Microsoft schedules Kinect for Windows launch CES 2012 Week While Microsoft's CES 2012 keynote may have had audiences fighting back the yawns, one piece of juicy Kinect news was revealed: the motion-sensor bar is finally coming to Windows in February. Kinect for Windows From next month, PC owners will be able to control their computers with gestures and interact with …
"Kinect has claimed the Guinness World Record of being the "fastest selling consumer electronics device" "
It sold 8 million units in the first 60 days it was released.
We bought one over Christmas, it's great fun. It works really well and we have a great time playing Kinect games.
A flop? No.
We all know who this is!!! MS hating pro Sony shill that never quits flaming. Always the same isn't it Barry? Does it not get boring?
No matter what you say, Kinect is an awesome piece of kit and a global success. Leagues ahead of the glowing dildos Sony tried to penetrate the market with! Although I bet Barry finds the movesticks much more comfortable for his self-pleasuring needs, I guess.
A new version of Kinect for Windows is a good idea methinks. Price seems high, but nothing is set in stone at the mo by the looks of things, so I'll keep my fingers crossed it drops quickly.
and my desktop makes a wonderful arm rest. For certain games, this could be useful and amount to fun. Although I expect if I used this to play TF2 I would get owned by keyboard and mouse users.
For navigating an IDE, image manipulation or indeed any serious computer work I doubt it's usefulness.
Still, wait and see I could be proved wrong.
Seems odd that they would charge more for a Windows version when the normal one plugs into a Win7 box and runs perfectly fine as is with the current SDK and third party training software. Did remember MS stating that Kinect hardware could run at industrial animation levels if it had access to a more powerful CPU, so does make me wonder if the hardware has been upgraded to justify the price change?
I think there are a few aspects which MS is heavily overlooking here.
First the issue of how this system will be prone to errors. When you point to the upper right you want the mouse to go to the upper right. But in order to do that your system needs to know its boundaries. As such it needs to be calibrated, most likely very time. But why bother if you have a mouse or other input device which you can get to work straight away?
But more importantly: who is going to use it and why? While Windows can be fun to fiddle with (from a sysadmin pov) in the end its still but a tool to most people, a tool which allows them to do stuff (write e-mail, browse the web, write stuff like this, do your taxes, etc.). Where does Kinect come in?
Finally the most obvious aspect; the fun part. It could be used in games of course. But does it ?
I own a PS3 with the PSEye and the Move. Quite frankly I love it. But only with the right games. To me it seems as if Sony is very busy trying to push Move forward in every way they can. But... there are games where you really do /not/ want to use Move. Its not as if they're enforcing it or something, its merely an added extra option, but I see "Move support" added to games where it makes the game play more tedious to me and not more fun.
A good example to that would be inFAMOUS 2 (a walking / climbing / shooting kind of game, to put it very simple). The game is just too extensive; in a fight you can be attacked from multiple directions, and so you don't only need to guide the character away from the threats (while moving the Move) but /also/ need to find a way to shoot at them (also using the Move; which you were just using to move away... errr....). Its doable, but not as easy as it should be IMO.
And its not as if we haven't been here before... When playing Command and Conquer for example (I love that series) nothing beats using the keyboard + mouse. I have Red Alert 3 on PS3 as well. Its good fun, absolutely. But game play is by /far/ as smooth as it is on the PC (still going to experiment with hooking up an USB keyboard & mouse to the PS3 and see what happens).
Quite frankly I think the same will apply to the Kinect. Its most likely good fun, I don't question that, but its use is much too limited.
...that mental air waving Alphas style might work well for some stuff, scrolling through libraries and stuff but I can't see it replacing the mouse for fine control.
The strategy in confusing. Or moneygrubbing at the cost of an easy route to market. I'd have thought you'd get some acceptance through a low resistance route, which is using the hardware base that exists. Even if there are some constraints. When the mental arm waving becomes accepted you can enhance the experience with pair of xspecs (I said it first) that go over the lenses to give you closer focus.
If the target is gamers. Why don't they just get an xbox. I suppose there will be more titles eventually, if you can get the development done.
If the target is the early adopters. I think takeup would be much better if I could unplug the one from my xbox to play around with it on the PC. THEN I might give it a try and still buy a second one if I found decent application for it, Shit I might even buy an xbox kinnect just to get the kinnect to play with on the PC. If it all goes Pete Tong I still have a usable controller on my games console.
If the target is developers initially you should be able to play with the hardware cheaply and if they have a box they should be able to use it. Getting them playing with it is critical. Getting them to invest is a bit more tricky.
Give it a year I'm guessing you will be able to pick up second hand units for a handful of magic beans because the applications will not be on the shelves.
Not saying the chaps at MS haven't thought about this and weighed up the balance and come out with what they think is the best strategy for them. Just seems odd to me.
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One thing is confusing me slightly; Kinect for XBox needs you to be about 6-foot away from the unit, which is fair enough for a console attached to a TV in the lounge. But how does that work for a PC when it is often going to be on a desk about 2-foot away from the user?
