Microsoft Discontinues Xbox One Kinect Adapter

When the Xbox One first debuted the biggest target for criticism was the bundled Kinect. Many argued that playing $100 more for a device that should be optional was outrageous. Ultimately Microsoft offered a $100 cheaper Xbox One bundle without the Kinect and eventually, the device fell into obscurity. Now Microsoft has hammered the last nail in the Kinect coffin, discontinuing the adaptor.

[yumi76]

Ah, Kinect we hardly even knew you yet you still managed to overstay your welcome.

[morganfell]

But I can't get that image out of my head. And yet, some people still believed.

http://i.imgur.com/GDAGlP2....

[yumi76]

I don't know which is more unfortunate, that Microsoft actually thought that Kinect could actually be a functional replacement for the controller or that millions of people actually bought it.

[darthv72]

The tech was sound but the gaming use not so much. Ive seen some impressive non gaming uses.

This adapter is going for crazy prices now because of this announcement. The kinect unit is super cheap but that adapter for the S and X is gonna cost ya.

[ILostMyMind]

Shame, shame, shame...

[Gamist2dot0]

Just like the power of the cloud...

[windblowsagain]

lol kinect was fail from day 1.

[GaboonViper]

Oh God that was so cringe watching that LMAO.

[morganfell]

"The tech was sound..."

No it wasn't.

Just stop it with the defense mode. Its absurd when the truth is so obvious. Thank goodness everyone is beginning to see what we many of us have recognized in your comments for a very long time.

Time and time again the tech failed and MS was forced to fake presentations. They lied en masse to the world again and again and again about kinect.

[threefootwang]

This was one of the reasons why I left Xbox in the first place, definitely not upset by this news.

[PhoenixUp]

Just when you thought Kinect couldn’t get deader

Meanwhile PS Camera continues to be relevant

[fiveby9]

Fwiw, I do think X1 can use more USB cameras now for video conf. I do wonder if MS will ever support VR via 3rd party such as Oculus. That system does not use a camera though.

[PhantomS42]

To be fair, were it not for PSVR the PS Camera would also be very irrelevant but Kinect was a pretty interesting concept but horribly managed.

[fiveby9]

Perhaps the one interesting feature left from the Kinect is the voice commands which are still useable with any mic..

[PhoenixUp]

@ Phantom

Absolutely not. The PlayRoom feature made PS Camera a very popular device even before PSVR came along. No way in hell was Sony going to discontinue a successful product.

[zeuanimals]

Streamers used it too.

[PhoenixUp]

Indeed. PS Camera already had so much functionality.

New Xbox One owners who want to livestream with video are screwed

[GaboonViper]

Good riddance, it had the potential but MS failed to deliver on their lofty promises.

[chiefJohn117]

Nah it simply met it end. Gimmicks come and go. Motion gaming was a last gen thing. That's why the Wii and Kinect 1.0 had great sales but was irrelevant this gen. Btw what promises did they make with Kinect? Cause I wasn't buying it period, I had no use or urge for it. Rather my favorite games supported it or not (Not a fan of motion or voice gaming)

[Christopher]

There was a marketing video they put out showing people playing instruments in the air, saying that the individual finger tracking would be good enough to detect such minute gestures and associate it with placement on the neck of a violin or the keys of a keyboard.

It was bad marketing on that part.

I was very happy when they removed Kinect from the Xbox One boxes.

[chiefJohn117]

@Chris really cool tech but even then I don't get why that would hype someone up. Idk I simply have no interest in motion gaming. Air drumming really makes ppl wanna buy? I just don't get it but to each their own. Give me a tv and a controller I'mma a classic guy.

[rainslacker]

Think they only delivered one game that actually used the Kinect. There were a few 3rd party games, but when Fighter Within becomes the poster child for just how bad motion control games can be, it doesn't help the device at all. They could have done more, but even before they removed it from the Xbox as a requirement, they barely seemed to care about delivering support for it. At least with the 360's Kinect they gave it good support, and managed to get good 3rd party support.

