Xbox One Reasons why the new Kinect might be awesome

[Dr23]

Ever since the announcement of the Xbox One there's been a ton of negative feelings towards the new Kinect device. Most of this criticism is deserved given the privacy issues, but I think we should take a step back and discuss some of the new Kinect's positives. Though there are certainly issues, this is still an impressive piece of technology.

Two points that jump to mind for me:

1. Change channels with your voice. I'm not too keen on hooking all of my devices together (privacy issues), but the ability to change the channel without a remote is a fascinating concept. We've all lost the remote or left it way out of reach, so the ability to say "Watch ESPN" and the system does the rest is pretty cool technology.

2. Better motion capture. This point might not apply to you, but personally I know several people that love the Just Dance series on the Wii. It's a fun game. However, the biggest annoyance is the system struggles to pick up your movement since it's following a remote. The detection is sporadic at best and the same can be said about the Kinect. Even with decent lighting and space, I still found the Kinect struggled to track movements. Based on what I've seen so far, the new Kinect looks like it'll have no issue tracking players even in dark settings.

So, what aspects of the new Kinect excite you? Sure, there's plenty to be nervous/worried about, but let's also give the product due justice and highlight some aspects we're excited about too.

 

[Damnlag]

The new Kinect features sound awesome IMO. I haven't even used a Xbox 360 Kinect yet, but the Xbox One sounds like it will be a great product with what the Kinect will have to offer. I don't see a big deal about the Xbox One Kinect being on all the time listening for the words "Xbox One." But it could be a little awkward having that feeling someone's watching you as if it were to get hacked like a webcam and you were having sex or something xD

 

[Mortontfrh]

I'm glad that they are trying to push the Kinect to further realms. Personally I have been very disappointed with the Kinect as well as most of the Kinect games. I'm hoping that there will be additional innovation with Kinect games on the Xbox One.

 

[Holbert]

I'm glad that they are trying to push the Kinect to further realms. Personally I have been very disappointed with the Kinect as well as most of the Kinect games. I'm hoping that there will be additional innovation with Kinect games on the Xbox One.

I totally agree that Kinect on the 360 was kind of a bust. I think that the camera is the least interesting part of the Kinect. The voice stuff seems to be the best part of Kinect 2, but the camera could be really great too. All of this stuff will really just come down to how well it's used in the real world and how well it works in everyones living room. Hopefully game devs don't force Kinect into games and it's focussed more on UI this go around.

 

[Chunkaroonie]

I feel almost as if Kinect can only work if Microsoft goes 100% all in with it and utilizes it to its full potential. I can really see some neat interface control and other such things with the Kinect that could be used and I think that Microsoft may be going down the route by making every One come with a Kinect. I feel Kinect for games can only go so far and is by and large a gimmick, but these voice and motion control sounds at least somewhat appealing to me.

 

[ozadin]

I honestly didn't even know they were releasing a new Kinect. The current one is collecting dust at the moment. These features are cool, but not enough for me to buy another one. I would personally love to see a bigger library of fun games, and not generic fitness or dancing games.

 

[Apposl]

Oh shoot I just posted about this in the 'Kinect' section of the forums here. ;-)

I'm absolutely on board with the Kinect. I love the device, I love the idea. I do think the earlier models were rough, but that's how it is with new tech, especially 1st generation stuff. Now we're getting into the good stuff. Microsoft, Sony, Apple are playing a huge game - not just over console games, but over controlling our living room. I really think the strongest advantage MS has is the Kinect. Being able to control more than just our video game with voice commands or gestures. More than just telling the TV to turn on, or to record a show. We've seen the same thing with apps and smartphones - it's just limited by us, and the ideas we have for using it.

Okay, and developers who take those ideas and build things. ;-)

Still, I think Kinect is way more brand recognizable than the other offerings - I think it's going to be their real wedge into market dominance, or at least market majority.

 

[Jatelo2]

I feel almost as if Kinect can only work if Microsoft goes 100% all in with it and utilizes it to its full potential. I can really see some neat interface control and other such things with the Kinect that could be used and I think that Microsoft may be going down the route by making every One come with a Kinect. I feel Kinect for games can only go so far and is by and large a gimmick, but these voice and motion control sounds at least somewhat appealing to me.

True! Microsoft has not been keen on investing enough on the kinetic.Once they do that, I don't see how anyone will beat them in the market.

 

[Ridwan Sameer]

The Kinect actually seems to be a replacement for a SmartTV . You know, you can buy a normal TV and use the Kinect to do everything else, which sounds pretty cool.,

I do hope the always monitoring thing is a hoax though

 

[Apposl]

The Kinect actually seems to be a replacement for a SmartTV . You know, you can buy a normal TV and use the Kinect to do everything else, which sounds pretty cool.,

I do hope the always monitoring thing is a hoax though

I'm sure it's not a "hoax," probably more a feature that is being overplayed. "The eyes are ALWAYS WATCHING!" Haha. I'm sure it can be disabled, shut off, whatever.

Do feel that the Kinect can be adapted to be in more environments than the living room, and it is certainly a strong piece to add to a living room in lieu of, or with, a smart TV.

 

[RainbowFlwrPowr]

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DISABLE KINECT

1) Find cord.
2) Follow cord to back of console.
3) Unplug Kinect.
4) Plug Kinect back in when ready to use.

Seems legit.

 

[BlackSolaris]

The only reason that i see for the new Kinect to be awesome is that the quality of the hardware is a lot better than the first one, and some developers may use it to create or use for games on the PC.