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- Kinect was released as a revolutionary option after the success of the Wii’s motion-sensing capabilities, as Kinect relied on motion tracking instead.
- Due to the camera, the game had technical issues, such as players glitching when they came closer together. Also, it got boring for people after a while.
- Xbox chose not to pursue VR because it believes the market is too small for investment. Perhaps they lost hope due to the failure of Kinect.
When Kinect was released, it felt like something from the future, but today, it is barely remembered by many people. Despite Microsoft pouring tons of money into advertising it, it still eventually died.
But what went wrong with the Xbox Kinect? Sony also adopted a similar technology to the Kinect, but later transitioned to virtual reality (VR). But why didn’t Microsoft take the VR route? Let’s answer both of these questions.
The Birth of Kinect
To understand how Kinect died, let’s start with the beginning of Kinect. In 2009, a new project was announced at E3, known as Project Natal, for the Xbox 360, which was one of the best consoles, partly because of the Kinect.
Following Nintendo’s Footsteps
At first glance, it looked promising and revolutionary. Still, fans quickly realised that this project was following the footsteps of the Wii, which utilised its remote as the input instead of motion capture from a camera.
Then they changed its name to Kinect, and Microsoft started investing half a billion dollars in advertising its launch. They went ahead and advertised on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Wii’s Overwhelming Success Led To Kinect
Before I get to the part where people purchase Kinect, let me explain why Microsoft decided to create Kinect in the first place. Back in those days, the Wii became a popular console.
It was so successful that it sold 20M more units than the PS2 and Xbox combined. Part of their success was due to their motion input remote system, which was revolutionary at the time.
See, Wii’s added a motion-based remote where you can move it around, and the input will be captured on the screen via the sensor on the Wii console. This allowed games to be physically played, something that had not been done before.
Since the Wii’s remote was fully based on motion sensing, it also had other perks. For instance, it could be added to a purchasable steering wheel to play Mario Kart.
Kinect Was Microsoft’s ‘Revolutionary’ Approach
In light of this monumental success, Sony decided to catch up with the trend by unveiling their PlayStation Move, which also later failed. Seeing all this, Microsoft sought to develop something even bigger.
So, they went ahead and removed the middleman, which was this motion-sensing remote, and instead relied on motion tracking via a camera. So, they advertised it heavily, portraying it as a revolutionary innovation that no one had ever seen.
The Reality Didn’t Match the Hype
With their attempts to market it, people did purchase it only to find out that it wasn’t as functional as the Wii. Since Kinect relied on motion tracking as opposed to the Wii, which used a remote for more accurate input.
Technical Issues
Since Kinect relied on a camera, playing games with others often confused the camera and its sensor, especially when lots of movement was involved. The camera had a certain field of view, which wasn’t the widest, so people had to be closer.
Whenever the arms of the two people came close to each other, the camera couldn’t distinguish the players from one another, causing the players on the screen to glitch and deteriorate.
This was very disappointing, considering the fact that Kinect was primarily designed for use in movement-heavy sports games, where these issues were more likely to occur.
Not Fun For The Long Run
Moreover, when people compared this technology with that of the older Wii, they realised that Kinect wasn’t the best, even though it was new and modern. All of this led to people moving away from the Kinect.
Another reason why Kinect failed was that it just wasn’t fun. The games felt repetitive, and since physical interaction was required, the games were also limited. Despite the initial fun, the novelty wore off quickly after using it.
Kinect’s Death
Then, Microsoft made it mandatory for the Xbox One, which was launched 11 years ago. But even then, nobody cared about it. So, back in 2017, Xbox finally decided to end its production, and they stuck to the normal console ever since.
Why Xbox Didn’t Go For VR
As for Xbox not pursuing VR despite Sony’s approach, it is simply because Xbox believes that the VR market is a small investment opportunity. The head of Xbox Game Studios says that they will wait until there is an audience for it.
Whether this is true or not is something no one can confirm or deny. Perhaps they’ve completely lost hope after the huge investment in Kinect, which led to a total failure.
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[Error Fix Expert]
Hello, I’m Uzair Shabir, a tech enthusiast pursuing a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering. At Tech4Gamers, I’m an Error Fix Expert, crafting articles on different issues and how to fix them. With a Google IT Support Certificate, I navigate tech complexities to deliver insightful perspectives.
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