[Father__Merrin]

I recall when kinect came out for 360 good times indeed. Was extremely hyped

[Evolve]

Wait... is this thing still ALIVE!?

[glenn1979]

Milo

[G20WLY]

Maybe a launch game for next Xbox with integrated Kinect 3.0? 😁

[Skankinruby]

They should incorporate the kinect technology into the ps camera. It'd be really cool for screen browsing and voice commands if you're just gonna use media features. But as I said when it first released it's useless for gameplay.

[ILostMyMind]

Sony is terrible in the software department but games.

[rainslacker]

What is done in the Kinect, can easily be done through software using any basic camera. Kinect basically just had a co-processor to interpret some of that stuff, but the dev still had to implement that into games, so it's not that much of a difference on the back end.

Voice commands are entirely a software thing, and you don't need Kinect for it. Example, PS4 does voice commands fine, and if it had software that supported different features, then it'd work fine.

[gangsta_red]

It had potential with the new gimmicks this version of Kinect had. I still liked the idea of face scanning and having it apply to your character...But when MS wont even support it with their own games then why should anyone else?

[Godmars290]

What game had face scanning? How did MS ever give it a chance when they put it out before it was ready? Under powered? An issue only by building the XB1 around it rather than the reverse.

[gangsta_red]

NBA 2k16 had face scanning.

The Kinect for Xbox 1 was ready, not sure what you mean.

Under powered? Compared to what?

[Godmars290]

"Under powered? Compared to what?"

The PS4. For which Xbox fans were butt hurt up until the X1X was announced. Then they still can't stop holing it over the Sony camp's heads despite Kinect support had been removed from it.

If the XB1 had been ready for Kinect, then it would have, should have gotten games. But then game support is a problem MS has as well.

[gangsta_red]

I seriously have no idea what your point is in response to my comment. My comment had nothing to do with any type of power discrepancy between the PS4 and Xbox 1.

In fact my comment had zero to do with PS4.

The Xbox 1 was Kinect ready out the package, that's why it came with it at launch.

The problem was support which I already stated above.

[Godmars290]

I really have to explain how "Under powered? Compared to what?" are questions? The latter directly asking for a comparison.

There was no attempt at widespread adaptation with Kinect, only a few shoehorned tries. What games it had, from 360 to XB1, suffered from the low power of the base unit while showing no improvement in the transition from the two systems. MS themselves never presented example of a competent Kinect title, much less anything close to what was suppose to be it's full potential, only gimmicky demos. What few "full" games they did manage to get out only proved that the tech had needed more development time years after it had been released. It wasn't something that was simply going to be "patched" built upon or fixed after all that time.

And, what with focus to make into a metrics sensor, something that could gather information MS planned to sell to advertisers, make into a crowd tracker to count heads and charge for special and sports events, they weren't all that eager to. Not when all they needed was to have it in people's homes. It was that kind of thinking that was behind always online, and why despite "the flip of a switch" the XB1 was built around Kinect. Why years - if not months - after the always online policies fell apart the XBX and XBS became things. That was MS getting away from something that might have done better if more thought than "this will make us money just being there": Kinect.

[gangsta_red]

"What games it had, from 360 to XB1, suffered from the low power of the base unit while showing no improvement in the transition from the two systems."

This really makes no sense at all and only sounds like you're making things up. What game suffered because the low powered system?

Are their reports or a story I'm missing that Kinect would have been better if the 360/X1 had super mega chips installed?

"..what with focus to make into a metrics sensor.."

Sure, even though this was rumored and never proven right? And you MUST realize that all companies track your activity and use it for advertisements or tailer their own structure to fit what their user base want or uses the most, this is why DAU and the analytics behind it is the number one most important thing in tech/media companies now.

"That was MS getting away from something that might have done better if..."

This is pretty much the only statement that I agree with that's relevant to my point. MS should have put more thought into this and actually made games for it or at least added some type of extra feature using it.

Kinect may have not been the revolution in gaming but it could have had some fun uses if properly applied.

[Godmars290]

"What game suffered because the low powered system?"

