Where did Kinect go?

The Kinect has undergone significant transformations since its initial release, and its journey has been marked by various twists and turns, ultimately leading to its discontinuation as a gaming accessory and its rebirth as a development tool. The Kinect‘s story is one of innovation, experimentation, and adaptation, as Microsoft continued to explore new uses for the technology, including its application in non-game environments and its eventual evolution into the Azure Kinect Developer Kit.

Introduction to Kinect

The Kinect was initially released as a motion-sensing peripheral for the Xbox 360 and later for the Xbox One, with the goal of revolutionizing the gaming industry through its innovative use of depth-sensing technology and voice recognition. However, despite its initial popularity, the Kinect failed to achieve long-term success as a gaming accessory, leading to its discontinuation in 2017.

What Happened to Kinect?

After its discontinuation as a gaming peripheral, the Kinect was reborn as a development tool, with the release of the Azure Kinect Developer Kit in 2019. This new iteration of the Kinect technology was designed to provide developers with a powerful tool for building AI-powered applications, including computer vision and speech recognition models.

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

1. Why was Kinect discontinued?: The Kinect was discontinued due to poor sales and a lack of popular games that utilized the technology.
2. What is the Azure Kinect Developer Kit?: The Azure Kinect Developer Kit is a development tool that allows developers to build AI-powered applications using the Kinect technology.
3. Is the Xbox 360 Kinect bad?: The Xbox 360 Kinect is not necessarily bad, but it may not be as effective as other motion-sensing peripherals on the market.

Technical Questions

4. How different is the Real Sense camera from the Kinect?: The Real Sense camera and the Kinect are both depth-sensing technologies, but they have distinct differences in terms of their resolution and field of view.
5. What is the successor to the Kinect?: The Azure Kinect Developer Kit is the successor to the Kinect line of sensors.
6. Can you play old Kinect games on Xbox One?: No, Xbox 360 Kinect games are not compatible with the Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S consoles.

Gaming Questions

7. Can you play Just Dance 2023 with Kinect?: No, Just Dance 2023 does not support Kinect or PS Move.
8. What is better than Xbox Kinect?: The Nintendo Wii is considered a better device for locomotion rehabilitation in people with PD.
9. What was the last Kinect game?: The last Kinect game released was Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator.

Business Questions

10. Did Apple buy Kinect?: No, Apple acquired PrimeSense, the company behind the Kinect technology, but not the Kinect itself.
11. Will Microsoft make a new Kinect?: No, Microsoft has discontinued the Kinect and has no plans to release a new version.
12. Is Kinect still being sold?: No, the Kinect is no longer being manufactured or sold by Microsoft.

Miscellaneous Questions

13. Can I use Kinect as a spy cam?: Yes, the Kinect can be used as a surveillance camera, but it is not recommended for this purpose.
14. Can you play Kinect games without Kinect?: No, Kinect games require the Kinect peripheral to function.
15. What is the difference between Kinect and Kinect 2?: The Kinect 2 has improved resolution and depth fidelity compared to the original Kinect, as well as a wider field of view and the ability to track more people simultaneously.