Archives

Microsoft has released the Kinect for Windows commercial program, which it says was designed to let firms explore new ways “to improve internal operations, build new customer experiences, and potentially revolutionise their industries”. The move means any business can now join the 300-plus organisations already developing applications with Kinect for Windows through an early adoption …

Microsoft has released a new Star Wars Kinect video as promotional activity kicks off ahead of the game’s rumoured April release date. Described as “a hilarious two-minute short film” (we’ll let you make your own minds up), it features Moneyball and Parks and Recreation star Chris Pratt donning a bathrobe to take on Darth Vader …

Sega has announced its official video game of the London Olympic Games will release on June 2012 with Kinect and PlayStation Move support. Also planned for PC, London 2012 is set to include 30 Olympic events including Keirin (Cycling) at the Velodrome, 10m Synchronised Platform (Diving) at the Aquatics Centre and Trampoline at North Greenwich …

Microsoft has confirmed that the functionality changes made to the upcoming PC version of Kinect won’t be available for the Xbox 360 model, so claims MCV. Chief amongst the changes for the new Kinect is the addition of Near Mode, which allows the camera to detect and react to objects as close as 50cm from …

It’s Kinect’s first birthday and Microsoft is celebrating with a couple of announcement for the PC crowd. First up Kinect for Windows, the official and commercial development tool kit, will be released in early 2012. It has also announced the release of the SDK 2, for all those who’ve already been toying around with the …

Microsoft has announced that Avatar Kinect has been released worldwide today as part of Kinect Fun Labs, a service launched during E3 which enables users to download and play around with Kinect innovations. The Avatar Kinect software uses Microsoft’s motion sensor to recognise your facial expressions and represent them on screen through your avatar, allowing …

Experienced Kinect developers are starting to unlock “a whole bunch of new stuff” with their “super-responsive” second-round of Kinect titles. That’s according to Kinect’s Microsoft creative director, Kudo Tsunoda, who told assembled press at E3 that lowering the latency of the Xbox 360 is allowing new kinds of experience, such as the freshly-revealed Kinect Star …

Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has admitted what Sony has been telling us all along – that Kinect has “some real problems as an input device” but says it excels in terms in creating freedom and emotion. This comes after Lionhead’s Fable: The Journey was demoed at E3, a game which appeared to be on rails …

Microsoft is set to kick off the Kinect for Windows SDK beta today, reports suggest. Microsoft is expected to stream a special event at 9:30 PST (17:30 BST) to celebrate the release of Kinect for windows, according to site WinRumours. It also lists the following features as being available to PC Kinect developers (they’re essentially …

Microsoft has officially announced Kinect Fun Labs, a series of motion control mini-games debuting on Xbox Live today for all Xbox Live users. Kinect boss Kudo Tsunoda said at the Xbox E3 press conference that Fun Labs is the best way to experience “the innovation of Kinect”. Games include Build a Buddy, which enables you …

Microsoft has provided some fresh details on the feature set of the upcoming Kinect for Windows software development kit. Confirmed to be in development in February, the non-commercial Kinect PC SDK has been designed to make it easier for academic researchers and enthusiast communities to create experiences using the tech. Ahead of the SDK’s spring …

Continuing the trend of employing the help of cringe-worthy actors to demonstrate motion controls, Sega’s new Virtua Tennis 4 trailer shows off both Kinect and button-operated control systems. In between shots of ‘trendy’ paid actors pretending, rather unconvincingly, to be real gamers, you’ll see in-game footage of the latest tennis sim in action. Sega recently …

Rare has only taken advantage of “10 to 15 per cent” of Kinect’s technical potential so far – and the studio is going great guns to fully explore the “virtually limitless” possibilites afforded by the device. That was the message from Rare incubation software director Nick Burton tonight at London’s Institute for Contemporary Arts. Still …

The public will see Microsoft “really deliver” on Kinect this year, Microsoft UK’s GM for sales and marketing, Neil Thompson has pledged. Speaking to trade mag MCV, Thompson said the Xbox platform is moving to a broader audience – and publishers will soon flock to the Kinect platform seeking success. “We’re constantly looking at what …

Microsoft has demoed research into lifelike avatars that’ll likely show up in games at some point. Yay! USA Today is carrying an exclusive video showing off the tech, which Microsoft chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie said can be used to “create an avatar whose facial animation is very, very realistic, and the quality …