Microsoft CEO: Kinect to support PCs when the time is right

[Emil]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has promised that the company will support Kinect for PCs sometime in the future. This is news that should make Bill Gates a very happy man. The motion controller is currently only officially supported for the Xbox 360, although it has been hacked and tweaked to work on pretty much any platform that can be plugged into via a USB port.

"We're trying to move beyond gaming to include the world of socialization, movies, TV, music, and we're trying to make the whole experience accessible to everybody in the family not just the traditional gamer." When the BBC asked Ballmer "Will you plug-in the Kinect to the PC, will you go for that in the near future?" he replied with "We'll support that in a formal way in the right time and when we've got an announcement to make we'll make it."

The news follows a rumor regarding the Kinect supporting PC games, software such as KinEmote which bring Kinect to Boxee and XBMC on Windows, and the launch of a Kinect-like controller for the PC by companies Asus and PrimeSense. Even without official PC support, the Kinect is selling exceptionally well: so far it has sold 8 million units in 60 days.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/41900-microsoft-ceo-kinect-to-support-pcs-when-the-time-is-right.html

 

[Julio Franco]

Ballmer is a clever businessman and I'm sure he'll say whatever needs to be said to please PC gamers. Despite of numerous announcements of how they want to 'revive PC gaming', saying Microsoft has neglected the PC as a true gaming platform in the past few years is an understatement IMO. I will believe it when I see it.

 

[nismo91]

the games development on the 360 are not that fast either. im getting bored of my kinect that i get rid of it with the 360 completely. wonder when will 'the time is right' for PC? certainly not that quick either. beside, i don't have that large LCD to begin with. i tried playing the kinect on my old 19" LCD and i rather not play.

 

[Guest]

They don't want to past away the kinnect torch from the xbox to the pc.

 

[Lurker101]

The time won't be right until they can work out just what they'll actually do with the Kinect on a PC. Casual gaming is most definitely out of the question. I can see the first use they'll find for it being an alternative to touchscreen, using hand gestures and whatever instead of the mouse, and then a bunch of gimmicky games aimed at "serious" gamers. Then the hype will die down, people will stop caring and move on.

 

[Cota]

In small words:
We agree that PC gaming has more potential than our old Xbox 360, so we will start moving the Kinect to the PC, but slowly... since we want to make some more money with our old tech console.

 

[Wagan8r]

One thing that people may be missing in this whole Kinect debacle, is that Microsoft may not have gaming intentions for the Kinect on PC. I personally believe that Windows 8 will come with "gesture controls". But how do you get your average person (with relatively low intelligence) to use gestures instead of mouse and keyboard? You train them on the XBOX 360 to do gestures that make contextual sense. That's why I don't see the Kinect as an answer to the Wii, (like the PS Move), but just the beginning of a larger objective: To make computing more interactive.

 

[gwailo247]

wagan8r said:
One thing that people may be missing in this whole Kinect debacle, is that Microsoft may not have gaming intentions for the Kinect on PC. I personally believe that Windows 8 will come with "gesture controls". But how do you get your average person (with relatively low intelligence) to use gestures instead of mouse and keyboard? You train them on the XBOX 360 to do gestures that make contextual sense. That's why I don't see the Kinect as an answer to the Wii, (like the PS Move), but just the beginning of a larger objective: To make computing more interactive.

Maybe they're afraid that these low intelligence people will poke themselves in the eye with their thumb and sue. I always thought an average person had average intelligence.

 

[madboyv1]

Call me pessimistic, but "when the time is right"= when sales start slumping badly for the device on XBox360. At that point they'll likely release a "PC compatible" version of the device with an upgraded firmware. If we the consumers win the proverbial jackpot, Microsoft will release a free firmware update tool to update existing Kinect cams, assuming they don't add any new hardware to the device, but I do not intend to hold my breath. =)

 

[ljeffries56]

I will wait and see if Madden football and 2K basketball will we release before I will buy it.

 

[Wagan8r]

gwailo247 said:

Maybe they're afraid that these low intelligence people will poke themselves in the eye with their thumb and sue. I always thought an average person had average intelligence.

Average intelligence has dropped due to inadequate education systems, instant gratification, and rampant self-absorbed consumerism.

 

[Guest]

You people have obviously not seen what hacked kinets can do. It is going to be the death of keyboards mice and controllers.

 

[emmzo]

The device is obviously good for Minority Report style browsing, scrolling, zooming in and out, etc. and perfect for Windows interface or other similar apps, but I just don`t see it as an ultimate gadget for a serious PC gamer. I`ve seen the video of that guy playing WoW and if he`d continued for a couple of minutes he`d`ve passed out. I`d say let the keyboard and mouse do what they do best and use kinect for things that they can`t do.

 

[Lurker101]

Guest said:
You people have obviously not seen what hacked kinets can do. It is going to be the death of keyboards mice and controllers.

The death of the mouse and keyboard won't happen for a very long time.

 

[gwailo247]

wagan8r said:
Average intelligence has dropped due to inadequate education systems, instant gratification, and rampant self-absorbed consumerism.

Nah, I just think the stupid people are getting more airtime. We insist on catering to the lowest common denominator rather than embracing the ability of people to rise to the occasion.