What Kinect game benefited from the 360 to XB1 move? What notable improvements were there in using Kinect as a game or UI controller?

"Sure, even though this was rumored and never proven right?"

It was something MS actively talked about. Seeing someone using furniture polish or dish-washing liquid then putting up an ad on the Xbox was nearby. Which is far more intrusive from tracking how someone uses Youtube or the PSN store.

http://mashable.com/2013/06...

And again, Kinect was better at counting/recognizing people/faces than as a controller for a game system.

[gangsta_red]

"What Kinect game benefited from the 360 to XB1 move? What notable improvements were there in using Kinect as a game or UI controller?"

Hmmmm...we seem to be going in circles discussing some of the same points. I have already stated numerous times how under utilized the kinect was.

"It was something MS actively talked about.'

The link you provided fails to mention anything MS was actively talking about in regards to watching you cook or polish the furniture. Again, these were all rumors and paranoia but nothing was proven or actually happened even with the original Kinect for the 360. And it's funny because Siri, Alexa and other similar techs all do the same as you suggest Kinect was going to do (with less outrage of course).

"...Kinect was better at counting/recognizing people/faces than as a controller for a game system."

Which I said should have been at least included in MS's own games to make the device a little more useful.

[rainslacker]

The problem I see more is that you don't really need an advanced camera to do most of what Kinect was offering up on the software front. Face scanning for instance, can be done with a simple webcam. It's all about the software being there to handle it. The Kinect itself didn't do all the processing for scanning one's face, the software on the console did it. It was built into the Kinect 2.0 API's, and was even available through a 3rd party API on the original Kinect.

MS spent a copious amount of time trying to convince that the things that Kinect could do wouldn't be possible elsewhere. While the kinect itself did have on board processors to handle some of the camera input, it was still a software function. The quality of the cameras used in Kinect 2.0 did allow for more software features, but ultimately, it was all software features.

I worked on the original Kinect, as my first non-intern job in the industry out of school was making Kinect 1.0 API's, and I will admit that it was kind of cool. But everything is based on what the camera itself is able to see. Kinect 2.0 did indeed have much better resolution, and the on board processors were more capable, on top of MS refining the API's so less developer implementation was necessary.

I think the focus on making it seem the hardware was what was important was why the Kinect really went down hill.....at least beyond the initial reaction to their targeted advertising and data collection. The camera was good for what it was, but without actually showing a reason for people to buy it with final products, it's hard to impress people for the long term. Most of it's features could be done with a webcam or decent proprietary camera, although since most consumer computer cameras didn't have as many features or resolution it probably wouldn't have been able to do as much through any written software.

[chiefJohn117]

Motion gaming resurrected and died once more. It'll likely come back again in the future. MS tried to force support but only back fired. No matter how perfect or flawless you make it at the end of the day many simply don't care about motion gaming. Never force it on consumers if that's not the main point of the console. Kinect had a good run though R.I.P

[G20WLY]

It had a terrible run, with next to no game support, almost all of which were a broken mess.

[chiefJohn117]

I never had one but had family that did. Looked like it had plenty of support to me. (Idk about the 2.0 though) I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the MJ experience at their house lol....... don't judge me.

[rainslacker]

Nintendo and Sony still have motion support included in their current consoles. PS4's DS4 still use sixaxis, and the DS4 also has some of the move features. Switch has motion controls built in. Move still exists, although I don't know if any games support it outside of PSVR(I know Heavy Rain and Beyond didn't on PS4).

I just think that the marketing towards motion controls has waned, and I think that overall, motion controls aren't looked at as the best way to control an entire game, but instead, just add in a bit of new interaction when used sparingly.

[chiefJohn117]

No one is using that, not counting vr I haven't heard one thing about move this entire gen. I didn't know the switch had motion controls I never see ppl use it.

[rainslacker]

It's not often implemented, and I can't think of any game which uses it beyond some meaningless interactivity....like shaking the controller in TLOU when your flashlight is starting to die.

But it's available, and supported through API's. I don't know which games support it on the Switch. I know it's there though.

