or something, just don't try to force it into games or force games around it, it's already been proven to be worthless.
 

greenegt

Member
I actually don't mind MS putting resources into Kinect. I agree that its appeal is limited for gaming, but I love it for the utility features (voice commands, video chat, etc.). I'm hoping they continue to improve on the voice commands and eventually get Cortana functionality on the XB1.
 

FordGTGuy

Banned
The problem is that what it mainly does could have been done with the mic they included with every single console, or with virtually every single gaming headset that's compatible with the Xbox One. Just like PS4 does it.

It's a good thing I wasn't talking about things that the microphone does.

* Wireless syncing.
* Controller standby mode when controller is set down.
* Auto-login of anyone in view of camera.
* Automatic screen dim if no one is in the room the second it sees you again the screen goes back.
* Profile follows the person and not the controller so there is no need for assigned controllers.
* Automatic screen orientation depending on where you are in the room.
* During Skype chat the camera will automatically zoom and follow you around the field of view.
* Game settings follow you no matter what controller you use.
* Gesture control for UI and gaming.
* IR control of most TVs, receivers and cable boxes.

There are a ton of possibilities For thus technology it just needs built and implemented. For instance a find controller tool that would show the FoV and show the controller or last place it saw the controller.
 

Cfer

Neo Member
Never seen so many people hating on Kinect.. Fine as a gaming feature it's currently useless but when I have friends or family over people go nuts for it. Just let them explore it's capabilities, it's not like it's money from our own pockets (sorry if you're an investor).
 

Derpyduck

Banned
It's a good thing I wasn't talking about things that the microphone does.

* Wireless syncing.
* Controller standby mode when controller is set down.
* Auto-login of anyone in view of camera.
* Automatic screen dim if no one is in the room the second it sees you again the screen goes back.
* Profile follows the person and not the controller so there is no need for assigned controllers.
* Automatic screen orientation depending on where you are in the room.
* During Skype chat the camera will automatically zoom and follow you around the field of view.
* Game settings follow you no matter what controller you use.
* Gesture control for UI and gaming.
* IR control of most TVs, receivers and cable boxes.

There are a ton of possibilities For thus technology it just needs built and implemented. For instance a find controller tool that would show the FoV and show the controller or last place it saw the controller.

None of what you said means anything to me. They're extras on a device that should first and foremost function perfectly at its main tasks - voice and motion controls. If they had managed that, the extras would be very welcomed, I agree.
 

Alx

Member
The trouble is that, given how they've handled the thing thusfar for both Kinect 1 and 2 there's zero reason to have even the tiniest bit of confidence on how Microsoft will handle things. They've never officially introduced the technology for anything other than gaming.

That's factually wrong. They provided free sdk for PC development since the first year of kinect, and continued doing so for kinect2. When you work in the field, you frequently hear about new concepts in security or marketing analysis using kinects (I was in a trade show about security a few months ago and saw several live demos using those). It is very common in scientific conferences, especially about robotics and computer vision, to see papers and projects using kinect.
The fact that the masses don't see it in everyday use except for gaming doesn't mean it's all there is about it. The availability of cheap depth camera has been a major turning point in computer vision/machine perception.
 

FordGTGuy

Banned
None of what you said means anything to me. They're extras on a device that should first and foremost function perfectly at its main tasks - voice and motion controls. If they had managed that, the extras would be very welcomed, I agree.

Extras?

Give me a break.
 
Cool. I hope they let truly interesting designs and play mechanics through the internal screening process instead of homogenizing everything by sticking to the same control/puppeteer-the-person thing.
 
MS: Remember when I said we're gonna cut kinect out from our X1 SKU, essentially backing out from our initial vision?

Consumer: Yeah. Yeah, you did.

MS: I lied.

i-lied-o.gif
 

guggnichso

Banned
Actually, I might be one of the few people who like Kinect. Disney Fantasia is great, and I would really like an HD remake of Steel Battalion Heavy Armor for the Kinect 2.0. This should fix all the issues there were with the original release. I'd buy that day one!
 
I happy that the kinect is going to get more resources. I hope they do something really interesting with it to make the Xbox more interesting, instead leaving a peripheral they spent millions on and made the console around it, to die.
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
They just sold probably 3 million consoles without a kinect.

The fuck you wasting your time on that thing, seriously.

Unbundling the kinect was a double edged sword. Yeah, boosted their sales by a tremendous amount, but at the same time, you fucked over the kinect. When your company doesn't even have faith in the thing, you know its over.
 

MilkyJoe

Member
Great news. Double down on kinect, the real differentiator.
Still think unbundle kinect was a mistake.

Bundling it it was the mistake. If you don't need it plugged in then you don't need to buy it until you choose to plug it in. Mine is still in the box and will remain there until I get round to flogging it on eBay.
 

nicanica

Member
Good News. I like the Kinect. Could use some more interesting games for it. I liked Dance Central 1 and 2, Child of Eden, and the Gun Stringer games.

