Microsoft originally opted for a heavy-handed approach with the Kinect sensor and forced consumers to purchase it as part of the basic Xbox One bundle. After public outrage regarding privacy concerns and Microsoft’s DRM plans, the company decided to offer a version without the Kinect. Since then, the Kinect has hardly been mentioned during Microsoft’s major gaming presentations. Although, Xbox’s Chief Marketing Officer Mike Nichols told Polygon:
“Overall, we don’t break down how many console users have Kinect and how many don’t,”
“That’s a level of granularity we don’t want to get into.”
“I can say that the people with Kinect still make up a very, very sizeable portion and that those people do use it quiet frequently. Less for games, but a lot more for biometric sign-in and user interface.”
In terms of core games, the Kinect is a gimmick and rarely used in any modern titles. The only exception which comes to mind is Alien Isolation. It can be useful for quick navigation when scrolling through various films, or TV shows on streaming services. The technology is impressive but it feels like Microsoft has abandoned it. Arguably, it doesn’t integrate well in the gaming market, and Microsoft’s Xbox division is focused on catering to gaming demographic it originally took for granted.
Do you use the Kinect?