[chaos-emeralds]

If only their vision was like Alexa

[zaherdab]

they could have combined it's tracking with their mixed reality headset to create more accurate tracking ... would've been a pretty good additional option ..

And they should have waited a bit more after the xbox one x release to discontinue it so that people upgrading can still find the damn thing ... instead now the adapter is being sold for 400 $! how iffy is that microsoft ?

[TankCrossing]

lol is that so? Interesting indeed.... I happen to have 2 :)

"Xbox take a screenshot" and "Xbox record that" are the only functions I'll miss... And I'm already over it.

[zaherdab]

the only reason i was considering it was for skype ... i heard it was a pretty good skype option

[343_Guilty_Spark]

Headset already has tracking built it.

[zaherdab]

yes but it is limited ... an option to add external tracking that can track your entire body and position would have made things way more accurate

[Jinger]

I still use mine for various voice commands

[G20WLY]

You don't need a camera to hear you..

[Jinger]

What do you mean?

[kneon]

What he means is that voice control could have been implemented with a microphone, no need for an expensive camera. The only reason to use something more complex than a microphone is so that it can be listening all the time to react to a voice command to turn on the console. Other than that one command, everything else only needs a microphone.

[Wikkid666]

Kinect 3.0 will be here soon.

[DarXyde]

Kinect has survived on borrowed time for a while now. Kinect is no longer in production and now the adapters being discontinued are a pretty sure sign they're done with it.

Even though it wasn't doing well, I think they should have at least kept support until the next Xbox. Cutting it now just feels like a jarring move to early adopters.

[zaherdab]

it seems early adopters always get the short end of the stick

[DarXyde]

Eh, not always. I have a base PS4 and unbundled base Xbox One. I also have a 4K display. I have no regrets there to be honest. Just because I can't make the most of the display now doesn't mean I won't next generation.

I do regret the display a little though since it's pre-HDR which is a little annoying since my PS4 can do that.

[zaherdab]

well i got xbox one x ... i got the ps4 on realease and the ps4 pro on realease .... and the psvr on release ... i regret the psvr coz i got the pre-hdr support version now i am always switching cables

[XMarkstheSpot]

No need with universal usb camera support coming. Most ppl probably want to just buy their own things to stream over the kinect and with the backlash it got funny to see ps fanboys in here once again to talk shit even though they were the first to talk shit about it being around in the first place. They should be the happiest out of everyone if you look back 3 years

[badz149]

LOL I think the PS crowd was happy when it was first bundled in. Great comedy it was and just shows how out of touch MS was at the launch of the Xbone. But those who were strongly defending it was even funnier.

It's not entirely inacurate to say that Kinect was one od the reason Xbone falling behind this gen

[TheOttomatic91]

Good choice

[trooper_]

Hyped to death and died a miserable death.

Good riddance.

[gamer7804]

Kinect was a great peripheral, sure it wasn't great for most games, but it gave the console more depth. Whether it was communicating video with Skype with friends and family, fitness, voice commands, or fun active family games. The only problem was they made it mandatory for xbox one, but since it became optional I don't see why people would want to see more variety go.

[badz149]

"but since it became optional I don't see why people would want to see more variety go."

err...MS is the one making new models without the Kinect port and now discontinuing the adapter altogether. not the people. what are you talking about?

[Gamist2dot0]

It's more outrageous when it cost $100 more with a weaker spec than its competitor.

[Yohshida]

Kinect was dead the second Phil took over. I liked it for the voice commands, comming home while im at the door screaming XBOX ON and ready to go within seconds. Besides that I only used the motion control when friends came over to have some fun with party games. Im just wondering how it would have turned out if we hadnt had the NSA thing in 2013. Meanwhile everyone is carrying smartphones with them and has Alexa at home, gotta love people.

[mochachino]

The saddest thing is that Kinect probably cost MS any chance at winning this generation, or even coming close in sales.

[bahabeast]

the funniest thing is that the ps move which everyone dogged from release actually outlast kinect 1.0 and 2.0

[badz149]

IRONIC, isn't it?