I'll never understand the attitude of "people should stop making games I don't like" / This should never have been made. How obtuse an attitude can you get?
 

Alx

Member
Bundling it it was the mistake. If you don't need it plugged in then you don't need to buy it until you choose to plug it in. Mine is still in the box and will remain there until I get round to flogging it on eBay.

You mean you didn't even try it ? Are you afraid of liking it ?
 

seady

Member
Kinect was successful because it was fresh and new, and was out at a time when the 360 was ageing and people were ready for something new from the Xbox brand. The high number of 360 out there in people's home at the time also helped a lot.

Now the Kinect for XBO feels like an aged gimmicky tech no one care anymore.
 

Prine

Banned
This does sound ideal, and reinforced that gaming devs such as Rare are official relieved from that burden. And I don't buy the idea of resources being wasted, I doubt any other gamng venture or initive has been effected, this is MS, they create resource they don't usually redirect it.

I'd like them to enhance kinect as a media and ui device. Its central to my entertainment center, great pieve of tech.
 
Well, as long as it isn't Rare anymore. They still did invest a lot into Kinect, so I guess they have to get something out of it.
 

Busty

Banned
If you want a comfortable, standard-role job at Microsoft with no ambiguity or risk, please don’t apply.

Is there even such a thing as a 'comfortable, standard-role job at Microsoft with no ambiguity or risk'?
 
It's a good thing I wasn't talking about things that the microphone does.

* Wireless syncing.
* Controller standby mode when controller is set down.
* Auto-login of anyone in view of camera.
* Automatic screen dim if no one is in the room the second it sees you again the screen goes back.
* Profile follows the person and not the controller so there is no need for assigned controllers.
* Automatic screen orientation depending on where you are in the room.
* During Skype chat the camera will automatically zoom and follow you around the field of view.
* Game settings follow you no matter what controller you use.
* Gesture control for UI and gaming.
* IR control of most TVs, receivers and cable boxes.

There are a ton of possibilities For thus technology it just needs built and implemented. For instance a find controller tool that would show the FoV and show the controller or last place it saw the controller.
For shame Ford, you forgot the Heart Beat Sensor... Which incidentally Microsoft stole off of the Kinect and put on their Smart Band.

Anyhow Microsoft improving the Kinect doesn't mean that they are taking away from gaming. The technology gets improved and used in several products and occasionally we might get a good game out of out. It really is a win win
 
If it results in Kinect games that control similarly to D4 or Rivals Pre-Season, I don't see the problem.

I'm mostly just glad that RARE are finally out from under Kinect's shadow.
 
They effectively killed Kinect when they removed it from the box. Not sure what a team like this can do to rejuvenate interest. That time has come and gone.

Unless their VR tech requires Kinect. Which makes the removal of Kinect even stranger.
 

Synth

Member
They effectively killed Kinect when they removed it from the box. Not sure what a team like this can do to rejuvenate interest. That time has come and gone.

Unless their VR tech requires Kinect. Which makes the removal of Kinect even stranger.

I don't get why everyone acts like removing Kinect from the box should mean that MS themselves doesn't even release any software for it. This team isn't exactly 343i... they're not going to need to save Kinect as a whole in order for whatever they're working on to be worth making/selling.

Also, even if Kinect is required for their VR implementation, I don't think that would really have affected their decision to remove the Kinect. They couldn't really continue selling at the pace they were for however many years until their VR product was ready to ship. Especially when you consider that it'll most likely not be picked up by the majority of the userbase regardless of if they have a Kinect of not. Morpheus is quite likely to require a Playstation camera and Move controllers for much of its experiences... does that mean they should be bundling all this with PS4's now in preparation?

That being said though, I don't think the Kinect should ever have been in a position to have been pulled from the console in the first place. I find it amazing that not only was Kinect Sports not ready for launch, but they actually attempted to sell it as a standalone game. They should have had a decent variety of games using the device ready immediately if they knew ahead of time that every console owner was to have one. Maybe some of the 360's Kinect experiences should have debuted on X1 instead (like how stuff like Killer Instinct were moved across from the 360). And there should have been loads of mobile game ports in the vein of Fruit Ninja, to create a constant stream of smaller titles for people to play.
 
Honestly, I don't know why everyone here hates Kinect so much. I thin it is really cool Tech that has purposes outside of just motion based games, and I am fine with them improving the technology as long as it doesn't take away from their core gaming experiences.
 
They just sold probably 3 million consoles without a kinect.

The fuck you wasting your time on that thing, seriously.

Unbundling the kinect was a double edged sword. Yeah, boosted their sales by a tremendous amount, but at the same time, you fucked over the kinect. When your company doesn't even have faith in the thing, you know its over.

Kinect is going to be nothing more than a side-project for MS going forward. I imagine the standalone sales will be extremely poor and there's no point in dedicating resources to what's going to be a continually-shrinking portion of their user base.
 

Jaeger

Member
I just don't want to use anything but a controller. No goggles no jumping up and down no sticks. Just a controller.
 
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